fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Had an arm wrestling match with 13 smallies this morning while trolling and casting via the kayak. Trolling was best with the small Rapala body baits, and the Mepps worked out well for casting during the tail end of the morning while a gentle Northerly breeze blew me back in to the beach where I had launched from.

Only managed to get 4 fish to the boat, while the other 9 let go before I could "pin'em"! I thought about a recent day Fredfish had on the water where they just did not want to hang on!

Nice and calm today, but a ton of pollen and cottonwood fluff in the surface film. I felt like a one string musician twanging the crud off my single string fish guitar all morning! The bass were in all stages of spawning...empty beds, occupied beds, husky pairs of bass still eloping for marriage and of course the roaming cruisers that were happy to pick off an edible moving target as I covered about a one mile stretch of shoreline both shallow and deep.

Enjoy the coming weekend and I hope that you get a chance to wet a line somewhere close to home!

Who could ask for more...gliding along and taking turns to look left and right in anticipation of a strike! Rods are angled up high to run these shallow running lures just above bottom in 6 feet of water.


Casting a bright colored Mepps spinner during a free drift from having the wind at my back.


Today's menu. Each lure hooked the same number of fish....although the middle pattern managed to attract 5 fish instead of the four of the others.


"Well hello there...Mam!" Thanks for dropping by for a quick photo session!


These ten foot six St. Croix rods are just like a small ultra light rig on steroids. Tons of fun while playing a fish...and when trolling the lures they are able to stay at least 20 feet apart except for when turning to avoid catching the rudder!

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

Looks like a great morning!

NJ219bands Loc: New Jersey

Nice 👍

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

Nice catching Yaker! I share your frustration with the self - releasing fish.LOL. I also have one of the middle jointed Rapala, it's a great color for clear water. Cottonwood and Milkweed seeds are the most aggravating of the floating debris, especially using braided line. Great report and pictures, thanks for sharing.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you OJdidit! Lot's of flat water...just perfect for the kayak!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you NJ219! I keep trying to take advantage of the calm days and warm air temps!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you Fredfish! The bass were very spunky today, and nearly all of the ones I hooked made multiple jumps and related aerial maneuvers after striking. I got to see some good acrobatics...but that is when they tend to throw the hook!

I was trolling a bit faster today (1.7 to 1.8 mph) because the water temps have risen to 64 degrees...but I still think that these bass were striking a bit short of the hook sweetspot!

Yes...that natural minnow color is a great producer around here!

Randyhartford Loc: Lawrence, Kansas

That top lure is one of my favorite for LM bass, here in Kansas.

Randyhartford Loc: Lawrence, Kansas

Is that top one a “baby bass” color?
I’m thinking that what mine is called…

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you Randy! That lure is one of my top favorites around here too. I really appreciate the lure companies that experiment, market, design and produce these types of lures!

I know that a lot of the hype is also centered around "grooming" the fisherman's / fisher ladies wallet and purse, but for the most part since they catch fish the money is well spent in my opinion!

The jointed ones have a very enticing action!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Actually...on the packaging...they call it crawdad. The attached photo is something I just took from my "new old stock" supply box. The Baby Bass color is shown right next to Crawdad. The crawdad lure pictured has the deeper diving bill for reaching depths of 6' to 13'...the first number being when casting and deeper when being trolled on a longer line out scenario.

These are the JSSR-5 and JSR-5 respectively as labeled on the box. I should have tipped the camera angle better so those numbers showed up.

The shallow divers with the step bill run at 2' down when just casting, and 4' when being trolled. In my experience, I think that the amount of line out...and troll speed...has some affect on the factory stats. In my kayak the shallow divers often tick bottom in 6' of water. I think that is good...because that little "puff" of sand can catch the attention of nearby fish when the lure scuffs bottom.

The middle color is known as silver shad.

A fresh snapshot from my garage tackle shop inventory....baby bass on top, with crawdad below. Rapala makes some nice color variations on the crawdad pattern besides the "natural" one.

Randyhartford Loc: Lawrence, Kansas

Yep! I like ‘em so much, I make sure I keep two in my bag!

Jeremy Loc: America

Nice snap shot of the lures on the rods ready for deployment. Thanks for the great narrative.

Steelhead Mickey Loc: NJ

What a great day to be on the water ‘yak’s it up! Glad the bronze backs cooperated in the clear water. Thanks for the photos of your rigs, lures & set ups. The pollen is bad here in NJ too, worst in years.

Always a pleasure to read your posts! Thanks’yaker!

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Thank you Jeremy! Running two rods is always a great way to have more gear in the water, and luckily I rarely get a double on! Once a rod goes off I try to reel in the second line ASAP so there is only one rod to control. Even a decent sized bass can turn me around on a dime! Sometimes that is when a fish gets off...when I have set the strike rod down for a moment to get the other one out of the way.

When the action is really hot and heavy, one line in the water is enough!