Warm water rematch

Looking for a rematch in regards to my bass action last week I found myself driving across the Front Range in search for viable water. A cold snap rolled through again making me shake my head wishing that I had planned a trout run somewhere else.

First pond was a no-go so my casting elbow and me moved down to another location. A few more casts and it looked like the day was sure to be a skunker. Then the fog seemed to break a bit as the midday sun started to power through. A few minutes before my afternoon cut-off time I get a thump on the bait solid enough to put a hook set on. Land the fish and put the lip-grab on a largemouth bass that looks a bit haggard. This fish has suffered some type of damage and survived to tell the tale.

(Above: This fish looks a bit rugged and thankful to make it through the winter. Didn’t spend much time with the photo op to minimize the overall stress of the experience. Hope to see you next year, buddy.)

This fish hit a 3” white grub on a 2” EWG hook rigged Carolina style with a 1/4oz sinker. A dropshot setup would have worked better but my dropshot weights must have been set to the side on a winter cleanup of my bass gear for some reason. Presentation was kept on the slower speeds and most of the day was spent cleaning moss of whatever I was throwing. The senkos and other fantastic plastics were put in the rotation as well.

My February fishing game has been really hurting this month. Weekend cold snaps are absolutely wrecking my warm water attempts. This month my shameless fish bragging is looking more like a run of apologies. The last few trips I have barely managed to C&R one skunk-beater fish and walked out with my bag of excuses.