Midwest Finesse Fishing: October 2023

 James Cox with one of the 80 fish he helped his elderly grandparents catch in five hours and 38 minutes on Oct. 14 and 16.

Oct. 2
Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, posted a log about their outing on Oct. 2 at one of northeastern Kansas’ community reservoirs.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 65 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 88 degrees. The wind angled out of the south and southeast at 3 to 9 mph. The sky alternated from being fair to cluttered with a few clouds to mostly cloudy. The barometric pressure was 30.14 at 12:53 a.m., 30.15 at 5:53 a.m., 30.15 at 11:53 a.m., and 30.08 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level at this 83-year-old reservoir looked to be normal. The surface temperature ranged from 75 to 78 degrees. According to our nine-foot dipstick, which we call our Secchi stick, the water exhibited about six feet of visibility in the vicinity of the dam and four feet of visibility along the shorelines in the upper half of the reservoir. Some of this reservoir’s shallow-water flats and shorelines are adorned with patches of bushy pondweeds, coontail, duckweeds, a few sago pondweeds, and wads of filamentous algae. Some of these patches, however, are being annihilated by the grass carp.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 1:07 a.m. to 3:07 a.m., 1:34 p.m. to 3:34 p.m., and 7:20 a.m. to 9:20 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:40 a.m. and the last ones at 2:40 p.m.

We caught 57 largemouth bass and accidentally caught nine green sunfish.

Two of the 57 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Six were caught on a 3 ½-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin GrubZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Eighteen were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s purple-rain SMH WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig; it was shortened from 6 ½-inches to four inches. Thirty-one were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to either a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig or a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.

The green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig is at the top. The purple-rain SMH WormZ rig is at the bottom.

We spent the first 151 minutes of this 240-minute outing fishing in the upper half of this reservoir, where we fished along two shorelines, across a small segment of a massive shallow-water flat, and around five main-lake points.

We failed to catch a largemouth bass on the shallow-water flat in the back of the reservoir's primary feeder-creek arm. Most of the submerged aquatic vegetation that has enhanced this flat has disappeared. We suspect that this vegetation has been eradicated by grass carp. Across the years, we have found that submerged aquatic vegetation is an essential element in locating and catching substantial numbers of largemouth bass across these shallow-water flats. For instance, during the early days of autumn in 2022, vast patches of filamentous algae and a few other kinds of submerged aquatic vegetation graced this shallow-water flat, and we caught oodles of largemouth bass around those patches last year at this time.

Along about a 400-yard stretch of a shoreline and around five of this shoreline’s main-lake points in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught 23 largemouth bass. The underwater terrains of this shoreline and its five points consist of gravel, rocks, boulders, and some silt. This underwater terrain is adorned with a few patches of bushy pondweeds, filamentous algae, and coontail. These areas possess a 25- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edges consist of several concrete retaining walls, 20 docks, patches of duckweeds, one small rock bridge, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, some patches of American water willows, and several overhanging trees.

Two of the five main-lake points were fruitless. One of the points yielded one largemouth bass, and it was caught on the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig with a dragging presentation while we were strolling in about six feet of water. We caught two largemouth bass around another main-lake point, and they were caught on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs; one was caught with a straight-swimming presentation around a thick patch of coontail in about five feet of water; the other one was caught by strolling with a dragging presentation with about five feet of water along the outside edge of some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. The third point yielded five largemouth bass; three were caught in three feet of water on the green-pumpkin GrubZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation, and two were caught on the purple-rain SMH WormZ rig with a slow swim-and-shake presentation in about three feet of water.

Along the shoreline, we caught 15 largemouth bass. Two of the 15 were caught on the Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around shallow-water patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. Two were caught on the green-pumpkin GrubZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation around shallow-water patches of aquatic vegetation. Another two were caught on the purple-rain SMH WormZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around shallow-water patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. We caught nine of the 15 largemouth bass on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs; three were caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water; one was caught along the outside edge of one of the docks with a short deadstick presentation in about seven feet of water; the others were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to six feet of water.

We caught 17 largemouth bass along about a 250-yard section of another shoreline in the upper half of this reservoir. This shoreline's underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are endowed with a few manmade piles of brush, several areas of coontail, occasional patches of bushy pondweeds, a couple of meager patches of sago pondweeds, and some wads of filamentous algae. It possesses a 30- to 65-degree slope. The water’s edge is lined with several concrete and rock retaining walls, 25 docks, a few patches of American water willows, one massive laydown, several overhanging trees, and many wads of duckweeds. The green-pumpkin GrubZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation caught one of the 17 largemouth bass around a dock and adjacent patches of coontail in about five feet of water. The green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig caught three of the 17 largemouth bass; one was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water near the outside edge of a patch of coontail and wad of duckweeds; the other two were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in five to six feet of water. Thirteen largemouth bass were caught on the purple-rain SMH WormZ rig; five were caught around the edges of the docks on either the initial drop or a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water; eight of the 13 were caught on slow straight-swimming presentation in four to six feet of water.

We spent the final 89 minutes of this four-hour outing fishing in the lower half of this reservoir.

We quickly fished along about a 375-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and a few spots of silt; portions of this terrain are enhanced with patches of coontail and wads of filamentous algae. It possesses a 20- to 45-degree slope. The water’s edge is endowed with a few patches of American water willows, some patches of duckweeds, a limited number of overhanging trees, 26 docks, several rock and concrete retaining walls, and an occasional laydown or piles of brush. As we quickly traversed along this shoreline and around its docks, it was a struggle to catch five largemouth bass. One was caught on a straight-swimming presentation with the purple-rain SMH WormZ rig around a coontail patch and some wads of filamentous algae in three to four feet of water. We caught four largemouth bass on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs; one was caught many yards from the water’s edge on the initial drop in about six to seven feet of water; one was caught on the initial drop near the water’s edge in about three feet of water; one was caught with a drag-and-shake retrieve across piles of rocks in seven to eight feet of water; the fourth one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around some patches of coontail in four to five feet of water.

We spent a few fruitless minutes fishing around a main-lake point.

We strolled around another main-lake point and caught two largemouth bass on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs with a dragging presentation around scattered patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in about six feet of water.

Along a 30-yard section of a main-lake shoreline that is immediately adjacent to the dam, we caught three largemouth bass on our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs. Its water’s edge is embellished with some patches of American water willows, a concrete retaining wall, patches of duckweeds, and two docks The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are embellished with occasional patches of bushy pondweeds, some wads of filamentous algae, and a few bristles of coontail. It has a 25- to 35-degree slope. One of the three largemouth bass was caught on a short deadstick presentation along the front edge of one of the docks in about eight feet of water. One was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water next to patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and a patch of duckweeds. One was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around patches of submerged vegetation in about six feet of water.

We tangled with 10 largemouth bass along the dam, which is 1,550 feet long with a height of 58 feet. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally adorned with a few meager patches of coontail, bushy pondweeds, and some wads of filamentous algae. It possesses a 50- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge is graced with a concrete water outlet tower, patches of terrestrial grasses, and a few patches of American water willows. Our green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rigs inveigled these largemouth bass. Two were caught on the initial drop in three to four feet of water. Eight were caught as we were strolling and employing a drag-and-shake presentation in five to seven feet of water.

In sum, we caught an average of 14.25 largemouth bass an hour.

Oct. 4

Ned Kehde and Pok Chi Lau of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their October 4 outing at a 91-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 61 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 80 degrees. The wind angled out of the west, east, north, southwest, and northwest at 3 to 12 mph. The sky fluctuated from being overcast and fair. It rained lightly at 12:52 a.m. and 2:52 a.m. The barometric pressure was 29.92 at 12:52 a.m., 29.92 at 5:52 a.m., 29.99 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.96 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be several inches below normal. The surface temperature was 75 degrees. According to our nine-foot dipstick, the water exhibited five to six feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 3:07 a.m. to 5:07 a.m., 3:34 p.m. to 5:34 p.m., and 9:20 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:51 a.m., and our last ones were made when we caught largemouth bass number 110 at 2:39 p.m.

We caught two of the 110 largemouth bass on a slightly shortened Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. One largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two were caught on a Z-Man’s purple-rain SMH WormZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig; it was shortened from 6.5 inches to four inches. We caught 105 largemouth bass on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to either a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig or a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

These are the two purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs that caught 105 largemouth bass.

We spent the first 135 minutes of this 228-minute outing fishing around and across a massive shallow-water flat in the back of a major feeder-creek arm. The entire area looks to be about the size of seven football fields. We fished across and around an area about the size of three football fields. The water’s edge of this flat is cluttered with significant patches of American water willows and numerous laydowns. It is also endowed with a small island, which is embellished with patches of American water willows and littered with scores of concrete blocks and small boulders. Much of the underwater terrain is quilted with patches of coontail, patches of bushy pondweeds, and an array of manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. Several submerged creek channels and ditches crisscross this flat. During these 135 minutes, we caught 80 largemouth bass.

A few of them were caught around three of the manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees, which are intertwined with sprigs of coontail. The others were caught around patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. Two of the 80 largemouth bass were caught on the slightly shortened Z-Man’s Junebug TRD TicklerZ rig. The Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig caught one of the 80 largemouth bass. Our purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs caught 77 largemouth bass. Two largemouth bass were caught on a deadstick presentation. Several were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. Most were caught on either a straight-swimming presentation, which allowed our rigs to polish the tops of the patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and piles of eastern red cedar trees, or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around areas that were devoid of the piles of eastern red cedar trees and intense patches of submerged aquatic vegetation; some of the largemouth bass were caught while we were strolling and employing these two retrieves. These 80 largemouth bass were caught in water as shallow as 3 ½ feet and as deep as nine feet of water.

We spent the next 93 minutes fishing around and across two more shallow-water flats.

In the back of another major feeder-creek arm, we fished around and across a massive shallow-water flat. This flat looks to be about the size of four football fields, and one of those football-field-size sections is covered with American lotus plants. Portions of the underwater terrain are enhanced with patches of coontail, patches of bushy pondweeds, and a few manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. This flat yielded 19 largemouth bass. Two were caught on the purple-rain SMH WormZ rig, and 17 were caught on our purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs. Three of the 19 largemouth bass were caught along the outside edges of the massive patch of American lotus plants. The other 16 were caught around the submerged patches of coontail. One was caught on an accidental deadstick presentation. Four were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. The others were caught on either a straight-swimming presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. They were caught in water as shallow as four feet and as deep as eight feet.

On a shallow-water flat inside a tiny feeder-creek arm, we caught 11 largemouth bass. This flat looks to be the size of about three tennis courts. Its underwater terrain is decorated with patches of coontail, patches of bushy pondweeds, several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees, and a few laydowns. They were caught on our purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs. One was caught on a short deadstick presentation. Two were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. The others were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. They were caught in four to seven feet of water.

In sum, we caught an average of 29 largemouth bass an hour. And they were a joy to catch even though none of them were lunkers, but we are numbers hunters rather than lunker hunters.

One of the 110 largemouth bass that we caught.

Oct. 5

Pat and Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their short outing on Oct. 5 at a community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 46 degrees, and its afternoon’s high temperature was 85 degrees. The wind was calm for four of the early morning hours, and at other times, it angled out of the west and northwest at 5 to 16 mph, and there were some 25 to 26 mph wind gusts. The sky fluctuated from being fair to cluttered with a few clouds to mostly cloudy. The barometric pressure was 29.99 at 12:52 a.m., 30.03 at 5:52 a.m., 30.08 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.01 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about 1 ½ feet below normal. The surface temperature was 75 degrees. The water exhibited from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet of clarity; the surface of the water inside the back half of this reservoir's primary feeder-creek arm was coated with a very unattractive coating of biofilm.

This reservoir is 84 years old, which is a year older than we are. It used to be our favorite reservoir in northeastern Kansas. But it has suffered many more trials and tribulations than we have. It has been overwhelmed at times by a variety of herbicides, tons of siltation, and other abuses. Moreover, the largemouth bass fishing has deteriorated significantly during the past eight years. Yet, we still fish it – especially on our short conjugal outings when we are merely seeking a quick respite from the chaos of our urban environs and hoping to see the various behaviors of the wildlife that abide around this reservoir’s riparian borders and in its waters.

The wildlife highlight of this affair was watching a pair of ospreys soaring overhead and diving headfirst into the water.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 4:05 a.m. to 6:05 a.m., 4:29 p.m. to 6:29 p.m., and 10:19 a.m. to 12:19 p.m.

We made our first casts at 2:00 p.m. and our last ones at 3:30 p.m.

We spent 39 minutes of this 90-minute outing fishing along a 300-yard stretch on a shoreline inside this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arm. It possesses a 25- to 40-degree slope.

Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt, and several parts of it are adorned with patches of Eurasian milfoil. The water’s edge along this stretch of the shoreline possesses patches of American water willows, some overhanging trees, a few laydowns, and 11 docks. We caught a largemouth bass on our first cast; it was caught on the initial drop on a slightly shortened Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Shortly after that we caught a largemouth bass and a crappie on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. By the time we decided to venture to another feeder-creek arm, our fish counter indicated that we had caught a total of seven largemouth bass, one bluegill, one crappie, one channel catfish, and three green sunfish. Eleven of these fish were caught on our Junebug Finesse WormZ rigs; two on the Finesse TRD rig. Three were caught on the initial drop of our rigs; the others caught with a swimming presentation. They were caught in 2 ½ to about four feet of water. Most were caught around patches of Eurasian milfoil.

We spent the final 51 minutes fishing about 200 yards of a shoreline inside a large feeder-creek arm in the vicinity of this reservoir’s dam. It yielded eight largemouth bass, four green-sunfish, and one channel catfish.

The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are graced with a few stumps, and some of it is enhanced with meager patches of Eurasian milfoil. Parts of it are endowed with a multitude of humongous boulders, and there is one large offshore pile of boulders. The shoreline possesses a 25- to 45-degree slope. The waters’ edge is lined with some shallow-water patches of American water willows, one dock, a concrete boat ramp, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, one tertiary point, and a few overhanging trees.

These fish were caught on our Junebug Finesse WormZ rigs. Two were caught on the initial drop near the outside edges of the American water willows in two to three feet of water. One was caught on a deadstick presentation in about five feet of water. The others were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about three to six feet of water.

In sum, we caught an average of 10 largemouth bass an hour and an average of 17 fish an hour. The largemouth bass fishing was not gangbusters, but it was a delightful 90 minutes of being afloat in Mother Nature’s world.

Oct. 6

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

Here is an edited version of his log.

Rick Allen joined me for a four-hour excursion at one of several popular U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoirs situated in the Dallas metropolitan area.

The sky was clear. The morning’s low temperature was 68 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature reached 86 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.12 at 7:00 a.m and 30.15 at 11:00 a.m. The wind quartered out of the north-by-northeast at 5 to 10 mph.

The water level was about five feet below normal pool, which is unusually low for this time of year. The water clarity was 18 inches. The surface temperature was 78 degrees.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table noted the fishing would be poor, but the most productive fishing would most likely occur from 5:07 a.m. to 7:07 a.m., 12:20 p.m. to 2:20 p.m., and 5:33 p.m. to 7:33 p.m.

We fished in the lower end of the reservoir from 7:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., and much to our consternation, the black-bass fishing was still exhibiting the blahs. We fished for four hours, and it became a challenging task for us to catch 11 black bass. Eight of the 11 were spotted bass, and three were largemouth bass. We also caught two hybrid-striped bass and one large black crappie by accident.

We first concentrated on six main-lake points and two adjacent main-lake flats, which were virtually devoid of largemouth and spotted bass.

We caught one spotted bass in less than four feet of water from the side of a dilapidated roadbed that is situated on one side of one of the flat gravel-and-clay main-lake points at the mouth of a small bay.

The other seven spotted bass and three largemouth bass were scattered many yards apart from each other. They were caught from the mouths to the middle sections of three minor feeder-creek arms. We caught them around steep rocky secondary points, flat gravel-and-clay tertiary points, and the remnants of another crumbling roadbed in three to eight feet of water.

We caught the black bass on three of the 11 Midwest finesse rigs that we employed. Six of the 11 black bass and one of the hybrid-striped bass were caught on a steady-swimming presentation with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig. Three black bass were caught on a slow steady-swimming retrieve with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl GrubZ matched with either a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig or a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. And two black bass, one hybrid-striped bass, and the large black crappie were enticed into striking a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened on either a blue 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse ShroomZ jig or a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead with a slow steady-swimming retrieve.

Oct. 9

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas’ posted a log about their Oct. 9 outing to a community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 44 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 68 degrees. The condition of the sky was fair. The wind was periodically variable to angling out of the west, north, northeast, and northwest at 3 to 10 mph; from 12:53 p.m. to 2:53 p.m. there were wind gusts that ranged from 17 to 20 mph. The barometric pressure was 29.86 at 12:53 a.m., 29.89 at 5:53 a.m., 29.95 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.90 at 2:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be about 12 inches below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 70 to 71 degrees. Parts of the upper third of the reservoir was afflicted by a slight algal bloom and some biofilm. The water exhibited from about three to six feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 7:18 a.m. to 9:18 a.m., 7:40 p.m. to 9:40 p.m., and 1:07 a.m. to 3;07 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:41 a.m. and our last casts at 2:44 p.m. And it was a chore to catch two smallmouth bass, 41 largemouth bass, two bluegill, two green sunfish, and one walleye. Perhaps the aftereffects of the significant cold front that arrived on Oct. 7 made the fishing much more of a chore than it was on Oct. 4, when we caught 110 largemouth bass in 228 minutes.

A Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig caught one largemouth bass. A three-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig caught one smallmouth bass and two largemouth bass. A smallmouth bass and a largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s meat-dog Finesse ShadZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. And 37 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s meat-dog TRD MinnowZ affixed to either a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig or a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.

Our two meat-dog TRD MinnowZ rigs.

Inside a small feeder-creek arm, we caught one largemouth bass. This feeder creek is in the middle section of the reservoir. The shorelines inside this feeder-creek are cluttered with 14 large boat docks and two concrete boat ramps. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, and much of the flat and shallow-water areas are quilted with patches of coontail, sago pondweeds, and southern naiad. It was caught on the Slim SwimZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation around a patch of coontail in five to six feet of water and many yards from the water’s edge.

We caught two largemouth bass around a main-lake point at the mouth of this small feeder-creek arm. This point has a 25-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which are embellished with patches of coontail, sago pondweeds, and southern naiad. These largemouth bass were caught on the Finesse ShadZ rig and a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the patches of coontail in about four to seven feet of water.

On a shallow-water hump and flat about three-quarters of the way inside a medium-size feeder-creek arm, we caught one largemouth bass. This feeder creek is situated in the lower half of the reservoir. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which has an area about the size of a tennis court that is adorned with a few patches of coontail, sago pondweeds, and southern naiad in four to six feet of water. This largemouth bass was caught on the TRD MinnowZ rig with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about four feet of water.

On a shallow-water flat in the back of a large feeder-creek arm, we caught one smallmouth bass and four largemouth bass. This feeder creek is in the middle portion of the reservoir. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, and a small portion of this terrain is endowed with patches of coontail, sago pondweeds, and southern naiad that are growing in three to eight feet of water. One smallmouth bass and one largemouth bass were caught on the Slim SwimZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation in about three to four feet of water. Three largemouth bass were caught on our TRD MinnowZ rigs; one was caught on the initial drop in about four feet of water; the other two were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in two to four feet of water.

Two largemouth bass were caught around a main-lake point at the mouth of this large feeder-creek arm. This point’s underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders that are embellished with several patches of coontail. The water’s edge is adorned with patches of American water willows, some American pondweeds, and several laydowns. It has a 25- to 35-degree slope. It is endowed with a significant ledge that plummets into deep water. Our TRD MinnowZ rigs caught these two largemouth bass as we were strolling and employing a drag-and-shake presentation around a patch of coontail in about six to eight feet of water.

We caught 10 largemouth bass across a large main-lake shallow-water flat in the middle section of the reservoir. This flat has a gradual slope that eventually drops into deep water. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks, which are endowed with several burgeoning patches of coontail, sago pondweeds, and southern naiad; these patches are covered with four to eight feet of water. This flat’s shoreline is graced with one dock, some patches of American pondweeds, and many patches of American water willows. These largemouth bass were caught on our TRD MinnowZ rigs. Two were caught on the initial drop around the outside edges of the patches of American water willows in two to three feet of water. Another two were caught on the initial drop around the patches of submerged vegetation in four to five feet of water. Six were caught as we were strolling and employing either a dragging presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in four to six feet of water.

We caught five largemouth bass along one shoreline inside a medium-sized feeder-creek arm in the upper half of the reservoir. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and some boulders, which are quilted with occasional and scrawny patches of coontail, sago pondweeds, and southern naiad. It has a 20- to 40-degree slope. The water’s edge is embellished with several patches of American water willows, many overhanging trees, a variety of laydowns, and a secondary point. The five largemouth bass were caught on our TRD MinnowZ rigs as we were strolling and employing a dragging presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the submerged patches of aquatic vegetation in four to six feet of water.

Around a main-lake point and along about 100 yards of its main-lake shoreline, we caught one smallmouth bass and three largemouth bass. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; some of this terrain is enhanced with a few patches of coontail, sago pondweeds, and southern naiad. It has a 25- to 50-degree slope. The water’s edge is decorated with several patches of American water willows, many overhanging trees, and several laydowns. One smallmouth bass was caught on the TRD MinnowZ rig with a slow drag-and-shake presentation along the outside edge of a patch of American water willows in about four feet of water. The three largemouth bass were caught on our TRD MinnowZ rigs with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in three to six feet of water.

We fished around a main-lake point and along about a 50-yard stretch of a steep shoreline adjacent to the dam. The point yielded four largemouth bass. The shoreline was fruitless. The point possesses a 30 to 45-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced with a few meager patches of coontail. Its water’s edge is graced with American water willows. Our TRD MinnowZ rigs caught these largemouth bass in the vicinity of the patches of American water willows in four to six feet of water. One was caught on the initial drop and three were caught on a drag-and-shake presentation.

We caught one largemouth bass around another main-lake point in the lower half of the reservoir. It possesses a 25- to 35-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are enhanced with a few patches of coontail. Its water’s edge is graced with American water willows. The largemouth bass was caught on the TRD MinnowZ rig as we were strolling and employing a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation around the patches of coontail in six to seven feet of water.

We failed to elicit a strike around another main-lake point in the lower half of the reservoir, but along its adjacent main-lake shoreline we caught five largemouth bass. This shoreline has a 35- to 70-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are quilted with some patches of coontail and southern naiad. The water’s edge is graced with some patches of American water willows and American pondweeds. The largemouth bass were caught on our TRD MinnowZ rigs. Two were caught on the initial drop along the outside edge of the American water willows in about two feet of water. Three were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in two to four feet of water in the vicinity of the American water willows and near the patches of coontail and southern naiad.

We failed to elicit a strike around another main-lake point in the lower section of the reservoir, but along its massive main-lake shoreline, we somehow eked out three largemouth bass on our TRD MinnowZ rigs. This shoreline’s underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and an array of gargantuan boulders, which are adorned with some patches of coontail and southern naiad. The water’s edge is embellished with significant patches of American water willows and some laydowns. One of the three largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop along the outside edge of a patch of American water willows. Two of the largemouth bass were caught around a patch of coontail in about five feet of water on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation.

In sum, we caught an average of 10.75 black bass an hour.

Oct. 9

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Oct. 9 outing with Bill Kenney of Denton.

Here is an edited version of his log.

From 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Bill Kenney and I conducted an afternoon excursion at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas. It is a different reservoir than the one Rick Allen of Dallas and I fished on Oct. 6.

Oct. 9 was a gorgeous fall day in north-central Texas. It was sunny, and the sky was cloudless. The wind quartered out of the southeast, south, and southwest at 5 to 10 mph. The morning’s low temperature was 64 degrees, and the afternoon’s high was 86 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 29.86 at 1:00 p.m. and 29.75 at 5:00 p.m.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the most productive fishing periods would occur from 1:17 a.m. to 3:17 a.m., 7:28 a.m. to 9:28 a.m., and 7:50 p.m. to 9:50 p.m. The calendar also noted that the fishing would be poor.

The water level was 2.21 feet below normal pool. The surface temperature ranged from 76 to 77 degrees. The water exhibited three feet of visibility.

Here is how this outing unfolded.

We spent about three hours and 15 minutes in the lower portion of the southwest tributary arm, where we targeted one major feeder-creek arm and two minor feeder-creek arms. We spent the other forty-five minutes fishing around a large water-outlet tower and a small section of riprap at the center of a dam.

Six spotted bass were caught inside a major feeder-creek arm where we launched the boat. This creek arm is located on the south side and lower end of the west tributary arm.

One of these six spotted bass was caught in less than four feet of water from the outside edge of a large patch of American pondweed that was flourishing about 10 yards from the boat ramp where we launched the boat. It was caught on a steady-swimming retrieve with a Z-Man’s pearl TRD TicklerZ rigged on a black 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Two spotted bass were caught from the side of a large clay-and-gravel levee near the entrance to the creek arm. They were caught in four to six feet of water on a steady-swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. One spotted bass was caught in seven feet of water from the bottom of a small creek channel that serpentines its way across a shallow flat in the back end of this creek arm. It was caught on a slow strolling retrieve with the pearl TRD TicklerZ rig.

In the midsection of this creek arm, we caught two more spotted bass. They were abiding in less than three feet of water on one side of a prominent secondary point. This point is flat, and its terrain consists of red clay, small gravel, and a few chunky rocks. One was caught on the three-inch pearl Slim SwimZ rig. The second one was caught on a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat matched with a pearl 1/12-ounce Z-Man’s Finesse EyeZ jig. Both of these rigs were utilized with a steady-swimming retrieve.

We also fished a 100-yard stretch of a flat rocky shoreline, a 50-yard stretch of a clay-and-gravel flat that is adorned with several brown patches of Eurasian milfoil, two rock ledges, and a portion of a floating tractor-tire reef inside this creek arm, and we failed to garner any strikes from these areas.

After we finished fishing inside the first feeder-creek arm, we travelled a short distance westward in the west tributary arm and fished a rock-laden entry point and a patch of large boulders at the mouth of a minor feeder-creek arm. This creek arm is also on the south side of the tributary, and we failed to entice any strikes there. We had planned to fish more of this creek arm, but there were several bass-boat anglers, pleasure boaters, and kayak fishermen that made it too crowded for us to fish effectively. Therefore, we left and travelled a couple of miles eastward to the dam.

The dam forms the southern boundary of this reservoir. It is covered with riprap from one end to the other. There is a large concrete water-outlet tower positioned at the center of the dam. The tower is encircled by water as shallow as 32 feet and as deep as 57 feet. We caught four largemouth bass that were suspended about 10 to 12 feet below the surface and near the walls of this outlet tower in 32 to 57 feet of water. Three of them were caught on a Z-Man’s The Deal TRD TicklerZ attached to a black 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead that was presented with a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve within a foot or two of the tower’s walls. The fourth largemouth bass and one black crappie were caught on a Z-Man’s pearl GrubZ that was fastened on a black 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This rig was cast parallel to the tower’s walls and allowed to slowly pendulum back toward the boat on a tight line.

The riprap along the dam and adjacent to the outlet tower yielded one spotted bass. It was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake retrieve with The Deal TRD TicklerZ rig in five feet of water and about 10 feet from the water’s edge.

From the dam, we traveled about three miles westward and to the north side of the west tributary arm, where we finished this outing inside the third feeder-creek arm.

Along about a 200-yard segment of one shoreline in this creek arm, we caught three largemouth bass and 19 spotted bass. This section of shoreline stretches from the entrance to the middle section of the creek arm. All of them were caught in less than five feet of water. They were abiding in the pockets that are formed where the base of the secondary points meld into the shoreline. The underwater terrain of these pockets and points consists of red clay, gravel, chunky rocks, and scattered boulders. Stands of flooded timber, submerged stumps, laydowns, and a few medium-size patches of green hydrilla and brown milfoil also enhance the terrain of these points and pockets. These 22 black bass were caught on either the initial fall or a steady-swimming retrieve with either the three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ or the pearl Baby Goat rigs. Several of them were caught simultaneously.

In conclusion, we had set a modest goal of catching 10 to 12 black bass during this four-hour afternoon outing, which has become quite a challenging task here lately. We had to cover a lot of water to catch these 26 spotted bass and seven largemouth bass in four hours. We also inadvertently caught one black crappie.

Oct. 12

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Oct. 12 outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Oct. 12 was a tad cooler than it has been in these parts, and I wore a hoodie for the first time this fall. The sky was overcast. The morning’s low temperature was 61 degrees, and the afternoon’s high reached 74 degrees. A blustery wind quartered nonstop out of the south-by-southeast at 17 to 25 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.70 at 8:00 a.m. and 29.90 at 1:00 p.m.

Norman and I were itching to grapple with some smallmouth bass, and we journeyed to a scenic Civilian Conservation Corps’ hill-land reservoir in southern Oklahoma in hopes of catching a few of them.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar indicated that the fishing would be good on Oct. 29. It listed the most lucrative fishing periods were from 3:35 a.m. to 5:35 a.m., 9:50 a.m. to 11:50 a.m., and 4:05 p.m. to 6:05 p.m.

We fished from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

We focused our attentions on five main-lake shorelines, two main-lake humps, eight main-lake points, and five rocky secondary points, and two clay-and-gravel flats inside one of the three feeder-creek arms. Twenty of these spots are located in the west tributary arm, and two are situated in the middle section of the east tributary arm. All these areas were being pummeled by the blustery wind and endless rows of white-capping waves.

Many of this reservoir’s shorelines are adorned with thick patches of American water willows, cattails, stumps, and a few thin stands of decayed standing timber. Its submerged terrain is composed of mostly clay, and it is also teeming with small gravel, chunky rocks, and boulders galore.

The water exhibited five feet of visibility. The surface temperature was 72 degrees. The water level appeared to be about five feet below its normal pool.

We caught 39 smallmouth bass, three largemouth bass, and one spotted bass. They were abiding in water as shallow as four feet and as deep as 15 feet, and they were relating to clusters of various-sized boulders mixed with chunky rocks.

The two main-lake humps yielded a total of six smallmouth bass. These two humps are usually covered with two to four feet of water and are adorned with scads of large boulders and rocks. The sides of these humps rapidly descend into 12 or more feet of water. But with the current low-water level, the tops of these humps were exposed and about four feet above the water’s edge.

Seven smallmouth bass, three largemouth bass, and one spotted bass were caught along the deep-water sides of the five main-lake shorelines. Their shallow-water areas are enhanced with chunk rocks, large boulders, some standing timber, and a few stumps.

The eight main-lake points surrendered 11 smallmouth bass. These points are flat and are covered with oodles and oodles of large rocks and hefty boulders.

The five secondary points and two clay-and-gravel flats yielded 15 smallmouth bass. These points and flats are also graced with scores of large rocks and boulders. A goodly portion of their shorelines are graced with numerous shallow patches of American water willows, stumps, and stickups.

We caught one smallmouth bass on a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Another smallmouth was tempted by a Z-Man’s Canada-craw TRD TicklerZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce finesse mushroom-style jig. Two smallmouth bass were allured by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ fastened on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Three smallmouth bass were caught on a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin GrubZ attached to a black 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Four more smallmouth bass were enticed by a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce finesse mushroom-style jig. Six smallmouth bass were induced by a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TicklerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce finesse mushroom-style jig. And 22 smallmouth bass, three largemouth bass, and one spotted bass were enraptured by a black 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead matched with a three-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ. All these Midwest finesse offerings were employed with a steady-swimming retrieve.

Oct. 14

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and his grandson James Cox of San Antonio, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their short outing on Oct. 14 at a community reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

James is studying aerospace engineering at Wichita State University, and this was the first day of his school’s fall break. He was eager to fish, and upon arriving in Lawrence at 1:45 p.m., he ate a quick lunch, and then we headed to the boat ramp.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 53 degrees, and its afternoon’s high temperature was 57 degrees. The wind angled out of the northwest and north at 9 to 20 mph, and there were wind gusts that reached 33 mph. The sky was overcast. The barometric pressure was 29.92 at 12:52 a.m., 29.98 at 5:52 a.m., 30.11 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.15 at 4:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about 20 inches below normal. The surface temperature was 65 degrees. The water exhibited from about two to four feet of clarity.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 10:27 a.m. to 12.27 p.m., 10:48 p.m. to 12:48 a.m., and 4:17 a.m. to 6:17 a.m.

We made our first casts at 3:08 p.m. and our last ones at 4:58 p.m., which was when we caught largemouth bass number 15. After that catch, we immediately drove back to Lawrence to have dinner with his cousin and celebrate her 37th birthday.

We spent 67 minutes of this 115-minute outing quickly fishing along about a 400-yard stretch of a shoreline inside this reservoir’s primary feeder-creek arm. It possesses a 25- to 40-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and several parts of it are adorned with patches of Eurasian milfoil, a few submerged stumps, and some manmade piles of brush. The water’s edge possesses occasional patches of American water willows, some overhanging trees, a few laydowns, many partially submerged pieces of brush, and 23 docks. We caught 11 largemouth bass along this shoreline. Two were caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Nine were caught on a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. (Since James was fourteen years old, he has been a young maestro at wielding a Slim SwimZ rig. Although he hasn’t fished since July 30, 2022, his prowess with this rig hasn’t vanished.) Four largemouth bass were caught on the initial drop of the Slim SwimZ rig in the vicinity of the outside edges of the patches of American water willows or around very shallow-water patches of Eurasian milfoil. Two largemouth bass were caught on swim-glide-and-shake presentations with the Finesse WormZ rig in three to five feet of water. A straight-swimming presentation with the Slim SwimZ rig caught five of the largemouth bass; one was caught around a laydown; one was caught under an overhanging tree; three were caught around patches of Eurasian milfoil.

We spent the final 43 minutes fishing about 200 yards of a shoreline inside a large feeder-creek arm in the vicinity of this reservoir’s dam. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are graced with a few stumps and some meager patches of Eurasian milfoil. The shoreline possesses a 25- to 45-degree slope. The waters’ edge is lined with some shallow-water patches of American water willows, one dock, a concrete boat ramp, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, several tertiary points, and a few overhanging trees. One largemouth bass was caught on the Slim SwimZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation in about five feet of water around some sprigs of Eurasian milfoil. Three largemouth bass were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig; two were caught on the initial drop near the outside edge of American water willow patches in two to three feet of water; one was caught on a drag-and-shake presentation in about five to six feet of water while we were strolling around stems of Eurasian milfoil.

Besides the 15 largemouth bass, we inadvertently caught

six wipers, four bluegill, two green sunfish, and one very hefty and feisty channel catfish. That is an average of about 15 fish per hour.

We were hoping to fish for several hours on Oct. 15, but Mother Nature’s misty, chilly, and windy ways kept us at bay.

Oct. 16

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and his grandson James Cox of San Antonio, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their outing on Oct. 16 at a state reservoir in northeastern Kansas. They were joined by Pat Kehde of Lawrence for about 65 minutes.

Here is an edited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 37 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 69 degrees. The wind angled out of the north and northwest at 3 to 15 mph; during the midday hours, some gusts of wind reached 20 to 22 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.29 at 12:52 a.m., 30.28 at 5:52 a.m., 30.28 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.19 at 2:52 p.m.

The weather was what some anglers would describe as a post-cold-front condition, and an old angling adage notes that this phenomenon creates trying fishing for largemouth bass.

The water level looked to be about 10 inches below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 63 to 64 degrees. The water exhibited four to six feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 11:35 a.m. to 1:35 p.m., 11:59 p.m. to 1:59 a.m., and 5:47 a.m. to 7:47 a.m.

We made our first casts at 11:44 a.m. and the last ones were made when we simultaneously caught largemouth bass number 49 and 50 at 2:58 p.m.

We caught one largemouth bass on a three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. One largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s meat-dog TRD MinnowZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Two largemouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Three largemouth bass were caught on a three-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. We caught 43 largemouth bass on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s purple-haze Finesse WormZ affixed to either a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead or a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

We caught 34 of the 50 largemouth bass on and around a massive shallow-water flat in the back of a major feeder-creek arm. The entire area looks to be about the size of seven football fields. We fished across and around an area about the size of three football fields. The water’s edge of this flat is cluttered with significant patches of American water willows and numerous laydowns. It is also endowed with a small island, which is embellished with patches of American water willows and littered with scores of concrete blocks and small boulders. Much of the underwater terrain is quilted with patches of coontail, patches of bushy pondweeds, bits of sago pondweeds, and an array of manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. In late November and early December patches of curly-leaf pondweeds will begin to grow. Several submerged creek channels and ditches crisscross this flat.

A few of the 34 largemouth bass were caught around several of the manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees, which are intertwined with sprigs of coontail. Two of the 34 were caught near the outside edges of the patches of American water willows. The others were caught around the submerged patches of bushy pondweeds and coontail. One largemouth bass was caught on the pearl Slim SwimZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation. One was caught on the initial drop of the TRD MinnowZ rig. Three were caught on the green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ with a straight-swimming presentation. Our purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs caught 29 largemouth bass; one largemouth bass was caught on a deadstick presentation; three were caught on the initial drop of our rigs; most were caught on either a straight-swimming presentation, which allowed our rigs to polish the tops of the patches of submerged aquatic vegetation and piles of eastern red cedar trees, or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around areas that were devoid of the piles of eastern red cedar trees and intense patches of submerged aquatic vegetation; some of the largemouth bass were caught while we were strolling and employing these two retrieves. These 34 largemouth bass were caught in water as shallow as 3 ½ feet and as deep as nine feet of water.

In the back of another major feeder-creek arm, we fished around and across a massive shallow-water flat. This flat looks to be about the size of four football fields, and one of those football-field-size sections is covered with American lotus plants. Portions of the underwater terrain are enhanced with patches of coontail, patches of bushy pondweeds, and a few manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. We struggled to catch four largemouth bass. Two were caught on the green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation. The other two were caught on the green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. They were caught in about four to seven feet of water.

On a shallow-water flat inside a tiny feeder-creek arm, we caught 10 largemouth bass. This flat looks to be the size of about three tennis courts. Its underwater terrain is embellished with patches of coontail, patches of bushy pondweeds, a burgeoning patch of sago pondweeds, several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees, and a few laydowns. The 10 largemouth bass were caught on our purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs. Three were caught on the initial drop of our rigs. The others were caught on either a slow swim-and-pause presentation or a swim-glide-and-shake presentation. They were caught in four to seven feet of water.

Around a main-lake point at the mouth of this tiny feeder-creek arm, we caught two largemouth bass on the purple-haze Finesse WormZ rigs. The point possesses a 30- to 35-degree slope. The underwater terrain of this point consists of gravel, rocks, and some boulders, which are decorated with some patches of coontail. The water’s edge is adorned with some magnificent patches of American water willows. One of the largemouth bass was caught on the initial drop of the Finesse WormZ rig immediately adjacent to the outside edge of the American water willows in about 2 ½ feet of water. The second largemouth bass was caught on a drag-and-shake presentation in about five feet of water.

Besides the 50 largemouth bass, we caught two heft black crappie. That is an average of 16 fish an hour.

To our chagrin, we hit a deer on our way home, and it damaged the front of our tow vehicle. It will be fixed by the time James returns to Lawrence during his Thanksgiving vacation from college, and we will fish with him and several of his cousins during that spell.

Oct. 16

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Oct. 16 outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

From 11:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Norman and I fished at a challenging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir situated in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metropolitan area. Rick Allen of Dallas and I fished this reservoir for four hours on Oct. 6, and we struggled to catch eight spotted bass and three largemouth bass.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table indicated that the fishing would be average on Oct. 16, and the most lucrative fishing periods would occur from 5:54 a.m. to 7:54 a.m., 11:42 a.m. to 1:42 p.m., and 12:06 p.m. to 2:06 p.m.

A significant cold front passed through north-central Texas on Oct. 14, which was accompanied by blustery and cool northerly winds. It also dropped the daytime and nighttime air temperatures about 20 degrees.

Oct. 16 was a gorgeous fall day. The morning’s low temperature was 44 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature reached 68 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.34 at 11:00 a.m. and 30.19 at 4:00 p.m. The sun was intensely bright in the cloudless bluebird sky. An annoying wind quartered out of the north-by-northwest at 15 to 20 mph, which made casting and retrieving our Midwest rigs problematic during most of the afternoon.

When we arrived at the boat ramp at about 11:00 a.m., we were disheartened to see that the water level had dropped a bit more since Oct. 6, and it was now 5.35 feet below normal pool. The water clarity was dingier than usual from the blustery winds. It exhibited about 14 inches of clarity. The surface temperature was 68 degrees, which is 10 degrees cooler than it was on Oct. 6.

In the lower end of the reservoir, we fished inside three feeder-creek arms and two bays. We were also hoping that the lousy black-bass fishing at this impoundment would improve once the water temperature dropped below 75 degrees, but it remained lethargic.

We first concentrated on the two large bays. We failed to garner any strikes around several clay-and-gravel flats, along the sides and corners of 13 floating boat houses, five rocky secondary points, and along the side of a submerged roadbed that is now exposed because of the low water level.

Inside the second bay, we caught one spotted bass, two white bass, and a hybrid-striped bass in two to six feet of water along a shallow and wind-blown rock ledge in the backend of the bay. All four of these fish were caught on a steady-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

The three feeder-creek arms relinquished a total of six spotted bass, six largemouth bass, one white bass, and one channel catfish. Three of these 12 black bass were caught in the backend of the first creek arm. Another three were caught in the middle and upper sections of the second feeder-creek arm. And six black bass were caught from the lower and midsections of the third feeder-creek arm.

These 12 black bass were abiding around two flat clay-and- gravel secondary points, four rocky secondary points with inclines that ranged from 30 to 60 degrees, and two rocky shorelines with 25- to 35-degree slopes. Several other rocky secondary points, gravel flats, and shorelines inside these creek arms were fruitless.

We caught nine of these 13 spotted and largemouth bass on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other four black bass, three white bass, the hybrid-striped bass, and the channel catfish were caught on a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened on a either a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG mushroom Jighead, or a chartreuse 1/16-ounce finesse mushroom-type jig.

Oct. 17

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Oct. 17 outing with Roger Farish of Highland Village, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Roger joined me for an afternoon jaunt at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas. It lies about 37 miles from the Corps’ reservoir that Norman Brown of Lewisville and I fished on Oct. 16.

Oct. 17 was another post-cold front day with a cloudless bluebird sky and radiant sunshine. The wind was more mild-mannered than it was on Oct. 16; it quartered out of the southeast at 5 to 10 mph. Area thermometers reported that the morning ’s low temperature was 40 degrees, and the afternoon’s high was 74 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.19 at 11:00 a.m. and 30.01 at 4:00 p.m.

North-central Texas’ austere drought has been upgraded from severe to extreme. The water levels in the Corps’ and state reservoirs are significantly lower than normal for this time of year. This reservoir’s water level was 2.34 feet low, which is not as severe as other impoundments in this region of Texas. The surface temperature ranged from 68 to 69 degrees. The water exhibited about two feet of visibility.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the most productive fishing would occur from 12:35 a.m. to 2:35 a.m., 6:48 a.m. to 8:48 a.m., and 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. The fishing was also forecast to be average.

We fished from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The black-bass bite was on what we consider to be the lower end of average, and we had to cover several miles of water in order to catch 11 largemouth bass and two spotted bass in five hours.

We concentrated our efforts at the entrances and inside three feeder-creek arms in the lower portion of the west tributary arm, and around the perimeter of a large concrete water-outlet tower that is positioned at the center of the dam.

Twelve of these 13 black bass were caught inside the three feeder-creek arms. Seven were caught in the first feeder-creek arm, four were caught in the second one, and one was caught in the third one. The underwater terrains of these three feeder-creek arms are similar: they consist of red clay, gravel, baseball-size rocks, and medium-sized boulders the size of a beach ball.

These black bass were abiding near flat secondary points in the lower and middle sections of the feeder-creek arms. Their underwater terrains consist of rocks and boulders. These 12 black bass were caught in four to seven feet of water and 10 to 20 feet from the water’s edge. Eight of them were allured by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s The Deal TRD TicklerZ matched to a blue 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Three engulfed a Z-Man’s The Deal Baby Goat that was secured to a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and employed with an undeviating swimming retrieve. And the twelfth black bass was coaxed into striking a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fitted to a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and utilized with a continuous swimming retrieve.

We failed to elicit any strikes from the submerged ledges of a creek channel that courses through the upper end of one of the feeder-creek arms, the remnants of a clay-and-gravel stock-tank dam in the back end of the same creek arm, seven clay-and-gravel shorelines and their adjacent secondary points in the upper ends of the three creek arms, and the edges of another submerged creek channel that is situated in the back end of the third creek arm in three to eight feet of water. The edges of this creek channel are graced with several large patches of American pondweed and Eurasian milfoil.

One largemouth bass was caught from the side of the concrete water-outlet tower at the dam. It was suspended next to one of the tower's walls and about eight feet below the surface in 47 feet of water. It was caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man's TRD TubeZ rigged on a blue 1/16-ounce Z-Man's OG Mushroom Jighead. And this largemouth bass was the only strike we elicited around this tower.

Oct. 20

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, posted a log about their outing on Oct. 20 at one of northeastern Kansas’ community reservoirs.

Here is an unedited version of their log.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 52 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 79 degrees. The wind angled out of the northwest and north at 3 to 9 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.82 at 12:53 a.m., 29.87 at 5:53 a.m., 29.92 at 11:53 a.m., and 29:89 at 1:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be several inches below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 62 to 63 degrees. According to our nine-foot dipstick, the water exhibited about six feet of visibility in the vicinity of the dam and 3 3/4 feet of visibility along the shorelines in the upper half of the reservoir. Some of this reservoir’s shallow-water flats and shorelines are adorned with patches of bushy pondweeds, coontail, a few sago pondweeds, and wads of filamentous algae. The bushy pondweed and filamentous algae are wilting, and they are exhibiting a blackish hue. The coontail is also wilting. Moreover, many of the patches of submerged vegetation and the floating patches of duckweeds are being annihilated by the grass carp. Today, we saw six humongous grass carp cruising across a shallow-water flat in the upper reaches of the primary feeder-creek arm, and we saw a dead one near the boat ramp, and one along a flat shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir that looked as if it was on the verge of dying.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 3:26 a.m. to 5:26 a.m., 3:56 p.m. to 5:56 p.m., and 9:41 a.m. to 11:41 a.m.

We made our first casts at 9:55 a.m. and the last ones at 1:55 p.m.

We caught 44 largemouth bass and accidentally caught one warmouth, two bluegill, and two green sunfish.

One of the 44 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s Drew’s craw TRD HogZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Three were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Ten were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed to either a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig or a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Fifteen were caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse TRD affixed to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Fifteen were caught on a slightly shortened 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

Our two most effective Midwest finesse rigs.

Along a 30-yard section of a main-lake shoreline that is immediately adjacent to the dam, we caught one largemouth bass. The water’s edge is embellished with some patches of American water willows, a concrete retaining wall, and three docks. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are embellished with occasional patches of bushy pondweeds, some wads of filamentous algae, and a few sprigs of coontail. It has a 35- to 40- degree slope. The TRD HogZ rig inveigled this largemouth bass with a slow swim-slide-and-shake presentation around a patch of coontail near the front of one of the docks in about seven feet of water.

We tangled with one largemouth bass along the dam, which is 1,550 feet long with a height of 58 feet. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are occasionally adorned with a few meager patches of coontail, bushy pondweeds, and some wads of filamentous algae. It possesses a 50- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edge is graced with a concrete outlet tower, patches of terrestrial grasses, and a few patches of American water willows. The initial drop of the green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD rig caught the largemouth bass in about three feet of water along the outside edges of a combined patch of terrestrial vegetation and American water willows.

In the lower half of the reservoir, we strolled around a main-lake point and along a portion of its main-lake shoreline and caught three largemouth bass. The underwater terrain of this point and shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders; some of the boulders are gargantuan. The underwater terrain is enhanced with patches of black bushy pondweeds and some wilting patches of coontail. It possesses a 25-degree slope that is aggrandized with an offshore hump that consists of an array of boulders and a significant ledge. Four docks also endow this area. One of the largemouth bass was caught on the Junebug Finesse TRD rig as we were strolling and employing a dragging presentation in about seven feet of water around patches of coontail. The strolling and a drag-and-shake presentation with a Junebug Finesse WormZ rig caught two largemouth bass around some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in about five or six feet of water.

We caught one largemouth bass around another main-lake point in the lower half of the reservoir. The underwater terrain of this point consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are graced with a few patches of black bushy pondweeds and some wilting patches of coontail. It has a 25- to 30-degree slope. The water’s edge is lined with a concrete retaining wall, a boulder retaining wall, a few patches of American water willows, riprap, and three docks. As we were strolling around the front of one of the docks, the Junebug Finesse TRD rig and a dragging presentation caught the largemouth bass in about seven feet of water.

In the middle section of the reservoir, we caught three largemouth bass along a portion of the main-lake shoreline that is adjacent to a main-lake point. This area has a 30- to 35-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with occasional patches of black bushy pondweeds and wilting coontail. The water’s edge is festooned with seven docks, a few overhanging trees, and some patches of American water willows. The initial drop of the Junebug Finesse TRD rig caught one of the largemouth bass in about three feet of water around a patch of black bushy pondweeds and several feet from a patch of American water willows. The Junebug Finesse WormZ rig caught two largemouth bass; one was caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation around a patch of coontail and black bushy pondweeds in about five feet of water; the second one was caught on a drag-and-shake presentation around some rocks and boulders in about six feet of water.

We caught nine largemouth bass on a shallow-water flat in the back of the reservoir's primary feeder-creek arm. Most of the submerged aquatic vegetation that has enhanced this flat has disappeared. We suspect that this vegetation has been eradicated by grass carp. Six of the nine were caught around patches of black bushy pondweeds and wads of filamentous algae. The other three were not associated with significant patches of submerged aquatic vegetation. We caught them on our green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rigs with a straight-swimming presentation in three to four feet of water.

Along about a 275-yard stretch of a shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir, we caught 15 largemouth bass. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and some silt, which are quilted with a few patches of black bushy pondweeds, black filamentous algae, and wilting coontail. It possesses a 25- to 60-degree slope. The water’s edges consist of several concrete retaining walls, a stretch of riprap, 10 docks, one small rock bridge, a few laydowns, several piles of brush, occasional patches of American water willows, and several overhanging trees. Four of the 15 largemouth bass were caught along the steeper sections of this shoreline. Eleven were caught along flatter sections and around the patches of submerged vegetation. One was caught on the Slim SwimZ rig with a straight-swimming presentation around patches of filamentous algae and bushy pondweeds in three to four feet of water. Seven of the 15 were caught while we were strolling. The Junebug Finesse TRD rig caught seven of the 15 largemouth bass, and seven were caught on the Junebug Finesse WormZ rig. One largemouth bass was caught adjacent to the shady side of one of the 10 docks with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in five to six feet of water. Five were caught on a drag-and-subtle-shake presentation in four to seven feet of water. Two were caught on the initial drop of our rigs in three to four feet of water. The others were caught on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in four to seven feet of water.

We caught 11 largemouth bass along about a 250-yard section of another shoreline in the upper half of this reservoir. This shoreline's underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are endowed with a few manmade piles of brush, several areas of wilting coontail, occasional patches of black bushy pondweeds, and some wads of black filamentous algae. It possesses a 30- to 65-degree slope. The water’s edge is lined with several concrete retaining walls and rock retaining walls, 25 docks, a few patches of American water willows, one massive laydown, and several overhanging trees. The flatter areas of this shoreline, which are endowed with some patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, were more productive than the steeper sections, which were devoid of submerged aquatic vegetation. The green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD caught two of the 11 largemouth bass on the initial drop. The Junebug Finesse WormZ caught four largemouth bass on either a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation or a slow swim-and-slight-pause presentation. The Junebug Finesse TRD caught five; two were caught on the initial drop; three were caught on a slow swim-and-slight-pause presentation.

In sum, it was a chore to catch an average of 11 largemouth bass an hour. The fact that we spent a lot of the minutes of this outing strolling reflects how difficult it was to find and allure the 44 largemouth bass that we caught. Even though we were using extremely sensitive rods, we had a difficult time detecting the strikes of the largemouth bass while we were strolling. And about a dozen of these largemouth bass seemed to catch us rather than us catching them, which is a phenomenon that often occurs when we are strolling.

Oct. 20

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Oct. 20 outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Norman joined me for a split four-hour excursion at a rural state reservoir in north-central Texas. I have not fished this reservoir since this past spring, and this was Norman’s first outing at this reservoir.

The sky was cloudless and sunny. The morning’s low temperature was 53 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature reached 95 degrees. The wind was calm from 7:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., and then it angled out of the south at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.91 at 7:00 a.m. and 29.94 at 3:00 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table indicated that the fishing would be poor, but the most productive fishing periods would occur from 3:35 a.m. to 5:35 a.m., 9:50 a.m. to 11:50 a.m., and 4:05 p.m. to 6:05 p.m.

Norman and I fished from around 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and then our trolling motor suddenly became inoperative. We attempted to fix it on the water, but we failed. We opted to trailer the boat, and then we drove 25 minutes to a repair shop. The trolling motor issue was repaired while we waited, and we were back on the water and fishing by 1:30 p.m. We fished until 3:30 p.m.

The water level appeared to be at least five feet below normal pool. The water also exhibited an odd brownish hue with about 18 inches of clarity. We also observed an abundance of small clumps of dead aquatic vegetation floating everywhere on the water’s surface, which is out of the ordinary. The surface temperature ranged from 68 to 73 degrees.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, small gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are embellished with stumps and some standing timber. The dam is small compared to the ones at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reservoirs. This one is about 60 yards long, and it is overlaid with riprap. There are also flourishing patches of American pondweeds, hydrilla, and Eurasian milfoil throughout the impoundment.

We began this outing along a 75-yard section of a flat main-lake shoreline in the middle section of the reservoir’s west tributary arm. This shoreline is adorned with thick patches of American pondweeds and some submerged stumps. It is endowed with two flat and rocky main-lake points, and there is a small pocket that is situated between the two points. One of the points is endowed with a rock pile that is usually covered with three to five feet of water, but it is on dry land now. The other point is enhanced with chunk rocks, a dilapidated concrete boat ramp, and thick mats of American pondweeds. There is a large mud flat on one side of these two points, and it is adorned with patches of American pondweeds, American water willows, and submerged stumps.

This stretch of shoreline surrendered two largemouth bass and one spotted bass. They were caught around the outside edges of the patches of American pondweeds in three to seven feet of water. One largemouth bass and one spotted bass were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other largemouth bass was caught on a moderate-paced swimming retrieve with a three-inch Z-Man’s blue-steel Slim SwimZ affixed on a white 1/16-ounce finesse mushroom-style jig.

We also probed the sides and underneath several boat houses on this shoreline, but we failed to elicit any other strikes.

At a main-lake point located about half a mile east of the main-lake shoreline that we just fished, we caught two spotted bass and one largemouth bass in three to five feet of water. This point has a 45-degree incline. It is laden with chunk rocks, thick patches of American pondweeds, and four boat houses. These three black bass were relating to the outside edges of two of the larger patches of American pondweeds. Two were caught on a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ, and the other one was caught on an unvarying swimming retrieve with the blue-steel Slim SwimZ rig. We probed the sides and underneath three of the boat houses that occupy this point, but we did not locate any black bass relating to them.

On top of a flat clay-and-gravel main-lake point at the mouth of a large bay in the upper end of the reservoir, we failed to elicit any strikes.

Just inside the mouth of the large bay and adjacent to its main-lake point that we just investigated, we dissected a 30-yard portion of a flat and 100-yard-long shoreline that is laden with small-gravel and red-clay, and it also failed to yield a largemouth bass, spotted bass, or a strike.

In the lower region of the reservoir, we dissected a bluff shoreline, the riprap-laden shoreline of the dam, a rocky shoreline just west of the dam, and a small feeder-creek arm.

The lower end of the bluff is adorned with a decorative concrete retaining wall, and the remainder of the bluff’s shoreline is embellished with large rocks, boulders, patches of American pondweeds, some standing timber, a few laydowns, and three boat docks. This shoreline is about 100 yards long, and it usually yields several largemouth bass and spotted bass, but it was not productive this time. And while we were fishing this bluff, the trolling motor quit working, and we stopped fishing and took it to the repair shop.

After a couple of hours at the repair shop, the trolling motor was repaired, and we returned to this reservoir. We began where we left off earlier, and fished along the riprap-laden dam at around 1:30 p.m.

The riprap along the dam yielded one spotted bass. It was caught in eight feet of water and 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge. It was attracted to a slow swim-glide-and-subtle-shake presentation of a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce finesse mushroom-style jig.

We failed to catch any bass from a submerged rock ledge that parallels another main-lake shoreline just west of the dam. This shoreline is endowed with flooded timber, several laydowns, chunk rocks, and large boulders.

About a quarter of the way inside a small feeder-creek arm near the dam, we caught one spotted bass. Its east shoreline is covered with rocks and boulders, and it has a 45- to 60-degree slope. This spotted bass was caught on an accidental deadstick presentation with the 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rig in six feet of water near the outside edge of a thick patch of American pondweeds. The remainder of this shoreline was fruitless. We also probed a decorative rock wall with submerged boulders piled around its base. This wall is positioned on a prominent secondary point about halfway inside and on the west side of the creek arm, and we failed to elicit any strikes.

We finished the outing inside a major feeder-creek arm in the midsection of the reservoir. It is endowed with a long bluff at the mouth of this creek arm, and it extends back to the midsection of the creek arm, where it transitions into a flat clay-and-gravel shoreline. It is embellished with flooded timber, submerged stumps, tree trunks, patches of American pondweeds, scores of laydowns, broken tree limbs, several boat houses, and a few patches of chunk rocks mixed with a few large boulders. This shoreline relinquished five spotted bass and two largemouth bass. Almost all of them were caught in two to 15 feet of water and within two to 10 feet of the water’s edge. One was caught from underneath a boat house. They were coaxed into striking a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on either a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, or a chartreuse 1/16-ounce finesse mushroom-style jig.

In sum, the black-bass bite was slow during this four-hour excursion. We had a trying time locating and catching 15 black bass, which consisted of 10 spotted bass and five largemouth bass.

Unfortunately, the low-water level at this reservoir made it difficult for us to launch and trailer our boat. Before we fish here again, we will most likely wait until the water level returns to normal or at least rises significantly.

Oct. 23

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Oct. 23 outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

Norman and I fished at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir situated in north-central Texas.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table noted that the fishing would be poor. The most productive fishing would most likely occur from 12:19 a.m. to 2:19 a.m., 6:33 a.m. to 8:33 a.m., and 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

We fished from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

It was overcast, and it rained lightly on us a couple of times. The morning’s low temperature was 67 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature reached 83 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 29.94 at 1:00 p.m. and 29.86 at 5:00 p.m. The wind angled out of the southeast at 12 to 22 mph.

The water level was 5.66 feet below normal pool. The water exhibited about 18 inches of clarity. The surface temperature ranged from 69 to 71 degrees.

We fished inside two bays, two feeder-creek arms, and around a main-lake point and its adjoining main-lake shoreline.

Inside the first bay, we probed two clay-and-gravel flats, the sides and corners of several boat houses, and five rocky secondary points. We caught two largemouth bass. The underwater terrain inside this bay consists of mostly red clay, small gravel, and some scattered boulders. These two largemouth bass were caught in five to seven feet of water and 10 to 15 feet from the water’s edge across one of the two clay-and-gravel flats in the midsection of the bay. Both of them were caught with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style finesse jig. The first one was caught on a slow swimming retrieve, and the second one was caught on an accidental deadstick presentation. We failed to garner any strikes around the sides and corners of the floating boat houses and the five rocky secondary points.

Around two concrete boat ramps, a submerged rock ledge, four rocky secondary points, and three rocky shorelines inside the second bay, we garnered one strike from a feisty freshwater drum. It was caught along one of the three rocky shorelines in nine feet of water on a swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

The first feeder-creek arm was relatively bountiful; it relinquished seven spotted bass and two largemouth bass. These nine black bass were scattered in five to nine feet of water from the lower section to the upper end of the creek arm. They were abiding near small secondary and tertiary points that are situated on the west side of the creek arm. Most of these points are flat, and their terrains are composed of red clay and small gravel. Some of them are enhanced with laydowns, submerged boulders, and stumps. One of these points is endowed with a concrete boat ramp. One of the two largemouth bass was caught on a slow-swimming retrieve with a slightly shortened Z-Man’s mudbug Hula StickZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style finesse jig. The other largemouth bass and seven spotted bass were allured by a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve on the 2 1/2-inch pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

A 200-yard stretch of rocky shoreline on the west side of the second feeder-creek arm yielded one spotted bass and one white bass. This shoreline has a 45- to 60-degree gradient. It is laden with small gravel, chunky rocks, numerous boulders, and a couple of boat houses. It encompasses nine secondary and tertiary points, one small flat, and two small coves. This spotted bass and the white bass were enticed by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pumpkin-chartreuse ZinkerZ and chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead rig.

The flat clay-and-gravel main-lake point, and its adjacent main-lake shoreline, relinquished one spotted bass and five white bass. They were caught in three to seven feet of water on either a 2 1/2- or three-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened to a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

In conclusion, we have been flummoxed by the sluggish black-bass fishing in north-central Texas for the past several weeks. We were hoping that the unstable weather might improve the fishing, but it was sluggish this time, too. We fished for 4 1/2 hours, and it was a grind for us to eke out nine spotted bass, four largemouth bass, six white bass, and one freshwater drum.

Oct. 26

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Oct. 26 outing with Norman Brown of Lewisville, Texas.

Here is an edited version of his log.

North-central Texas has been in an extreme drought, and north Texans were elated to receive 5.1 inches of rain that arrived during the evening hours of Oct. 24, and continued off and on through the early-morning hours of Oct. 26.

After the storms moved off to the east on Oct. 26, Norman Brown of Lewisville and I travelled to a popular U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir in north-central Texas.

According to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, the fishing forecast was poor. The prime fishing periods would most likely occur from 2:40 a.m. to 4:40 a.m., 8:52 a.m. to 10:52 a.m., and 9:16 p.m. to 11:16 p.m.

The morning’s low temperature was 70 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 86 degrees. The wind quartered out of the south at 10 to 15 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.93 at 10:00 a.m. and 29.86 at 3:00 p.m. The sky conditions varied from overcast with scattered showers to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy and sunny.

This reservoir’s water level was 2.34 feet below normal, and so far, it doesn’t appear that the five inches of rain has had much impact on this impoundment. The water conditions varied from muddy with about four inches of visibility in the upper end of one feeder-creek arm to 3 1/2 feet of visibility in the lower end of another feeder-creek arm. The water temperature ranged from 68 to 71 degrees.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, small gravel, chunky rocks, and quite a number of large boulders. In the upper end of the reservoir, there are scores and scores of thick stands of flooded timber, laydowns, stumps, brush piles, and buck brush, which is a target-rich environment for many of our power-fishing brethren. Also, there are many new and burgeoning patches of Eurasian milfoil flourishing in several of this reservoir’s feeder-creek arms.

We had this reservoir mostly to ourselves; we saw only one other bass boat and two pontoon boats during this outing. And as we relished the mild-mannered weather, we found the black-bass fishing just as enjoyable. We fished from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and we caught 41 black bass; 36 were largemouth bass and five were spotted bass.

Our primary focus was to search for some black bass inside three feeder-creek arms and around a couple of main-lake areas in the lower end of the reservoir. Two of the three creek arms are situated in the reservoir’s east tributary arm, and the other one is in the west tributary. And on our way to two of those creek arms, we stopped briefly and fished at two rocky main-lake points and portions of their adjoining main-lake shorelines.

We caught one largemouth bass in less than five feet of water from one of the two flat and rock-laden main-lake points, but we failed to elicit any strikes from the other main-lake point and from their adjacent main-lake shorelines.

The first feeder-creek arm, which is situated in the lower end of the east tributary arm, yielded 25 largemouth bass. The second creek arm, which is located in the lower region of the west tributary arm, relinquished five spotted bass and one largemouth bass. The third creek arm, which is situated in the middle section of the east tributary arm, surrendered 10 largemouth bass. We found decent aggregations of threadfin shad in all three of these creek arms.

These 41 black bass were caught in three to seven feet of water. Thirty-one of them were relating to flat secondary points and several adjoining pockets that are embellished with small gravel, chunky rocks, many boulders, and numerous patches of milfoil. These points and pockets are spread out from the lower to the upper portions of the creek arms. The other 10 bass were relating to large patches of Eurasian milfoil that decorate the shallow-water areas around an island about the size of half a football field, which is located in the lower end of the first creek arm.

Three clay-and-gravel flats, two rocky and steep secondary points, a portion of one cove, and a shallow submerged rock ledge inside these creek arms were bereft of black bass.

Eighteen of these 41 black bass were allured by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Space Guppy Slim SwimZ matched with a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Another 18 were tempted by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Three bass were caught on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse TRD affixed on an unpainted 3/32-ounce finesse jig. And two largemouth bass engulfed a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ fastened to an unpainted 3/32-ounce finesse jig. All of these combos were employed with a steady-swimming retrieve.

In closing, we are hopeful that the runoff from the recent rains will help raise the water levels in the parched waterways of north-central Texas. But as for now, we are unable to safely launch our boat at one Corps’ reservoir and two state reservoirs that we routinely fish in north-central Texas until their water levels rise significantly.

Oct. 31

Mother Nature’s windy, wet, and unseasonably cold spells kept scores of Midwest finesse anglers (especially the old codgers of this clan) at bay during the last 11 days of October.

What’s more, Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, reported that 14 inches of rain pummeled some locales in north-central Texas during the last four days of October, and area thermometers plummeted to 28 degrees during the last night of October.