Midwest Finesse Fishing: April 2024

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 1 outing with Bill Kenney of Denton at a federal hill-land reservoir in south-central Oklahoma.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Bill and I enjoyed a mild spring day at a scenic federal hill-land reservoir in south-central Oklahoma. This was our first visit to this reservoir in 2024.

Weather wise, the sky was overcast. The barometric pressure measured 29.78 at 9:00 a.m., and dropped to 29.63 by 3:00 p.m. A southeasterly wind blew continuously at 10 to 20 mph. The morning’s low temperature was 65 degrees, and the afternoon’s high reached 78 degrees. Severe thunderstorms were forecast for the evening hours of April 1 and early-morning hours of April 2.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the fishing would be poor. It also indicated that the most lucrative fishing periods would occur from 2:22 a.m. to 4:22 a.m., 8:34 a.m. to 10:34 a.m., and 2:46 p.m. to 4:46 p.m. We fished from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The water was murkier than usual and exhibited three feet of clarity. Normally, the clarity ranges between five and seven feet. The water level appeared to be about two feet low. The surface temperature ranged from 58 to 61 degrees.

In a nutshell, we fished in the midsection of the reservoir and caught 26 smallmouth bass, seven largemouth bass, and five white bass around flat, main-lake points, short sections of their adjacent shorelines, and flat secondary points near the entrance and along the lower sections of five feeder-creek arms. These points and shorelines are covered with gravel, chunky rocks, and boulders.

We caught one largemouth bass on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD rigged on a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig and a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve; two smallmouth bass on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead; three smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass with a steady-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a 1/10-ounce chartreuse Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig; two smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass on a generic plastisol 3 1/2-inch green-pumpkin curly-tail grub affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow-swimming retrieve; two smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass were induced by either a swim-glide-and-shake presentation or a slow drag-and-deadstick presentation with a three-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ attached on a black 1/32-ounce OG Mushroom Jighead; six smallmouth bass were allured by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin ZinkerZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve; and 11 smallmouth bass were allured by a slow-swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a black 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

Most of these black-bass were scattered and caught many yards apart. But we did find a couple of secondary points inside two of the feeder-creek arms where we caught three to five black bass grouped together. We failed to elicit any strikes from a main-lake hump and several rocky secondary points and gravel flats in the middle and upper portions of the feeder-creek arms.

April 4

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 4 outing with John Thomas of Denton at a federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., John and I fished at one of several federal hill-land reservoirs in north-central Texas. We fished this same reservoir on March 5, when we caught 13 largemouth bass and three freshwater drum during that 5 1/2-hour excursion.

Upon arriving at the boat ramp parking lot at about 9:45 a.m. on April 4, we were surprised to find that it was about 75 percent full with tow vehicles and boat trailers. We were later informed by a tournament angler that April 4 and 5 were practice days for a bass tournament that would occur on April 6.

It was sunny, and the sky was cloudless. The morning’s low temperature was 45 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature peaked at 83 degrees. The wind was light and variable, and for several long spells, it was calm. The barometric pressure measured 29.99 at 10:00 a.m. and dropped to 29.89 by 4:00 p.m.

The best fishing, according to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, would most likely occur from 1:24 a.m. to 3:24 a.m., 7:38 a.m. to 9:38 a.m., and 8:06 p.m. to 10:06 p.m. The calendar also noted that the fishing would be poor.

The water exhibited 2 1/2 feet of clarity in the lower end of the reservoir and about 12 to 18 inches in its upper end. The surface temperature ranged from 60 to 70 degrees. The reservoir’s water level was 0.34 of a foot below normal.

We primarily fish in this reservoir’s lower half, where the vast majority of its submerged terrain is composed of red clay, small gravel, chunk rocks, and countless numbers of large boulders. In the northern or upper half of the reservoir, there are acres and acres of thick stands of flooded timber, laydowns, stumps, brush piles, and flooded buck brush that intrigue many power anglers, and we rarely venture into this portion of this impoundment because navigating through the thick stands of flooded timber and stumps can be a headache.

During this exasperating six-hour endeavor, we fished a variety of locales inside three feeder-creek arms that are scattered across the lower sections of the east and west tributary arms, and there were tournament anglers everywhere we fished. We decided to try to escape all the intense angling pressure in the lower end of the reservoir by making a rare 25-minute boat run into the heavily-timbered upper end of the reservoir. We concentrated our efforts inside four major feeder-creek arms and targeted a slew of rocky secondary points and shorelines, flat clay-and-gravel pockets and coves, many yards of riprap covering the causeways of two railroad-trestle bridges and one highway bridge, and several of the concrete support columns under those bridges. And we shared these locales with multiple tournament anglers and a couple of crappie anglers.

The black-bass fishing was horrid. While we were relegated to fishing behind and around multiple anglers all day, we labored mightily to scrounge up six largemouth bass, one spotted bass, one freshwater drum, and a large white bass.

These seven black bass were scattered in two to seven feet of water and five to 25 feet from the water’s edge.

Five of them were caught during the first two hours of this outing inside two of the three feeder-creek arms that we focused on in the lower end of the reservoir. Four of these five bass were abiding about halfway back in the first creek arm. They were relating to one particularly steep and rocky shoreline adorned with a few burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil. The fifth bass was caught about halfway back inside the second feeder-creek arm around the end of a steep secondary point covered with chunky rocks and a few scattered boulders. The third feeder-creek arm was fruitless.

The other two largemouth bass, the freshwater drum, and the one white bass were the only strikes that we could muster during the last four hours of this outing. They were caught about two-thirds of the way inside three of the four feeder-creek arms in the upper end of the reservoir. A rocky and timber-laden shoreline in the first creek arm surrendered one white bass; the second creek arm was fruitless; the third creek arm relinquished two largemouth bass that were caught near the riprap covering one of the causeways of a railroad-trestle bridge; and a rocky, timber- and- stump-laden shoreline in the fourth creek arm yielded one freshwater drum.

We wielded 13 Midwest finesse rigs, and three of them were effective. Four of the seven black bass and the one white bass were enticed by a steady-swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ matched with a red 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig; two black bass were allured by a steady-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat affixed on a red 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse Shroom Z jig; and one largemouth bass and the freshwater drum were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-red ZinkerZ rigged on a red 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig.

In closing, we were not the only ones having a tough day. As we were trailering the boat, John spoke with another angler at the ramp, and he reported that he had failed to catch any bass.

April 5

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at a 82-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas 0n April 5

Here is an edited version of his log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 26 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 66 degrees. The wind was calm for seven hours, and when it began to blow, it angled out of the northwest, east, and southeast at 3 to 18 mph with some gusts at 20 to 22 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.05 at 12:52 a.m., 30.08 at 5:52 a.m., 30.11 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.06 at 4:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be a few inches above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 53 to 55 degrees. The water exhibited more than 10 feet of clarity. Its shallow-water flats and shorelines are endowed with uncountable numbers of patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, which have overwhelmed most of the patches of coontail, but the wads of filamentous algae are persevering. This exurban reservoir is usually heavily fished, which it was today. The parking lot at the ramp was packed with tow vehicles and boat trailers.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 8:20 a.m. to 10:20 a.m., 8:47 p.m. to 10:47 p.m., and 2:06 a.m. to 4:06 a.m.

Since Mar. 28, the windy and problematic weather was too uncomfortable for this old codger to fish. What’s more, Patty Kehde and I were very disappointed that this stretch of bothersome weather prevented us from fishing with our daughter Gretchen Kehde, who was visiting us from her home in Brooklyn, New York.

The weather forecasters predicted that the wind would be mild-mannered on April 5, angling out of the east at five to 10 mph. But when I made my first cast at 1:28 p.m., it was angling out of the southeast at 8 to 18 mph, and it blew and gusted incessantly until I caught largemouth bass number 40 at 3:05 p.m.

Three of the 40 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Eight of the 40 were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom.

Twenty-nine were caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Trick ShotZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

I spent the entire two hours and 37 minutes fishing around two main-lake points at the mouth of a major feeder-creek arm, along short portions of two main-lake shorelines adjacent to these two main-lake points, along long portions of two shorelines inside this major feeder-creek arm, and around five of this feeder-creek’s secondary points and five tertiary points.

One of the main-lake points yielded two largemouth bass. This point possesses a 40- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are carpeted with a few patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edges are enhanced with intense patches of winter-dead American water willows. The first largemouth bass engulfed the Trick ShotZ on the initial drop near the front edge of the American water willows in about four feet of water. The second one was caught on the Trick ShotZ rig with a drag-and-pause presentation in about seven feet of water.

About a 40-yard stretch of this point’s main-lake shoreline was unfruitful.

I caught one largemouth bass around the second main-lake point. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The water’s edges are enhanced with intense patches of winter-dead American water willows, which are interlaced with some merger sprouts of coontail, curly-leaf pondweeds, and wads of filamentous algae. The twilight Finesse TRD rig with a drag-and-deadstick presentation caught this largemouth around some of the rocks and small boulders in about six feet of water.

Two largemouth bass were caught along about a 60-yard stretch of this point’s main-lake shoreline. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders are quite large, and they are carpeted with a few wads of filamentous algae, and a few of their crevices are enhanced with burgeoning stems of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge is lined with intense patches of winter-dead American water willows and a couple of well-worn laydowns. The Trick ShotZ rig inveigled both of the largemouth bass. One was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water near the outside edge of the American water willows. The second one was caught on a drag-and-slight-shake presentation in about six feet of water in the vicinity of the American water willows.

I caught 11 largemouth bass along about a 400-yard stretch of one of the shorelines inside the major feeder-creek arm. This shoreline has a 30- to 60-degree slope. It is graced with three tertiary points and two secondary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and the flat and shallow-water sections of this shoreline are frequently covered with massive patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and occasional wads of filamentous algae. The water’s edge is often enhanced with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows and several well-aged laydowns. Two of the 11 largemouth bass were caught on the twilight Finesse TRD rig. Three of the 11 were caught on the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig. Six were caught on the Trick ShotZ rig. Three of the 11 were caught on the initial drop along the outside edges of the patches of American water willows. Two were caught around unadorned boulders and rocks in six to seven feet of water on a drag-and-shake presentation. One was caught on a swimming presentation adjacent to a massive wad of filamentous algae in about five feet of water. The other five were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in five to seven feet of water.

Along about a 450-yard stretch of the other shoreline inside this feeder-creek arm, I caught 24 largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. It is endowed with three secondary points and two tertiary points. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and many sections of this terrain are carpeted with significant patches of curly-leaf pondweeds; some of them are too thick to fish in the wind. The water's edge is adorned with numerous patches of winter-dead American water willows, one ancient rock fence, a few old laydowns, a dilapidated catfish feeder, and a few piles of brush. The steeper areas yielded the bulk of the 24 largemouth bass. Five of the 24 largemouth bass were caught on the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig, and the other 19 were caught on the Trick ShotZ rig. Two were caught between the significant gaps of the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds in about five feet of water. Five were caught on the initial drop; one was caught in the vicinity of the rock fence; the other four were caught immediately adjacent to the patches of American water willows in three to four feet of water. One was caught on a deadstick presentation in about seven feet of water around some rocks and boulders. The other 12 were caught on either a drag-and-shake presentation or a drag-and-pause presentation on the rocks and boulders in five to about nine feet of water.

Despite the bothersome wind, I eked out an average of 15 largemouth bass an hour. To the chagrin of all of the geriatric Midwest finesse anglers in northeastern Kansas, the National Weather Service is predicting that the wind will howl with gusts as high as 45 mph on April 6 and 40 mph on April 7. But on Monday to our delight, it will calm down to 5 mph, and many of us old-timers are hoping to be afloat.

April 8

Ned and Pat Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their April 8 outing at a 60-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that it was 22 degrees at 6:52 a.m. and 70 degrees at 3:52 p.m. After the wind howled as briskly as 46 mph on April 7, it was calm for seven hours during the morning on April 8, and when it stirred, it angled out of the southwest, west, northwest, and west at 5 to 13 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.81 at 12:52 a.m., 29.86 at 5:52 a.m., 29.92 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.90 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level was several inches above its normal level. The surface temperature ranged from 58 to 60 degrees. Our push pole, which we call a secchi stick, indicated that the water exhibited about six to seven feet of visibility around the dam. Vast wads of filamentous algae are wrapped around patches of coontail and an array of shallow-water objects, and the water clarity around some shallow-water areas was adversely affected by all of the algae.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 10:41 a.m. to 12:41 p.m., 11:07 p.m. to 1:07 a.m., and 4:28 a.m. to 6:28 a.m.

This was one of our typical conjugal and geriatric outings, but this one was enhanced by a partial solar eclipse, which made the sun a tad dimmer around 1:45 p.m., and it felt colder than it did at 1:00 p.m.

We made our first casts at 12:19 p.m. and our last casts at 2:25 when we caught largemouth bass number 25.

We spent the first 64 minutes of this 126-minute outing fishing along the riprap shoreline of the dam, which is about as long as four football fields. It has a 50- to 75-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and much of this terrain is coated with wads of filamentous algae. The water’s edge is endowed with three small patches of winter-dead American water willows, a few logs, and some pieces of brush. We caught 13 largemouth bass. One was caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead with a drag-and-pause presentation in about seven feet of water. Four were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig; two were caught on the initial drop in about four to five feet of water, and two were caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in seven to eight feet of water. Eight largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead; one was caught on the initial drop in about three feet of water around a piece of brush; one was caught on a swimming presentation around a log; six were caught on a drag-and-pause presentations in six to nine feet of water, and a few pauses were long ones.

We spent about 12 minutes probing two small shallow-water flats, two shallow-water shorelines, and one shallow-water secondary point inside a tiny feeder-creek arm. The underwater terrain was saturated with wads of filamentous algae. Three largemouth bass were inveigled on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs with a swimming presentation that skimmed above the wads of filamentous algae in four to six feet of water.

We spent about 52 minutes of this outing quickly fishing along about a 125-yard stretch of a shallow-water shoreline, across a minor segment of a massive shallow-water flat, and along a 20-yard stretch of a steep shoreline inside a primary feeder-creek arm. We caught eight largemouth bass along the flat shoreline on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs; three were caught on the initial drop in about three feet of water around wads of filamentous algae; five were caught with a swimming presentation around and over wads of filamentous algae in four to five feet of water. Along the steeper shoreline, largemouth bass number 25 was caught on the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water in the vicinity of a laydown and wads of filamentous algae. The underwater terrains of the two shorelines consist of gravel, rocks, and some silt, and much of it is coated with filamentous algae and some patches of coontail and sago pondweeds.

In sum, we found that the most effective way to employ a Midwest finesse rig around these wads of filamentous algae was to use a 1/32-ounce jig that sports a number four hook. Ultimately, we caught an average of 11 largemouth bass an hour.

April 8

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 8 outing at a community reservoir in north-central Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

The black-bass fishing in this part of Texas hasn’t been too stellar so far this month. For example, on April 4 John Thomas of Denton and I ventured to a popular federal reservoir in north-central Texas, and it was a huge disappointment. Upon our arrival, we discovered that scores of anglers were practicing for a tournament scheduled for April 6, and we struggled to catch six largemouth bass and one spotted bass in six hours.

On April 8, I thought I would try to redeem myself after my miserable outing on April 4. My wife, Nancy, and I wanted to view the solar eclipse together first, and after it was over around 2:00 p.m., I fished for a couple of hours at a community reservoir in north-central Texas.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, fishing would be excellent, and the optimum fishing periods would take place from 5:18 a.m. to 7:18 a.m., 11:07 a.m. to 1:07 p.m., and 5:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

I fished from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

April 8 was humid. The morning low temperature was 50 degrees, and the afternoon high reached 84 degrees. The sky conditions varied from overcast to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy and sunny. A light wind blew out of the south-by-southeast at 5 to 8 mph. The barometric pressure fluctuated from 29.82 at 2:00 p.m. to 29.75 at 4:00 p.m.

I was surprised to find that the water was muddy and displayed eight to 10 inches of visibility. The water temperature was 71 degrees. The water level was a tad high, and a small trickle of water was flowing over the top of the concrete spillway that is located on the south end of this impoundment.

I started fishing around a decorative rock dam and a concrete spillway next to the dam on the lower end of the reservoir. The bottom terrain along the base of the dam is covered with softball-size rocks, some clay, and some small gravel. I slowly dissected this area with several of Z-Man’s Midwest finesse offerings, but I failed to garner any strikes.

After that, I fished my way northward along the east shoreline, and in the midsection of this shoreline, I caught two largemouth bass. This shoreline has a 15- to 25-degree slope. It is endowed with two primary points, three tertiary points, and a shallow gravel-and-clay ledge. These two largemouth bass were caught in about five feet of water near the deep-water side of the ledge. One of them was caught with a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. The other one was caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-orange TRD TicklerZ matched with a black 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig.

Next, I caught two largemouth bass and two large bluegill in three to five feet of water across a small portion of a shallow clay flat that occupies the upper end of this impoundment. These four fish were caught along the south edge of the flat where it drops off into deeper water. The two largemouth bass were allured by a slow swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig. The two bluegill were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the green-pumpkin-orange TRD TicklerZ rig.

From the upper end of the impoundment, I fished my way southward along the west shoreline and I caught seven more largemouth bass and another large bluegill. This shoreline features three small patches of winter-dormant water lilies that are beginning to sprout new stems, a shallow 30-yard-long clay-and-gravel ledge, two primary points, and three tertiary points. All seven of these largemouth bass and the large bluegill were abiding in three to five feet of water next to the deep-water side of the shallow gravel-and-clay ledge. Four of the seven largemouth bass and the large bluegill were beguiled by the green-pumpkin-orange TRD TicklerZ rig; one engulfed this rig on the initial fall, and the other three were enticed by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve. The other three largemouth bass were coaxed into striking the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig that was employed with a moderate-paced swimming presentation parallel to the ledge.

In closing, I caught 12 largemouth bass and three large bluegill in 120 minutes on two Midwest finesse rigs. Six largemouth bass and the three large bluegill were allured by the Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-orange TRD TicklerZ affixed on a black 1/20-ounce

Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig while it was implemented with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. The other three largemouth bass engulfed the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. This combo was utilized with either a slow- or moderately-paced swimming retrieve.

April 9

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on April 9 with Pok-Chi Lau of Lawrence at an 85-year-old northeastern Kansas' community reservoir.

Here is an edited version of that log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 33 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature was 70 degrees. The sky was fair. The wind was variable at times, and at other times it angled from the north, west, northwest, and northeast at 3 to 10 mph, and around 2:53 p.m. there was a gust of wind that hit 17 mph. The barometric pressure was 30.00 at 12:53 a.m., 30.04 at 5:53 a.m., 30.04 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.95 at 3:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be a few inches above normal. The surface temperature fluctuated from 58 to 60 degrees. At several locales, the water was afflicted with algal blooms, and the water at those locales exhibited three to four feet of visibility. Along the shorelines adjacent to the dam, there was about seven feet of clarity. Many of this reservoir's shorelines and points are embellished with fantastic patches of winter-dead American water willows. To our chagrin, we failed to find any significant patches of submerged aquatic vegetation.

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 7:14 a.m. to 9:14 a.m., 7:39 p.m. to 9:39 p.m., and 1:01 a.m. to 3:01 a.m.

We made our first casts at 11:08 a.m. and our last ones were executed at 3:19 p.m.

During this four-hour and 11-minute outing, we tangled with 41 largemouth bass and four smallmouth bass, and we accidentally caught six rainbow trout and two freshwater drum. We also estimated that we elicited around two dozen strikes that we failed to hook, and several of those strikes folded our Z-Man’s Finesse TRD rigs and Z-Man’s TRD TicklerZ rigs over the points of the hooks, making them into what we call a Z-Man's PretzelZ.

Pok Chi was hoping to tangle with some hefty smallmouth bass similar to the ones we used to catch at this reservoir a decade or so ago, such as the six-pound, 10-ounce one that we caught on April 19, 2013, and the six-pound, five-ounce one we caught on April 25, 2016.

One of those two smallmouth bass was caught offshore along a submerged rock fence in the lower section of this reservoir. We spent many minutes of the first hour of this outing probing this rock fence without eliciting a strike.

During the rest of that first hour, we struggled to catch four largemouth bass and two rainbow trout. But during the next three hours and 11 minutes, our catch rate improved significantly. But it was impossible to discern what were the best areas to fish and the most effective Midwest finesse rigs and retrieves to employ. It was such a hit-and-miss or helter-skelter outing that I am unable to accurately and cogently describe what occurred.

But here are the rigs we caught the 41 largemouth bass and four smallmouth bass on. Three were caught on the Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Eight were caught on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Nine were caught on a 2.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Nine were caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Sixteen were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. The rainbow trout were caught on the TRD TubeZ rig.

We caught them on a variety of presentations. One was caught on an accidental deadstick presentation. Nine were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. The other 30 were caught as we employed a drag-and-shake presentation or a drag-and-pause presentation or a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation, and one of these 30 were caught while we were strolling with a drag-and-shake presentation. Some were caught within a few feet of the water’s edge, and then on the next cast, we would catch one as far as 20 feet from the water’s edge.

In short, there was no rhyme or reason on how and where caught the 41 largemouth bass and four smallmouth bass.

Besides failing to elicit a strike on the submerged rock fence, we failed to catch a largemouth bass and smallmouth bass around four main-lake points, along significant portions of four main-lake shorelines, and along sections of four secondary shorelines, and around several secondary and tertiary points inside three feeder-creek arms.

We did catch one smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass along about a 75-yard stretch of the riprap shoreline of the dam. The first largemouth bass was caught by strolling and employing a drag-and-shake presentation about 20 feet from the water’s edge. The second largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop near the water’s edge. Then on the next cast, the smallmouth bass was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about six feet of water and 10 to 12 feet from the water’s edge.

In the lower half of this reservoir and along about a 100-yard stretch of a shoreline inside a major feeder-creek arm, we caught five largemouth bass. This shoreline is immediately adjacent to a main-lake point. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. It possesses a 30- to 45-degree slope. The water’s edge is graced with several laydowns, some patches of winter-dead American water willows, many overhanging trees and bushes, and some piles of brush. Around a tertiary point, we caught two largemouth bass on swim-glide-and-shake presentations in about three to four feet of water in close proximity to the water’s edge and piles of brush. On three consecutive casts, we caught three largemouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop near the water’s edge in about four feet of water; the other two were caught more than 20 feet from the water’s edge in about 10 feet of water; one of them was caught on a drag-and-shake retrieve, and the other one was caught on a drag-and-pause presentation.

Along a shallow riprap shoreline in the back half of this major feeder-creek arm, we caught a largemouth bass with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about four feet of water. This shoreline is littered with scores of piles of brush, and the largemouth bass was caught along a short stretch that was not littered with the piles of brush.

Along about a 300-yard section of another secondary shoreline inside this major feeder-creek arm, we caught two smallmouth bass and eight largemouth bass. One smallmouth bass was caught near the water’s edge inside a small pocket or dent in the shoreline; it was caught on a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in about three feet of water. Four largemouth bass were caught around a secondary point that is adorned with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows; these largemouth bass were caught on a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in about four to five feet of water and several feet from the outside edge of the patches of American water willows. This secondary point is about halfway inside this feeder-creek arm. More than halfway inside this major feeder-creek arm, we caught four largemouth bass and one smallmouth bass along this shoreline; the smallmouth bass was caught on the initial drop under an overhanging tree and near the water’s edge of a tertiary point. The four largemouth bass were caught on either a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation or a drag-and-pause retrieve many feet from the water’s edge in the vicinity of some laydowns and piles of brush.

In the lower half of this reservoir and along a 20-yard stretch of a steep main-lake shoreline, which is where we caught the six-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth bass on April 19, 2013, we failed to catch a smallmouth bass. But we caught three small largemouth bass. One was caught on the initial drop near the outside edge of a patch of winter-dead American water willows; the second one was caught around some rocks and boulders on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about seven feet of water and about 10 feet from the water’s edge; the third one was caught around some rocks and boulders and more than 15 feet from the water’s edge on an accidental deadstick presentation.

In the lower half of this reservoir and around a main-lake point and along a 30-yard stretch of its main-lake shoreline and along a 20-foot stretch of its secondary shoreline, we caught one smallmouth bass and 10 largemouth bass. Two were caught on the initial drop of our rigs in about four feet of water; one was caught near the outside edge of a patch of winter-dead American water willows, and the other one was caught in about four feet around some boulders and adjacent to some overhanging terrestrial vegetation and one overhanging tree. The others were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation or a drag-and-pause presentation or a drag-and-shake presentation in eight to 10 feet of water and many feet from the water’s edge, and they were associated with rocks and boulders.

Inside a medium-size feeder-creek arm in the lower half of the reservoir, we fished along two secondary shorelines. We failed to elicit a strike along one of the shorelines. Around a flat secondary point along the other shoreline, we caught one largemouth bass on a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation in three to four feet of water in the vicinity of some patches of winter-dead American water willows. Near the mouth of this medium-size feeder-creek and adjacent to a dock, we caught a largemouth bass on the initial drop in about three feet of water and in close proximity to the outside edge of a patch of American water willows.

Inside a large feeder-creek arm and along about a 40-foot segment of a 250-yard stretch of a secondary shoreline, we caught four largemouth bass. This feeder-creek arm is situated in the lower half of the reservoir. The 40-foot segment is situated about 50 yards from the main-lake point and mouth of this feeder-creek arm. One largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop near a laydown in five feet of water. The other three were caught on either a swim-glide-and-shake presentation or a drag-and-pause presentation in six to seven feet of water around rocks and boulders. Even though the underwater terrain and the water’s edge of the rest of this 250-yard stretch of this shoreline was similar to the 40-foot stretch where we caught the four largemouth bass, we failed to catch another largemouth bass.

We spent the final 35 minutes of this outing fishing in the upper half of the reservoir.

Around a flat and shallow main-lake point, we caught three largemouth bass under an overhanging willow tree. They were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation many feet from the water’s edge in about five feet of water.

Along about a 100-yard stretch of this point’s main-lake shoreline, which possesses a 30- to 45-degree slope, we failed to garner a strike.

Along a relatively flat shoreline inside a medium-size feeder-creek arm, we caught one largemouth bass on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five feet of water many feet from the water’s edge. The second largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop quite close to the water’s edge, which is endowed with patches of winter-dead American water willows, in about three feet of water.

The last area that we fished was a main-lake point and a short segment of its secondary shoreline. This point and shoreline had been fruitfully fished several times today by one of our longtime and very talented Midwest finesse colleagues. But we were able to inveigle only one largemouth bass, which was largemouth bass number 41. It was caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in the vicinity of some patches of winter-dead American water willows and piles of brush in about five feet of water.

Even though we couldn’t determine what the largemouth bass and smallmouth bass were doing and where and how we should fish for them, we somehow caught slightly more than 10 of them an hour. In short, it was a baffling four hours and 11 minutes of fishing, and my nearly 84-year-old mind couldn’t keep track of what was going on. Thus, I am unable to post a detailed and coherent log on how, when, and where we caught and couldn’t catch this reservoir’s largemouth bass and smallmouth bass.

April 12

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, posted a log about their outing at an 82-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas on April 12.

Here is an edited version of this log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 41 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 68 degrees. The wind angled out of the west and northwest at 6 to 13 mph; there were some 20- to 21-mph gusts erupting from 10:53 a.m. to 12:53 p.m. The condition of the sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.01 at 12:53 a.m., 30.09 at 5:53 a.m., 30.18 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.15 at 3:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be about normal. The surface temperature ranged from 56 to 58 degrees. Significant wads of filamentous algae littered some of the shallow-water shorelines, and some of these wads covered some of the patches of coontail and winter-dead American water willows and an array of underwater objects. Some tiny wads of filamentous algae were floating on the surface all over this reservoir; we suspect that the many days of extremely windy weather are responsible for the creation of these floating wads. What’s more, algae blooms are afflicting some of the areas that we fished; these blooms have reduced the water clarity to about three feet, and we also suspect that the many days of intense winds and waves have helped spawn and spread these blooms. The water in the vicinity of the dam was not afflicted with an algae bloom, and the water exhibited more than six feet of visibility. We were pleased to see some curly-leaf pondweed stems floating on the surface. When this reservoir was afflicted with an intense eruption of red euglena in 2021, many of the patches of coontail disappeared, and we suspect and are now hoping that the curly-leaf pondweeds will take root on those locales where vast patches of coontail once reigned and provided an excellent habitat for the largemouth bass and crappie to abide and fruitful areas for Midwest finesse anglers to catch and immediately release scores of largemouth bass and a few smallmouth bass.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 2:07 a.m. to 4:07 a.m., 2:36 p.m. to 4:36 p.m., and 8:22 a.m. to 10:22 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:28 a.m. and executed our last ones at 2:38 p.m.

During the first 68 minutes of this outing, we were delighted to catch 24 largemouth bass. But during the next 182 minutes, it was a puzzling chore to catch eight largemouth bass and to accidentally catch three hefty black crappie.

Throughout this 250-minute outing, we caught one largemouth bass on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. A Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead caught one largemouth bass. Ten largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Trick ShotZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. A Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead caught 22 largemouth bass.

Inside a small feeder-creek arm, we caught seven largemouth bass. This feeder creek is located in the middle section of the reservoir. The shorelines inside this feeder-creek arm are cluttered with 14 large docks, one concrete retaining wall, and two concrete boat ramps. These shorelines possess a 25- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, and some of this terrain is quilted with patches of coontail and many wads of filamentous algae. These largemouth bass were caught on our Trick Shotz rigs. Three were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. The others were caught as we employed a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Three were caught around one of the docks. The others were caught around the wads of filamentous algae and patches of coontail in about four to six feet of water along the areas that have a 25- to 30-degree slope.

Around a main-lake point at the mouth of this small feeder-creek arm, along about a 350-yard stretch of this point’s main-lake shoreline, and around the main-lake point at the end of this main-lake shoreline, we caught 14 largemouth bass. These points possess a 30- to 35-degree slope, and the main-lake shoreline possesses a 25- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrains consist of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally enhanced with patches of coontail. Wads of filamentous algae cling to some of the underwater objects and patches of coontail. Some of the boulders are gigantic. The water’s edge is lined with several patches of winter-dead American water willows, several overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation, pieces of brush, a few laydowns, and two tertiary points. All of these largemouth bass were caught on our twilight Finesse TRD rigs. Eight were caught around the second main-lake point, and six were caught along the main-lake shoreline. Seven were caught on the initial drop in four to five feet of water. The other seven were caught as we employed a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. Seven were caught in the vicinity of the patches of winter-dead American water willows.

A main-lake point in the vicinity of the dam was fruitless, but we did eke out one largemouth bass along the main-lake shoreline adjacent to this main-lake point. It was caught on the twilight Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in six to seven feet of water and many feet away from the outside edge of several patches of winter-dead American water willows. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally embellished with patches of coontail and main-made piles of brush. It possesses a 45- to 60-degree slope. Its water’s edge is lined with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows.

We failed to garner a strike along the riprap shoreline of the dam and along the steep (or bluff-like) shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam. But we caught one largemouth bass around the main-lake point at the end of this steep main-lake shoreline. It was caught on the initial drop of the TRD HogZ rig in about four feet of water immediately in front of a massive patch of winter-dead American water willows. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders.

In the upper half of the reservoir, we failed to elicit a strike around a small main-lake point and along about 75 yards of its main-lake shoreline. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; until a few years ago, this terrain used to be enhanced with patches of coontail. It possesses a 40- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge is enriched with many laydowns, stumps, some piles of brush, overhanging tree and terrestrial vegetation, and a few small patches of winter-dead American water willows. This is normally one of this reservoir’s most productive areas.

At the mouth of a large feeder creek in the upper half of this reservoir, we failed to get a strike around one of its main-lake points. But we caught one largemouth bass along about a 75-yard stretch of this point’s main-lake shoreline. It has about a 30- to 40-degree slope, and the underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The water’s edge is cluttered with an array of laydowns, some overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation, and a few patches of winter-dead American water willows. The largemouth bass was caught on our twilight Finesse TRD rig with a drag-and-pause presentation in about six feet of water around some rocks and boulders.

We caught another largemouth bass along this main-lake point’s secondary shoreline. This shoreline has a 30-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks. The water’s edge is lined with some patches of winter-dead American water willows. The initial drop of the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig in about 3 ½ feet of water along the outside edge of a patch of American water willows inveigled this largemouth bass.

But we failed to garner a strike along another 100 yards of this secondary shoreline and around its flat secondary point. This entire area has a 25- to 40-degree slope, which is adorned with gravel, rocks, boulders, patches of winter-dead American water willows, laydowns, overhanging trees, and piles of brush.

Ultimately, we caught one largemouth bass around the other main-lake point at the mouth of this large feeder-creek arm, and we caught two more largemouth bass along a 75-yard stretch of this point’s main-lake shoreline. Its secondary shoreline, however, was fruitless. This area has a 30- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are coated with some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation that we didn’t identify. The water’s edge is endowed with some patches of winter-dead American water willows, many overhanging trees and terrestrial vegetation, a series of steel pipes, and a few laydowns. The twilight Finesse TRD rig caught these largemouth bass. One was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water on the point in front of a patch of winter-dead American water willows. The other two were caught along the shoreline on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation adjacent to some patches of overhanging terrestrial vegetation in five to six feet of water.

In short, it was a struggle to catch an average of 7.5 largemouth bass an hour.

April 12

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about his April 12 outing at a federal reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of his brief.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 30 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 71 degrees. The wind angled out of the west and northwest at 3 to 12 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.05 at 12:52 a.m., 30.12 at 5:52 a.m., 30.21 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.16 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level was normal. The surface temperature was 54 degrees. In the areas I fished the water exhibited one to 2 ½ feet of visibility. There were scores of anglers either afloat or walking the shorelines; this was the first time I had seen this many anglers at this reservoir.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 2:07 a.m. to 4:07 a.m., 2:36 p.m. to 4:36 p.m., and 8:22 a.m. to 10:22 a.m.

I fished from sunrise at 6:46 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

I initially tried to fish the riprap shoreline of the dam, but the wind made the boat control and lure presentation difficult.

After that struggle, I spent the entire outing fishing wind-sheltered areas in the lower third of this reservoir. One of them was fruitless. But along the other two areas, I caught 69 fish, which included 40 largemouth bass, six smallmouth bass, 10 crappie, 10 white bass, three freshwater drum, and one saugeye. That is an hourly average of 6.5 black bass an hour and an average of 9.8 fish an hour.

These fish were caught along a massive main-lake shoreline and a series of shorelines inside a small feeder-creek arm.

The underwater terrain of the shorelines inside the small feeder-creek arm consists of gravel and rock, and there is also a stretch of riprap. The slope of these shorelines is primarily 25 to 35 degrees. This feeder creek yielded primarily largemouth bass.

The massive main-lake shoreline yielded a lot and a mixture of fish. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and some of its stretches are cluttered with standing timber, many laydowns, and scores of piles of brush.

My most effective Midwest rigs were a Z-Man’s molting-craw TRD HogZ affixed to a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig and a Z-Man’s watermelon-red TRD BugZ affixed to a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.

Most of the fish were caught in four to eight feet of water as I employed a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation.

April 15

Ned Kehde and Pok-Chi Lau of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their April 15 outing at an 84-year-old and heavily fished community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an unedited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 80 degrees. The wind angled out of the east, southeast, and south at 6 to 13 mph; and from 2:53 p.m. to 4:53 p.m., there were gusts that ranged from 22 to 25 mph, (and even before those gusts erupted, we elected to use our drift sock for the first time in 2024). The sky fluctuated from being fair to overcast to mostly cloudy to cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 29.87 at 12:53 a.m., 29.86 at 5:53 a.m., 29.88 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.80 at 3:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be normal. The surface temperature was 64 degrees. According to our nine-foot push pole, which we call a secchi stick, the water exhibited about six to seven feet of visibility at several locales. We were pleased to cross paths with some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, such as coontail and bushy pondweeds, at a variety of locales.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 5:10 a.m. to 7:10 a.m., 5:36 p.m. to 7:36 p.m., and 11:23 p.m. to 1:23 a.m.

We made our first casts at 11:12 a.m. and our last ones at 3:12 p.m. We were hoping to tangle with at least 50 largemouth bass during this four-hour outing. Instead, we struggled to tangle with 31 largemouth bass, three crappie, two warmouth, one green sunfish, and one white bass. We also elicited a multitude of meager strikes that we failed to hook.

One of the 31 largemouth bass was caught on a shortened Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. A 2.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig caught two largemouth bass. A Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught four largemouth bass. A Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig caught six largemouth bass. A Z-Man’s twilight Trick ShotZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead caught five largemouth bass. A Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead caught 14 largemouth bass.

We began this outing by fishing the shoreline of this reservoir’s 1,550-foot dam. It has a height of 58 feet with a 45- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally coated with a few meager patches of coontail, a tad of bushy pondweeds, and some wads of filamentous algae. When we failed to garner a strike along this shoreline, we realized that it was going to be a trying ordeal to catch 50 largemouth bass.

After that initial failure, we fished along about a 150-yard stretch of the main-lake shoreline that is immediately adjacent to the dam. It possesses a 25- to 35-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are endowed with bits of coontail, bushy pondweeds, and filamentous algae. The water’s edge is littered with 20 docks, and around five of those docks, we caught five largemouth bass, which in our eyes and minds was another sign that the largemouth bass was going to be a struggle. One of the five largemouth bass was caught on the TRD TicklerZ rig. Four were caught on the Trick ShotZ rig. They were caught in four to six feet of water. Two were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-subtle shake presentation. Three were caught on the initial drop.

We fished along about 250-yard stretch of the other main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to the dam. It possesses a 25- to 50-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally adorned with wads of filamentous algae, coontail, and bushy pondweeds. Some of the boulders are humongous, and there are many offshore piles of boulders, and some of them are parallel to a significant ledge. Portions of the water’s edge are endowed with a spillway, some concrete and rock retaining walls, an array of docks, a boat ramp, a main-lake point, and several tertiary points. One of the docks yielded three largemouth bass, which were caught on the TicklerZ rig with a dragging presentation in five to six feet of water. We were unable to elicit a strike elsewhere along this shoreline and its points.

We caught one largemouth bass along a shoreline immediately adjacent to a secondary point that is situated about 40 percent of the way inside a small feeder-creek arm in the lower half of the reservoir. This shoreline has a 30-degree slope. Its water’s edge is lined with a rock retaining wall and two docks. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which are enhanced with some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation that we failed to identify. Our Trick ShotZ rig and a swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught this largemouth bass around some of the submerged vegetation in about six feet of water. This was the only strike we elicited inside this feeder creek.

Around one of the main-lake points at the mouth of this feeder-creek arm, we caught four largemouth bass. This point has a 30- to 35-degree slope with a ledge that plummets into deep water. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally adorned with patches of coontail. The water’s edge consists of a rock retaining wall, one dock, and some winter-dead patches of American water willows. One of the four largemouth bass was caught around the dock on the TRD TicklerZ rig with a strolling and dragging presentation. The other three were caught on the TRD HogZ rig; two were caught on the initial drop along the outside edge of the patches of winter-dead American water willows in three feet of water; the third one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to five feet of water in the vicinity of some of the rocks and smaller boulders and several feet from the outside edge of the patches of American water willows.

Along a massive main-lake shoreline in the middle section of this reservoir, we caught seven largemouth bass. It has a 30- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are coated with some wads of filamentous algae, as well as some burgeoning patches of submerged aquatic vegetation that we did not identify. There are a substantial number of gigantic boulders and some significant ledges situated along this shoreline. The water’s edge is endowed with several patches of winter-dead American water willows, some overhanging trees, and 23 docks. These seven largemouth bass were caught on either the initial drop of our rigs or a drag-shake-and-pause presentation around or near the docks in four to nine feet of water.

We caught 11 largemouth bass around a main-lake point and along about a 300-yard stretch of a shoreline that is situated in the upper half of the reservoir. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Parts of this terrain are quilted with patches of coontail, a few patches of bushy pondweeds, and many wads of filamentous algae. It possesses a 25- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge consists of several concrete retaining walls, six docks, one small rock bridge, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, some patches of American water willows, and a few overhanging trees. Around the main-lake point, four of these 11 largemouth bass were caught along a ledge in 12 to 14 feet of water and many feet from the water’s edge. One was caught on the TRD TubeZ rig and three were caught on the Finesse TRD rig as we employed a drag-pause-and-shake presentation. The other seven were caught along the shoreline; one was caught on the TRD HogZ rig; another one was on the TRD TubeZ rig; five were caught on the Finesse TRD rig. Two were caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water; five were caught along about a 25-yard stretch of this shoreline as we employed a drag-pause-and-shake presentation in nine to 12 feet of water and many feet from the water's edge.

It was a disappointing struggle to catch only one largemouth bass along about a 250-yard section of another shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir. This area possesses a 25- to 70-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The shoreline is cluttered with many docks, some concrete retaining walls, a few rock retaining walls, several overhanging trees, one massive laydown, a few piles of brush, and an occasional patch of winter-dead American water willows. This largemouth bass was caught on a vertical presentation with the Finesse TRD rig at the front of a dock in about 12 feet of water.

In short, we were hoping to catch an average of at least 12 to 13 largemouth bass an hour. But we could muster only an average of 7.75 largemouth bass an hour and an average of 9.25 fish an hour.

April 16

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 16 outing with Todd Judy of Denton.

Here is an edited version of his log.

North-central Texas has received more than its fair share of rain, hail, and wind this spring, and we received another dose of wind and scattered showers during the morning hours of April 16.

It was humid on April 16. The sky conditions varied from overcast with rain to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy and sunny. The morning's low temperature was 69 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature climbed to 89 degrees. A robust and troublesome wind quartered continuously out of the south and southeast at 15 to 20 mph, and on a couple of occasions, it wailed up to 37 mph. The barometric pressure dropped from 29.75 at 9:00 a.m. to 29.72 at 2:00 p.m.

Because of the problematic wind, Todd and I elected to err on the side of caution and conducted a bank-walking excursion at three community reservoirs in north-central Texas.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the optimum fishing periods would take place from 6:09 a.m. to 8:09 a.m., 11:57 a.m. to 1:57 p.m., and 6:33 p.m. to 8:33 p.m. The calendar also indicated that the fishing would be great.

We fished at the first two impoundments from about 9:00 a.m. to noon, then we took a break for lunch. We fished at the last reservoir from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

When we arrived at the first community reservoir at about 8:50 a.m., it was raining. We waited about 10 minutes for the rain to stop, and then we began fishing.

The water at the first reservoir exhibited about 30 inches of clarity. The water level appeared to be normal. The water temperature was 70 degrees.

This reservoir’s upper and lower regions possess two concrete culverts with a connecting ditch that courses across the middle portion of the reservoir. The shorelines are endowed with scores of bald-cypress knees, several points, and a small brush pile. A shallow sand-and-gravel ledge extends about three to five feet from the water’s edge, and this ledge encompasses the entire impoundment. The ledge is covered with a foot of water and drops off into three to five feet of water. The deep-water side of the ledge is also adorned with several large walls of baby pondweeds mixed with vast amounts of filamentous algae. The bottom terrain consists of sand mixed with small pieces of gravel and rocks.

We were surprised to discover that the black-bass bite was non-existent at this impoundment; it yielded only one black crappie. We caught it in five feet of water from the deep-water side of a sand-and-gravel ledge at the lower end of the impoundment. It was caught on a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-orange ZinkerZ rigged on a blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig, and this rig was implemented with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. We were baffled as to why three prominent points, several smaller tertiary points, the two concrete culverts and portions of the connecting ditch, and the three other sand-and-gravel ledges were fruitless.

After we finished fishing at the first reservoir, we journeyed to the second one, and we struggled to catch 11 largemouth bass there.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists of small gravel and sand. There are a few tree limbs, bald cypress knees, and patches of boulders cluttering portions of the shorelines in the midsection of the impoundment. There are also several shallow sand-and-gravel ledges extending about five feet out from the water’s edge that parallel the shorelines. Several large patches of submerged baby pondweeds adorn portions of the deep-water sides of these ledges. The shorelines are relatively flat with 10- to 15-degree inclines.

We caught these 11 largemouth bass in the middle portion of the impoundment around several of the patches of baby pondweed that were situated closest to the shallow sand-and-gravel ledges in three to five feet of water.

We caught six of them on a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ matched with a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig that was employed with a slow-swimming retrieve over the top and around the edges of the patches of baby pondweeds. Three bass were caught on the initial fall of an unaltered five-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin ZinkerZ that was wacky-rigged weightless on a 1/0 straight-shank finesse hook. Two were tempted by a slow-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse ShadZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig.

At the third community reservoir, we caught nine largemouth bass and one large bluegill.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists of a combination of small gravel and sand. There are numerous tree limbs, bald-cypress tree knees, and other wood debris cluttering the shallow-water areas near the shorelines. Three sand-and-gravel ledges that extend about 10 feet out from the water’s edge are embellished with several large patches of baby pondweeds.

The shorelines in the upper and lower end of the impoundment are fairly flat with 15- to 20-degree inclines. The shorelines in the middle portion of the reservoir are steeper with gradients of 30 to 45 degrees. About 50 yards of this reservoir’s flatter shorelines are also adorned with bald-cypress trees and partially submerged bald-cypress knees.

The water exhibited 14 inches of clarity. We could see several spawning nests near the water’s edge at the upper end of the reservoir, and one of those nests was occupied by a largemouth bass. (We didn’t disturb this bass.) The water temperature was 71 degrees. The water level appeared to be normal.

We caught these nine largemouth bass and the large bluegill in three to five feet of water around the deep-water side of the shallow ledges where there were more partially submerged cypress knees and wood debris than patches of baby pondweeds.

Five largemouth bass were induced by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig; two were allured by a slow-swimming retrieve with a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ that was trimmed down to 3.25 inches and fastened to a blue 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig; one largemouth bass and one bluegill were caught on a swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig, and the ninth largemouth bass was caught on a slow-swimming retrieve with a chartreuse 1/20-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig sporting a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ.

All total, we caught 20 largemouth bass, one bluegill, and one crappie in four hours. Most of them were keeper size, and the heftiest one weighed five pounds and one ounce.

We failed to catch a largemouth bass from the first community reservoir, but we did catch 11 from the second impoundment, and nine from the third one.

April 19

Ned Kehde and Justin Shiney of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their outing at an 82-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on April 19.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 36 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 63 degrees. The wind was calm and variable for a short spell, and at other times it angled out of the north, northeast, and northwest at 3 to 10 mph; there was a 20-mph gust between 1:52 p.m. and 2:52 p.m. The sky was fair most of the time, but there were some minutes when there were a few clouds, several minutes when it was mostly cloudy, and a few minutes when it was partly cloudy. The barometric pressure was 30.23 at 12:52 a.m., 30.27 at 5:52 a.m., 30.31 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.25 at 2:52 p.m. Many anglers would describe the weather as exhibiting a post-cold-front demeanor.

The water level looked to be a few inches above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 61 to 62 degrees. According to our nine-foot push pool, the water exhibited more than 10 feet of clarity. Its shallow-water flats and shorelines are endowed with uncountable numbers of patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, which have overwhelmed most of the patches of coontail. Some of the stems of the curly-leaf pondweeds are more than six feet long. This exurban reservoir is usually heavily fished, but we were the only anglers afloat.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 8:04 a.m. to 10:04 a.m., 8:24 p.m. to 10:24 p.m., and 1:54 a.m. to 3:54 a.m.

Justin is an ardent multispecies angler, and this was his first time to use Midwest finesse tactics.

We made our first casts at 11:31 a.m. and our last ones around 1:48 p.m., which was when we caught largemouth bass number 60. Besides those largemouth bass, we also caught five crappie, two green sunfish, and one redear sunfish.

Three of the 60 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Four of the 60 were caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Trick ShotZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Eight of the 60 were caught on a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Eleven of the 60 were caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom. A significantly shortened Z-Man’s purple-rain SMH WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead caught 35 of the 60 largemouth bass. (The SMH WormZ is 6 1/2 inches long, and we remove 2 1/2 inches from its anterior section, making it four inches long. The anterior section will be used as a soft 2 1/2-inch stickbait affixed to a jig.)

We spent the entire two hours and 19 minutes fishing along about 250 yards of a main-lake shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam, along about a 100 stretch of the riprap shoreline of the dam, around two main-lake points at the mouth of a major feeder-creek arm, and along many yards of two massive shorelines inside a major feeder-creek arm.

We caught one largemouth bass around one of the main-lake points. This point possesses a 40- to 50-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are carpeted with a few patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edges are enhanced with intense patches of winter-dead American water willows that are interlaced with some curly-leaf pondweeds. The largemouth bass engulfed our twilight Finesse TRD with a drag-and-pause presentation in about seven feet of water on top of the rocks and boulders.

We caught two largemouth bass around the second main-lake point. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The water’s edges are enhanced with intense patches of winter-dead American water willows, which are interwoven with some meager sprouts of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds. The initial drop of the twilight Finesse TRD rig in about five feet of water inveigled both of these largemouth bass.

Along about a 350-yard stretch of one of the shorelines inside this feeder-creek arm, we caught 22 largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. It is endowed with three secondary points and two tertiary points. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and many sections of this terrain are carpeted with significant patches of curly-leaf pondweeds; some of them are too thick to fish with our Midwest finesse methods. The water's edge is adorned with numerous patches of winter-dead American water willows, one ancient rock fence, a few old laydowns, a dilapidated catfish feeder, and a few piles of brush. Some of the outside edges of the patches of winter-dead American water willows are intertwined with curly-leaf pondweeds. Along some stretches of this shoreline, there are offshore patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, and occasionally there is a significant gap or trough or channel between the inside edges of the offshore patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and the outside edges of the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds that are intertwined with the patches of winter-dead American water willows, and these troughs between the edges of curly-leaf pondweeds yielded a significant number of the 22 largemouth bass that we caught along this shoreline. The twilight Trick ShotZ rig caught two of the 22 largemouth bass. Another two of the 22 were caught on the twilight Finesse TRD rig. And 18 were caught on our purple-rain SMH WormZ rigs. We caught four on the initial drop of our rigs. Eight were caught on either a drag-and-shake presentation or a drag-and-pause presentation. Eleven were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. These bass were caught in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as 10 feet. Six of the 23 largemouth bass were caught along a stretch of this shoreline that is somewhat devoid of submerged patches of aquatic vegetation, and these six largemouth bass were caught around rocks and boulders, and two of these six were caught along the submerged rock fence.

We caught 21 largemouth bass along portions of a 400-yard stretch of the second shoreline inside the major feeder-creek arm. This shoreline has a 30- to 60-degree slope. It is graced with one tertiary point and two secondary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and the flat and shallow-water sections of this shoreline are frequently covered with massive patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and occasional wads of filamentous algae. Some of the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds have become so impenetrable that we elected not to fish them. Some segments of the water’s edges are enhanced with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows and several well-aged laydowns. Many of the outside edges of the patches of winter-dead American water willows are interlaced with patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. And we caught 12 of the 21 largemouth bass in the troughs or channels between the outside edges of the patches of American water willows intertwined with the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and the inside edges of the offshore patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig caught two of the 21 largemouth bass. The twilight Finesse TRD rig caught three largemouth bass. Eight were caught on the Finesse ShadZ rig. Another eight of the 21 largemouth bass were caught on the purple-rain SMH WormZ rig. Seven were caught on the initial drop of our rigs in four to five feet of water. A slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught 14 largemouth bass in about five to nine feet of water. Four of the 21 were caught along the underwater terrain that consists of rocks and boulders that are not enhanced by a significant amount of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds.

Ten largemouth bass were caught along about a 250-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to the dam and its spillway. This shoreline possesses a 45- to 85-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders are quite large, and they are carpeted with a few wads of filamentous algae, and a few of their crevices are enhanced with bits and pieces of curly-leaf pondweeds Some of the water’s edge is lined with intense patches of winter-dead American water willows and a couple of well-worn laydowns. Portions of the outside edges of the winter-dead American water willows are entwined with curly-leaf pondweeds. The twilight Finesse TRD rig caught three of the 10 largemouth bass, and the purple-rain SHM WormZ rig caught seven of the 10 largemouth bass. Five were caught on the initial drop in about four to five feet of water near the outside edge of the American water willows. The swim-glide-and-shake presentation caught five in about five to nine feet of water.

We caught largemouth bass numbers 57, 58, 59, and 60 along the riprap of the dam. The dam has a 45- to 50-degree slope. Much of the riprap consists of hefty boulders, and the crevices between these boulders are enhanced with some sprouts of curly-leaf pondweeds. Three of these four largemouth bass were caught on the twilight Trick ShotZ rig in four to six feet of water. One of the four was caught on the purple-rain SHM WormZ rig in five to six feet of water. They were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

In conclusion, this reservoir has never been a lunker hunter’s paradise. But for many years it has often been a numbers hunter’s utopia, and we are thankful that it still is. Thus, it allowed us to catch an average of 25 largemouth bass an hour during this two-hour-and-nineteen-minute outing.

April 19

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 19 outing with Rick Allen of Dallas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Rick Allen joined me for a five-hour excursion to one of several state reservoirs in north-central Texas. Neither one of us has fished at this impoundment in 2024.

The sky was overcast. The morning’s low temperature was 50 degrees, and the afternoon’s high was 73 degrees. The wind quartered out of the northeast at 12 to 15 mph. The barometric pressure was 30.14 at 9:00 a.m. and 30.07 at 2:00 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that black-bass fishing would be poor on April 19, and the best fishing would occur from 2:01 a.m. to 4:01 a.m., 8:11 a.m. to 10:11 a.m., and 8:32 p.m. to 10:32 p.m.

We fished from around 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and we caught a mixed bag of 45 largemouth bass, 11 spotted bass, and one hybrid-spotted bass. We also caught a channel catfish by accident.

We searched for these largemouth bass, spotted bass, and hybrid-spotted bass at two main-lake points, a main-lake flat, inside a small main-lake cove, and inside three feeder-creek arms. Two of the feeder-creek arms are located in the lower region of the reservoir. The two main-lake points, the main-lake flat, the small main-lake cove, and the third feeder-creek arm are located in the midsection of the reservoir.

The water was the clearest I have ever seen it, and it exhibited three feet of visibility. Normally, the visibility varies from 14 to 18 inches. The surface temperature ranged from 67 to 68 degrees. The water level was at full capacity.

This reservoir is graced with several varieties of aquatic vegetation: American pondweeds, American water willows, hydrilla, muskgrass, coontail, and yellow floating hearts. The yellow floating hearts are not a native aquatic plant, and they are castigated as a noxious weed by many folks.

The underwater terrain consists of mostly clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, and a few scattered boulders. The shorelines are also embellished with numerous rock retaining walls, laydowns, brush piles, overhanging bushes and trees, and boat houses.

We employed an array of Midwest finesse rigs, and six of them were effective: a Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead enticed 27 of these 57 black bass; a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Slim SwimZ matched with a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead allured 15 black bass; a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Slim SwimZ induced 10 black bass; two bass were tempted by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Slim SwimZ matched with a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead; two other bass were caught on a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead; and one spotted bass was tempted by a 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

A slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation was the most effective presentation with the watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ, the green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ, and the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ rigs. A steady-swimming retrieve was the most effective retrieve with the two watermelon-red Slim SwimZ rigs and the green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig.

Overall, we failed to elicit any strikes across the medium-size clay-and-gravel main-lake flat and around the two rocky main-lake points. Eleven black bass were caught in three to seven feet of water around four boat docks, two piers, two concrete boat ramps, and several large patches of hydrilla inside the main-lake cove.

The other forty-six black bass and the one channel catfish were caught throughout the three feeder-creek arms in water as shallow as two feet and as deep as 13 feet. Rock- and boulder-laden shorelines, secondary points, submerged chunky rocks reinforcing the foundations of several rock retaining walls in the middle sections of these creek arms, and one 25-yard section of a cattail and rock-laden shoreline were the most productive areas. It didn’t seem to matter if these rocky areas were steep or flat as long as there was an abundance of rocks and boulders.

In conclusion, the black-bass fishing at this reservoir was the most bountiful outing that we have experienced in 2024. What’s more, this is also the most bountiful outing we have ever experienced at this reservoir. The previous record for us at this impoundment was set on Aug. 29, 2022, when John Thomas of Denton, Texas, and I caught 50 black bass (40 spotted bass, seven largemouth bass, and three hybrid-spotted bass) in four hours and 40 minutes.

April 22

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 22 outing with Bear Brundrett of Valley View, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

From 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Bear and I fished at a popular and heavily fished federal hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas. This was Bear’s first outing in 2024.

It was sunny, and the sky was cloudless. The morning’s low temperature was 45 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature peaked at 73 degrees. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southeast at 15 to 20 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.27 at 10:00 a.m. and dropped to 30.16 by 4:00 p.m.

According to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, fishing would be great with the most productive periods occurring from 3:46 a.m. to 5:46 a.m., 9:56 a.m. to 11:56 a.m., and 10:16 p.m. to 12:16 a.m.

We concentrated our efforts in this reservoir’s lower region, where the vast majority of its submerged terrain is composed of red clay, small gravel, chunk rocks, and countless numbers of large boulders. During this five-hour endeavor, we fished a variety of locales inside three feeder-creek arms. Two of the creek arms are situated in the lower section of the west tributary arm, and the third one is located in the lower portion of the east tributary arm.

The water level was 1.34 feet high. The water temperature ranged from 64 to 65 degrees. The water displayed 3 1/2 feet of visibility.

Inside these three feeder-creek arms, we targeted a slew of rocky secondary points and shorelines, a lengthy rock ledge, a couple of large clay-and-gravel flats, and portions of a large island. Most of these areas are graced with numerous patches of submerged Eurasian milfoil that lie in two to nine feet of water.

The black-bass fishing was slow but fairly steady. We caught a total of 20 black bass, which consisted of 12 spotted bass and eight largemouth bass.

Three spotted bass and one largemouth bass were caught inside the first feeder-creek arm. This creek arm in located in the lower end of the west tributary arm. Two of the three spotted bass and one largemouth bass were caught in five to nine feet of water from the deep-water side of a lengthy rock ledge that parallels the east shoreline in the middle section of the creek arm. They were caught many yards apart from each other and were enticed by a steady-swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Another spotted bass was caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five feet of water from around a patch of large boulders that adorn a 35-yard section of shoreline in the lower end of the creek arm. We failed to garner any strikes around a large clay-and-gravel flat that is embellished with a floating tractor-tire reef and several patches of Eurasian milfoil. And another clay flat adorned with several large patches of milfoil was fruitless.

Inside the second feeder-creek arm, which is located about two miles from the first one, we caught four largemouth bass and three spotted bass. These seven black bass were abiding in two to seven feet of water and 15 to 35 feet from the water’s edge along one side of a wind-blown flat and rock-laden secondary point in the lower end of the creek arm. All seven of these black bass were allured by a slow swim-and-glide presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s watermelon ZinkerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. We also dissected two other rocky secondary points and several pockets that are cluttered with large patches of Eurasian milfoil in the lower and middle sections of this creek arm, but we failed to elicit any strikes.

We finished the outing inside a major feeder-creek arm in the lower end of the east tributary arm, and we caught six spotted bass and three largemouth bass. One largemouth bass was caught from a large shallow patch of Eurasian milfoil in three feet of water on a flat sand-and-gravel shoreline on one side of a large island at the lower end of the creek arm. Two largemouth bass and three spotted bass were caught in four to seven feet of water from several large patches of Eurasian milfoil that are spread across a 75-yard stretch of a rocky shoreline in the midsection of the creek arm. And three spotted bass were caught from two medium-size patches of Eurasian milfoil that lie in three to six feet of water inside a large pocket of a shoreline at the lower end of the creek arm. All nine of these black bass were allured by a slow swim-and-glide retrieve over the top and around the sides of the patches of milfoil with the watermelon ZinkerZ rig. Several other rocky secondary points, shorelines, and pockets in this creek arm were fruitless.

In closing, this reservoir hasn’t been very bountiful so far this year. On April 4, John Thomas of Denton and I struggled to catch six largemouth bass and one spotted bass during a six-hour endeavor at this same impoundment, and we had a difficult time locating and catching 13 largemouth bass in 5 1/2 hours on March 5.

April 23

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 23 outing with Bear Brundrett of Valley View, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Bear and I ventured to another Federal reservoir in north-central Texas on April 23. This is a different reservoir than the one we fished on April 22.

We fished from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

During this outing, we opted to seek shelter from the blustery wind and fished inside four feeder-creek arms, probed two main-lake points, a portion of a riprap-laden dam, and dissected portions of a large bay. Three of these four creek arms and the large bay are situated in the southwest tributary arm, and the fourth creek arm lies on the lower end of the east tributary arm. All of these areas are located in the lower region of the reservoir.

The sky conditions varied from partly cloudy to mostly cloudy to overcast. The morning’s low temperature was 55 degrees. The afternoon’s high reached 80 degrees. The wind was troublesome and angled out of the south and southwest at 20 to 25 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.00 at 10:00 a.m. and 29.88 at 4:00 p.m.

The water level was 1.43 feet above its normal level. The surface temperature was 65 degrees. We were disheartened to discover that the water was muddy from the runoff from several recent thunderstorms and exhibited 12 inches or less of visibility in most of the places that we fished. But we found 18 inches of clarity at one large cove inside a major feeder-creek arm in the east tributary arm.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar table, the most productive fishing periods would occur between 4:24 a.m. and 6:24 a.m., 10:35 a.m. and 12:35 p.m., and 10:56 p.m. to 12:56 a.m. It also noted that fishing would be excellent.

We targeted a variety of secondary points, secondary shorelines, pockets, and three concrete boat ramps that are spread out from the lower to the middle sections of the four feeder-creek arms. We positioned the boat in 10 to 12 feet of water and fished in water as shallow as two feet and as deep as eight feet, and most of these locales were fruitless.

Inside the first feeder-creek arm, which is located on the south side of the southwest tributary arm, we caught one largemouth bass and one spotted bass along a 50-yard section of a flat clay-and-pea-gravel shoreline. This shoreline is located on the west side of a small cove and adjacent to the boat ramp where we launched the boat. Both of these black bass were abiding in three to five feet of water and 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge. They were caught on a swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

We then dissected two rocky secondary points, portions of two rocky shorelines, and the flooded buck brush that adorn the main-lake point at the mouth of this creek arm, and we failed to generate a strike.

Inside the second feeder-creek arm, which is located on the north side of the tributary and about a mile west of the first one, we slowly dissected two sections of an island at the mouth of this creek arm, three rocky and flat shorelines, and three rocky secondary points, but we were unable to generate any strikes inside this creek arm.

After that, we traveled about a mile eastward and fished inside a large bay on the south side of the tributary arm. We caught one largemouth bass in three feet of water. It was relating to the outside edge of a patch of flooded buck brush along a flat clay, gravel, and chunk rock shoreline in the upper section of the bay. It was caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-orange ZinkerZ affixed on a blue 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

Besides this shoreline, we also probed two flat and gravel-laden shorelines, a dilapidated asphalt roadbed, and a shallow rock ledge that is about 35 yards long, and we failed to elicit any strikes.

The third feeder-creek arm is located a short distance from the bay that we just fished, and it wasn’t too productive either. We fished a shallow rock pile, a gravel and clay flat, and a portion of a rocky shoreline at the mouth of this creek arm, and we caught one largemouth bass. This bass was relating to the shallow rock pile in three feet of water. It was caught on the 2 1/2-inch green-pumpkin-orange ZinkerZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.

From the third creek arm, we decided to travel a couple of miles eastward to a large dam covered with riprap. We fished about 75 yards of its west end and searched for threadfin shad and black bass with our sonar devices along the center section and its east end, and we failed to locate any largemouth or spotted bass.

We finished this outing inside a major feeder-creek arm located in the lower section of the east tributary arm. Inside a large cove that is situated in the midsection of this creek arm, the water clarity increased from 12 inches to 18 inches. This cove also contains a large marina, and we caught seven largemouth bass. These bass were scattered along a 200-yard section of a flat shoreline that is adorned with clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, flooded buck brush, and stickups. They were abiding in less than five feet of water and near the outside edges of the flooded buck brush. All of them were coaxed into striking a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This combo was employed with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

After we finished fishing the cove, we probed two concrete boat ramps in the middle section of this creek arm. One of the boat ramps yielded one largemouth bass, and the other ramp and some chunk rocks bordering this boat ramp relinquished two spotted bass. These three black bass were allured by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ combo.

Overall, this was what we consider to be an average outing. We fished for six hours, and though the fishing was slow, we managed to eke out 14 black bass. Eleven of them were largemouth bass and three were spotted bass.

We used a plethora of Z-Man’s Midwest finesse offerings, and our most effective lure was a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

The most effective presentation was a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.

April 23

Ned Kehde and Steve Clark of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their outing at an 82-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on April 23.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 50 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 77 degrees. The wind was calm at 5:52 a.m., and during the rest of the time, it angled out of the south, southwest, and west at 5 to 16 mph, and there were a few gusts of wind that ranged from 17 to 24 mph. The sky was overcast from 8:52 a.m. to 10:52 a.m., and it was fair before and after those two hours. The barometric pressure was 29.86 at 12:52 a.m., 29.85 at 5:52 a.m., 29.92 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.95 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about two feet below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 61 to 63 degrees. Our nine-foot dipstick revealed that there were about four to 6 ½ feet of visibility. To our delight, we fished around several burgeoning shallow-water patches of Eurasian milfoil, which we hope the managers of this reservoir will cultivate and manually maintain. We were also pleased to notice that all of the patches of American water willows that border this reservoir’s water’s edges are beginning to sprout some green stems and leaves.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 10:28 a.m. to 12:28 p.m., 10:49 p.m. to 12:49 a.m., and 4:17 a.m. to 6:17 a.m.

We made our first casts at 12:30 p.m., and our last ones when we caught black bass number 50 at 3:45 p.m. During this three-hour and 15-minute outing, we caught 49 largemouth bass and one smallmouth bass, and accidentally caught 24 green sunfish, seven crappie, one hefty channel catfish, and one bluegill.

One of the 49 largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two largemouth bass were caught on a four-inch section of the posterior of the Z-Man’s purple-rain SMH WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Six largemouth bass were caught on a 2 ¼-inch section of the anterior of a Z-Man’s purple-rain SMH WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. One smallmouth bass and 14 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. A Z-Man's The Deal Finesse TRD affixed to either a baby-blue 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead or a blue 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig caught 26 largemouth bass.

We spent the entire outing fishing along 11 shorelines and around five main-lake points in the lower half of the reservoir. We turned on the outboard engine only at the beginning of the outing and at the end of the outing. Thus, we relied on the trolling motor to propel the boat along these shorelines and around the points from our first casts to our last ones.

The first four largemouth bass were caught along about a 100-yard section of the main-lake shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam’s spillway. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 40-degree slope. It is lined with a few partially submerged patches of American water willows. One of the four largemouth bass was caught on the four-inch Z-Man’s SMH WormZ rig and three were caught on the 2 ¼-inch Z-Man’s SMH WormZ rig. They were caught in the vicinity of the patches of American water willows in about three to six feet of water. One was caught on the initial drop. The others were caught with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

Along the shoreline of the spillway, we caught one largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 20-degree slope. The water’s edge is graced with many slightly submerged patches of American water willows and one patch of slightly submerged cattails. This largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the 2 1/4-inch Z-Man’s SMH WormZ rig in about three feet of water.

We caught one smallmouth bass and seven largemouth bass along the rock- and boulder-laden shoreline of the dam. It possesses about a 50-degree slope. Its water’s edge is endowed with occasional patches of somewhat submerged American water willows, a riprap jetty that supports an outlet tower, a few logs, several submerged eastern cedar trees, and some meager piles of limbs and branches. One largemouth bass was caught on the four-inch Z-Man’s SMH WormZ rig with a drag-and-shake presentation in about six to seven feet of water. Two were caught on the 2 ¼-inch Z-Man’s SMH WormZ rig with a drag-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water. The smallmouth bass and one of the seven largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop of the Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD in about five feet of water. Three largemouth bass were caught on the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water.

Along two massive shorelines inside a large feeder-creek arm that is immediately adjacent to the dam, we caught 13 largemouth bass.

One of these shorelines yielded four largemouth bass. It has a 25- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Portions of this terrain are enhanced with patches of Eurasian milfoil, wads of filamentous algae, and other kinds of submerged aquatic vegetation. Some of the boulders are humongous, and there are several significant piles of them. It is lined with partially submerged patches of American water willows, one tertiary point, some stumps, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, one boat ramp, and one dock. Two of the four largemouth bass were caught on our Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD rig. The other two were caught on our Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rig. One was caught on the initial drop adjacent to a stump in about three feet of water. The other three were caught on an extremely slow swim-and-pause presentation in about five to six feet of water. 

We caught nine largemouth bass along the other shoreline inside this large feeder-creek arm. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and sand. Some segments of this underwater terrain are adorned with several burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil and many wads of filamentous algae. It possesses a 25- to 50-degree slope. Its water’s edge is adorned with some partially submerged patches of American water willows, two tertiary points, several overhanging trees, a few piles of brush, one concrete retaining wall, and three docks. We caught one of the nine largemouth bass on the initial drop of the TRD HogZ rig in about three feet of water. The others were caught on our Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rigs with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to seven feet of water.

Around a main-lake point at the mouth of this large feeder-creek point, we caught two largemouth bass. It possesses a 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks. The water’s edge is featureless. The largemouth bass were caught on our Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rigs with a slow-glide-and-shake presentation.

We caught five largemouth bass along the main-lake shoreline that is immediately adjacent to the main-lake point at the mouth of the large feeder-creek arm. The shoreline looks to be about 250-yards long. It has a 30- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rock, and boulders, which are intermittently coated with some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation that we felt but did not identify. Some of the boulders are quite large. The water’s edge is graced with a few partially submerged patches of American water willows and one boat ramp. These largemouth bass were caught on our Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rigs. One was caught on the initial drop in about two feet of water by a shallow-water pile of rocks and boulders. The others were caught as we employed a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to six feet of water.

Along two shorelines inside of a small feeder-creek arm that is immediately adjacent to this 250-yard main-lake shoreline, we struggled to catch two largemouth bass. These shorelines have a 30- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and some boulders, which are enhanced with some patches of Eurasian milfoil, wads of filamentous algae, and other kinds of aquatic vegetation that we felt with our rigs but did not identify. The water’s edge is lined with partially submerged patches of American water willows, two tertiary points, one dock, a boat house, a partially submerged patch of cattails, several overhanging trees, and a few small piles of brush. One was caught on our Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around one of the tertiary points in about four feet of water. The second largemouth bass was caught on our Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD rig under an overhanging tree and near a patch of American water willows on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five feet of water.

Around a main-lake point at the mouth of this small feeder-creek point, we caught two largemouth bass. This point possesses a 35- to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and bounders. The water’s edge is featureless. One largemouth bass was caught on the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rig, and the second one was caught on the Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD rig. They were caught while we were using a slow-glide-and-shake presentation in four to six feet of water.

We caught five largemouth bass along a main-lake shoreline that is immediately adjacent to this main-lake point. The shoreline looks to be about 350- to 400-yards long. It has a 25- to 45-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rock, and boulders, and some of the boulders are quite humongous, approaching the size of our boat. Portions of the shallow-water areas are enhanced with some offshore patches of Eurasian milfoil, which yielded two of the five largemouth bass. The water’s edges are endowed with many partially submerged patches of American water willows, some laydowns, and several overhanging trees. Four of the largemouth bass were caught on our Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD rigs and one was caught on the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rig. They were caught as we employed a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about four to five feet of water.

Inside a very tiny feeder-creek arm that is immediately adjacent to the 350- to 400-yard shoreline, we caught four largemouth bass. This shoreline has a 20- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and a few boulders, which are coated with several patches of Eurasian milfoil. All four of the largemouth bass were caught around the patches of Eurasian milfoil. Three were caught on the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rig. The fourth one was caught on the Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD rig. One was caught on the initial drop, and the other three were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in three to five feet of water.

We finished this outing along another main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to this tiny feeder-creek arm. We fished it until we caught largemouth bass number 49 or black bass number 50. It possesses a 25- to 35-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and a few boulders. Much of the water’s edge is flat and featureless, but along the steeper sections that contain some partially submerged patches of American water willows, we caught four largemouth bass. One was caught on the Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rig. Three were caught on the Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD rig. We caught them by executing a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five feet of water.

In sum, we caught an average of slightly more than 15 black bass an hour and an hourly average of 24.9 fish an hour. Nineteen of the 49 largemouth bass were caught inside the feeder-creek arms. The smallmouth bass and 30 of the 49 largemouth bass were caught around and along main-lake locations.

April 24

Ned Kehde contributed a few observations about his outing with Dennis Horner and Trent Besse of Lexana, Kansas to an 84-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas, where they were unable to decipher any creditable lure, presentation, and location for inveigling a significant number of largemouth bass.

Here is an edited version of his observations.

The low temperature was 43 degrees and the high temperature was 73 degrees. The sky was fair. The wind ranged from being calm to variable to angling out of the northwest, north, south, southwest, and southeast at 3 to 7 mph. The barometric pressure was 30.11 at 12:53 a.m., 30.16 at 5:52 a.m., 30.12 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.14 at 3:53 p.m. The weather was ideal for using Midwest finesse to catch oodles of largemouth bass.

The water level looked to be normal. The surface temperature ranged from 61 to 63 degrees. Our nine-foot dipstick revealed that there were about five to 6 ½ feet of visibility. There were many burgeoning patches of submerged aquatic vegetation sprouting across scores of shallow-water locales. And there were untold numbers of grass carp swimming amongst many of these shallow-water environs. The winter-dead patches of American water willows exhibited spouts of green stems and leaves. The water conditions were ideal for us to tangle with an array of largemouth bass with our Midwest finesse rigs and presentations.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:10 p.m. to 1:10 a.m., 4:59 a.m. to 6:59 a.m., and 5:21 p.m. to 7:21 p.m. The calendar indicated that the fishing would be excellent.

We made our first casts at 11:01 a.m. and our last ones at 3:20 p.m. And during these four hours and 19 minutes, we found the fishing to be nonsensical and wretched. Because I was totally puzzled and I continue to be puzzled about what was going on with the largemouth bass, I am unable to compose a normal Finesse News Network log.

The only thing that I know is that there were uncountable fruitless yards of shorelines, several unproductive offshore humps, and numerous barren primary, secondary, and tertiary points. Even when we hooked a largemouth bass, which happened only 17 times, it was impossible to determine how that happened.

Likewise, Aaron Suess was afloat on this reservoir from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on April 24. He is a talented largemouth bass angler and a savvy forward-facing sonar devotee who lives at this reservoir and fishes it with astounding regularity. He reported that it was a tussle for him to catch 15 largemouth bass, which he allured out of 15 to 25 feet of water. His sonar device pinpointed the whereabouts of some largemouth bass close to the shorelines and under the walkways of numerous docks, which is a normal area for them to be in late April and eventually spawn around in May, but he could not elicit a strike from these fish.

For several weeks, Aaron and I have surmised that something is awry with the largemouth bass at this reservoir this year.

For instance, during the first four months of 2023, I fished this reservoir four times for a total 10 hours and caught 94 largemouth bass, which is an average of nine largemouth bass an hour. The most bountiful outing occurred on April 26, 2023, when Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, and I fished this reservoir and caught 51 largemouth bass in four hours. It is interesting to note that the weather and water conditions were similar on April 26, 2023 to the conditions on April 24, 2024.

During the first four months of 2024, I have fished this reservoir five times for a total of 19 hours and one minute, and it has been a struggle to hook 78 largemouth bass, which is a measly four largemouth bass an hour. 

At times, this reservoir still yields some hefty specimens. This is one of them, which Dennis, Trent, and I tangled with on our April 24 outing. But as I have noted regularly on the Finesse News Network, I prefer eliciting scores of strikes and hooking at least 10 black bass an hour (with hopes of catching as many as 25 an hour on the best of days), and none of the 10 to 25 black bass have to be the size of this one to make it an enjoyable outing. In other words, I am a numbers angler, not a lunker hunter. Thus, it is likely that Dennis, Trent, and I will not venture to this waterway very often in 2024 or until Aaron tells us that we can catch at least 10 largemouth bass an hour.

April 24

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about his April outing at a 46-year-old power-plant reservoir in northeastern Kansas. This reservoir used to be one the most bountiful largemouth bass, crappie, and temperate bass waterways in northeastern Kansas. It was often lauded as the state's lunker heaven for largemouth bass anglers. But during the past several years, it has become a very trying waterway.

Here is an edited version of his brief.

The nearest office of the National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 43 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 73 degrees. The wind fluctuated from being calm and variable to angling out of the southeast and south at 3 to 7 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.11 at 12:53 a.m., 30.16 at 5:53 a.m., 30.20 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.14 at 3:53 p.m.

Surrounding the power plant, there is a huge mound of coal, and with the sunny skies and calm conditions, I witnessed a couple of towering dust devils that flung black-coal dust several hundred meters into the sky.

The water level looked to be normal. The surface temperature warmed to 66 degrees. The water exhibited about 2 ½ feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:10 p.m. to 1:10 a.m., 4:59 a.m. to 6:59 a.m., and 5:21 p.m. to 7:21 p.m.

I made my first cast around 6:30 a.m. and the last one around 3:00 p.m. I spent these 8 ½ hours searching for largemouth bass in the lower quarter of the reservoir.

Except for fishing a short section of a submerged and offshore roadbed, I spent the outing dissecting many yards of the riprap shorelines that border the power plant and its auxiliary areas, a roadway, and the dam. The dam's riprap shoreline was the most fruitful location.

My most effective Midwest finesse rigs were a well-worn 2 ½-inch Z-Man’s Junebug ZinkerZ attached to a red 1/12-ounce mushroom-style jig and a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ on a red 1/20-ounce mushroom-style jig. I primarily employed a swim-glide-and-subtle-shake retrieve in two to eight feet of water.

I caught 36 fish: one crappie, one carp, six channel catfish, 12 freshwater drum, and 16 largemouth bass. And six of the largemouth bass were 18 inches or longer.

April 25

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 25 outing with John Thomas of Denton.

Here is an edited version of his log.

John and I traveled 81 miles to fish for smallmouth bass at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas. This reservoir is known more for its outstanding striper fishing than its black-bass fishing. Neither one of us has fished at this reservoir in quite some time, and as we made this journey, we expressed our aspirations of locating and catching a significant number of smallmouth bass.

The sky was overcast, and it lightly sprinkled on us for a brief period at the end of our outing. The morning’s low temperature was 67 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 80 degrees. The wind was problematic and blew continuously out of the southeast at 15 to 25 mph. The barometric pressure fell from 29.99 at 9:00 a.m. to 29.88 at 3:00 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s solunar calendar noted that fishing would be average, and the best fishing would occur from 5:45 a.m. to 7:45 a.m., 11:42 a.m. to 1:42 p.m., and 12:06 p.m. to 2:06 p.m.

We fished in the lower region of this impoundment from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The water displayed seven feet of clarity. The water level was 1.30 feet below normal. The surface temperature was 63 degrees everywhere we fished.

The black-bass bite was sluggish. It took us 45 minutes to allure our first strike of the outing, which was a striped bass. But by the time we made our final casts at 3:00 p.m., we had managed to catch 22 smallmouth bass and one spotted bass. Besides the one striper, we also crossed paths with two freshwater drum and one channel catfish.

We probed four main-lake points and portions of nine lengthy secondary shorelines and seven major secondary points inside three feeder-creek arms. These main-lake points, secondary points, and shorelines have inclines that vary from 25 to 60 degrees. They are also endowed with small gravel, large rocks, and humongous boulders. Some of the massive boulders are larger than a pickup truck.

The four main-lake points yielded seven smallmouth bass, one striped bass, and two freshwater drum. The nine chunk-rock and boulder-laden shorelines yielded 11 smallmouth bass, and the rock-and-boulder-laden secondary points yielded four smallmouth bass and one spotted bass. These 27 fish were scattered and abiding in water as shallow as five feet and as deep as 14 feet.

Sixteen of the 22 smallmouth bass, the one spotted bass, both of the freshwater drum, and the one channel catfish were caught on either an extremely slow swimming retrieve or a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a shortened 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s watermelon Finesse WormZ matched with a black 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Two smallmouth bass and one striped bass were allured by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s mud-minnow Finesse TRD rigged on a black 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Two smallmouth bass were caught on a swim-and-pause retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. And two more smallmouths were caught on a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s watermelon ZinkerZ fastened on a black 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and implemented with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

In closing, we failed to locate any smallmouth bass, spotted bass, or largemouth bass in the middle and upper sections of the three feeder-creek arms. All 27 of these fish were caught around four main-lake points, around the rocky secondary points, and along secondary shorelines in the lower sections of the feeder-creek arms.

April 29

Ned and Pat Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebensteit of Shawnee, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their outing at an 82-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on April 29.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 42 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 75 degrees. The wind fluctuated from being calm to variable to angling out of the northwest, west, and southwest at 3 to 15 mph. The sky was fair most of the time. The barometric pressure was 29.84 at 12:52 a.m., 29.89 at 5:52 a.m., 29.99 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.82 at 2:52 p.m.

Mother Nature's stormy, rainy, and windy ways have played havoc with Midwest finesse anglers during the past several days. Consequently, we haven’t been afloat since April 24.

The water level at this reservoir is about three feet above its normal level. The surface temperature ranged from 65 to 66 degrees. Many of its shallow-water flats and shorelines are overwhelmed with patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, and all of its patches of American water willows were completely inundated. The water exhibited from five to seven feet of visibility. The parking lot at the boat ramp was chock full of boat trailers and tow vehicles.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 3:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m., 3:59 p.m. to 5:59 p.m., and 9:44 a.m. to 11:44 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:33 a.m. and our last ones around 2:33 p.m. Pat had other obligations at noon; therefore, she fished for about an hour. As we fished around and behind several anglers, it was a task to tangle with 33 largemouth bass, four crappie, one channel catfish, one green sunfish, and one bluegill.

One of the 33 largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Another one was caught on a Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Two were caught on a Z-Man’s Drew’s craw Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Another two were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-blue Finesse ShadZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Three were caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse ShadZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Ten were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jighead. Fourteen were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD affixed to a 1/15-ounce red Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

We fished along about 250 yards of a main-lake shoreline immediately adjacent to the dam, along about 95 percent of the riprap shoreline of the dam, around two main-lake points at the mouth of a major feeder-creek arm, around one main-lake point at the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm, along many yards of two massive shorelines inside a major feeder-creek arm, and along about a 125-yard stretch of another main-lake shoreline.

We failed to elicit a strike around two of the main-lake points at the mouth of a major feeder-creek arm. But we eked out two largemouth bass around the main-lake point at the mouth of the small feeder-creek arm. This point possesses a 35-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are carpeted with thick patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edges are enhanced with thick and completely flooded patches of American water willows interlaced with some curly-leaf pondweeds. These largemouth bass engulfed our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD and red jighead; one was caught on the initial drop in about five feet of water; the second one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to six feet of water.

Along the 125-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline, we caught two largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 45- to 55-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and sections of this terrain are adorned with significant patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water's edge is lined with patches of American water willows and a few laydowns. Some of the outside edges of the patches of American water willows are intertwined with curly-leaf pondweeds. These two largemouth bass were caught on the Junebug Finesse ShadZ rig; one was caught on the initial drop in about five feet of water; the second one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in six to seven feet of water.

We caught one largemouth bass along the riprap of the dam. The dam has a 45- to 50-degree slope. Much of the riprap consists of hefty boulders. This largemouth bass was caught on the green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in seven to eight feet of water.

Eight largemouth bass were caught along about a 250-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to the dam and its spillway. This shoreline possesses a 45- to 85-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders are quite large. Potions of this underwater terrain are carpeted with a few wads of filamentous algae and small patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge is enhanced with many patches of flooded American water willows, which are occasionally intertwined with curly-leaf pondweeds and some laydowns. One of the eight largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the Junebug Finesse ShadZ rig in about six feet of water around the outside edge of a patch of American water willows intertwined with curly-leaf pondweeds. The others were caught on either the green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rig or the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD and red jighead; one was caught on the initial drop, and the others were caught on either a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation or a drag-and-shake presentation in six to eight feet of water.

Along portions of a massive secondary shoreline inside a major feeder-creek arm, we caught seven largemouth bass. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. It is endowed with three secondary points and two tertiary points. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and many sections of this terrain are carpeted with significant patches of curly-leaf pondweeds; some of these patches were too thick to fish with our Midwest finesse methods. The water's edge is adorned with numerous patches of flooded American water willows, one ancient rock fence, a few laydowns, several overhanging trees, a dilapidated catfish feeder, and a few piles of brush. Some of the outside edges of the patches of the flooded American water willows are intertwined with significant patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. Along some stretches of this shoreline, there are offshore patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, and occasionally there is a significant gap or trough or channel between the inside edges of the offshore patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and the outside edges of the patches of flooded American water willows that are entwined with curly-leaf pondweeds. We caught three of the seven largemouth bass in those gaps. One of the seven largemouth bass was caught on the Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD and chartreuse jighead with a drag-and-shake presentation in about seven feet of water. Two largemouth bass were caught on the green-pumpkin-blue Finesse ShadZ; one of those two was caught on the initial drop under an overhanging tree in about five feet of water; the second one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to six feet of water. Two largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop of green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rig in the gaps between the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. Another two were caught on the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD and red jighead; one was caught on the initial drop in about five feet of water around one of the secondary points; the second one was caught on a swimming presentation in one of the gaps between the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds.

Along portions of another massive secondary shoreline inside this major feeder-creek arm, we caught 13 largemouth bass. This shoreline has a 30- to 60-degree slope. It is graced with one tertiary point and two secondary points. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and the flat and shallow-water sections of this shoreline are frequently covered with massive patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and occasional wads of filamentous algae. Some of the patches of curly-leaf pondweeds have become so impenetrable that we elected not to fish them. Some segments of the water’s edges are enhanced with thick patches of flooded American water willows and several laydowns. Many of the outside edges of the patches of American water willows are interlaced with curly-leaf pondweeds. And there are several gaps or troughs or channels between some of the inside edges of offshore patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and the outside edges of the flooded patches of American water willows. And we caught seven of the 13 largemouth bass in these gaps. One of the 13 largemouth bass was caught on the twilight Finesse TRD rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to six feet of water. Two largemouth bass were caught on the Drew’s craw Finesse TRD rig; one of them was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water; the second one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to six feet of water. Five of the 13 were caught on the green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rig; two were caught on a drag-and-shake presentation and three were caught on swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to eight feet of water. And another five were caught on the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD and red jighead; two were caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water, and three were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to eight feet of water.

In conclusion, what a difference a year can make. In April of 2023, we caught 115 largemouth bass in 3 ½ hours, which was an hourly average of 32.8 largemouth bass, at this reservoir on April 17, 2023. Then on April 17, 2023, at this reservoir, we caught 101 in two hours and 40 minutes, which was an average of about 37 largemouth bass an hour. Today, we struggled to tangle with an average of 8.25 largemouth bass an hour.

April 30

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his April 30 outing with Mike Trometer of Farmersville, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Mike joined me for a four-hour excursion to a state reservoir in north-central Texas. Rick Allen of Dallas and I fished at this reservoir for five hours on April 19, and we relished catching a mixed bag of 57 largemouth and spotted bass.

The sky conditions fluctuated between being overcast to mostly cloudy with brief periods of sunshine. The morning’s low temperature was 60 degrees when we launched the boat at 6:20 a.m., and it was 83 degrees when we trailered the boat at 10:45 a.m. The wind quartered out of the south-by-southeast at 10 to 20 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.88 at 6:00 a.m. and 29.90 at 10:00 a.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that fishing would be great, and the best periods would most likely occur from 4:39 a.m. to 6:39 a.m., 10:53 a.m. to 12:53 p.m., and 5:07 p.m. to 7:07 p.m.

We searched for spotted bass and largemouth bass inside four feeder-creek arms and around one minor main-lake point and across its adjoining gravel-and-clay flat. One of the feeder-creek arms is located in the lower end of the reservoir. The other three creek arms and the main-lake point and flat are situated in the middle section of the reservoir.

Inside the four feeder-creek arms, we focused our attention on steep and flat rocky shorelines, shallow rock ledges, secondary points, several clay flats, a small cove, and 13 boat docks.

The water was murkier than it was on April 19, and there were quite a few floating logs and other debris littering the surface of the water. The water’s clarity varied from 12 to 18 inches of visibility. The surface temperature ranged from 70 to 71 degrees. The water level appeared to be about a foot above normal, which is the result of several severe thunderstorms that swept across north-central Texas on April 27 and 28 and produced three to five inches of precipitation.

We caught 12 largemouth bass and two spotted bass on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s coppertreuse Trick ShotZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. A Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse ShadZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve enticed one largemouth bass. A moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Space Guppy Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead induced one largemouth bass.

We failed to elicit any strikes across a medium-size main-lake flat in the middle section of the reservoir, but we did catch one largemouth bass and three white bass in three to five feet of water near a large patch of submerged hydrilla on one side of an adjacent main-lake point. The largemouth bass and one of the three white bass were caught on a swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Space Guppy Slim SwimZ rig. The other two white bass were caught on a steady retrieve with a white quarter-ounce lipless crankbait.

We caught 13 largemouth bass, two spotted bass, and one freshwater drum, across the lower sections of the four feeder-creek arms in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as 18 feet. Four wind-blown and shallow rock- and boulder-laden ledges that parallel lengthy sections of decorative rock retaining walls at the water’s edge were the most productive areas. Many of the productive areas that we probed on April 19 were devoid of any black bass this time around.

In short, the black-bass fishing at this reservoir was much more difficult and subdued than it was on April 19. We fished from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and it was a laborious grind to allure 14 largemouth bass and two spotted bass. We also caught three white bass and one freshwater drum by accident.