What was the BEST BAIT in April?

 As April comes to a close I reflect back on my time on the water.  There were some good days and few days where I was left scratching my head when loading the boat.  It is fishing, and Mother Nature was not very kind this April.  The weather patterns were like no other year I can ever remember.  The temperature swings definitely had the fish on the move, which caused me to try a lot of different techniques to try and catch fish.  No matter what we as anglers are thrown, and no matter what the weather may be, we have to figure out a way to trick the fish into biting.  We have to solve the question, "What are they biting on?"

On to the bass...April was, as stated a mess for weather and trying to get anything consistent going.  I did try a lot of different baits this past month, but overall the two main baits that kept catching fish was a jig and chunk combination and a Strike King spinnerbait.  I was able to work the jig and chunk on a 7ft 3in MedHvy power/fast action Lew's Speed Stick with a SuperDuty reel.  The SuperDuty reel has a flippin switch, which is something I have used for decades with pitching baits at shallow cover.  The Spinner bait setup was a 7ft medium power, fast action Lew's Custom Lite, really smooth action, great drag and the rod is so "lite".  These two combos and baits are no surprise for spring time bass fishing, but it does show that no matter what the weather may be, they still catch bass.  Typically a spinnerbait is considered a cloudy day presentation, however in the spring when the sun comes out the bass get active.  On these days the bass have a hard time not chasing down a spinnerbait.  When the bite is slower, perhaps on a cooling trend, then the jig and chunk really shined.  As stated, I tried many baits through April, crankbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits and finesse baits, a lot of baits will catch bass this time of year.  I did catch several smaller bass on stickbaits, but the larger bass all came on the jig or spinnerbait.   Each spring is a little different, keep your mind open every year to those baits and make sure and use plenty of your confidence baits as well.   

Strike King Slabalicious

On to the bait that caught the most fish in April.  It was by far the Strike King Slabalicious.  This plastic bait caught so many crappie for me and others fishing with me in April.  There was not a day where I couldn't find some hungry crappie, whether on the rivers or on a lake.  This bait is fantastic for vertical fishing as well as casting towards structure.  It is basically a mini version of a paddle tail used in bass fishing.  It has a lot of action that allows the crappie to feel and find it.  It also travels through the water a bit slower due to its unique tail, making it an "easy" meal for a nearby crappie.

May certainly has some better weather in store...we all hope.  Either way, get out there and enjoy the water when you can, be safe everyone, and if you can get a kid out there with you.

2024 Indee Bass Club Kick-Off Tournament

Gable and Jackson with the WINNING fish from the Wapsi

 This past Saturday marked the first day of tournament action for the Indee Bass Club in 2024.  The Wapsi River was the site of the event that saw seventeen anglers take to the water on a chilly morning.  The water level was normal, the water temperature was normal but the recent weather was up and down every other day.  Fish like steady conditions, which made this day on the water a bit tougher than most expected.  However, like all bass tournaments, some boat was destined to find them, and when hey did, they caught them!  

Coming in as the Wapsi Champions were Jackson Beatty and Gable Eddy.  These boys caught five keeper smallmouth bass that weighed 10.05 pounds.  Jackson also caught the big bass of the tournament which weighed 2.66 pounds.  Jackson Toale, their captain, led them to a few areas that had the bass feeding up on crankbaits and Hot Rod Baits Tubes.  The two students caught 8 keepers throughout the day, most fish coming from two small areas on the river.  Coming in second was EJ Miller and Kayden Donnelly, captained by Brian Miller.  This duo brought in four nice largemouth bass to the weigh in, they weighed 6.46 pounds.  EJ and Kayden caught their fish on spinnerbaits, Texas-rigged crawdads and 4-7foot diving Rapala crankbaits.  In third place was Ranger Reed and Cal Sweeney, captained by Todd Reed.  They used bladed jigs and spinnerbaits to catch their two keeper bass.  The two bass weighed in at 3.21 pounds.   In the fourth place spot with one keeper bass weighing 1.97 pounds was TeJay Ratchford and Evan Hoyle.  They were captained by Dan Sweeney.  A bladed jig was their best bait on the day.  Rounding out the top five was the boat captained by Dave Wilson.  Aiden Svoboda, Will Clark and Clinton Junk brought in one keeper that weighed 1.46 pounds.  Full results can be found on the Indee Bass Club website.

The club, which is FREE to all Independence students was able to give away about $800 worth of fishing gear, awards and gift cards.  All students walked away with some new fish fishing gear with the help of our sponsors; Colony Heating/Air Conditioning, BankIowa, Klever Concrete, Tim Reed State Farm, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, Shay's Minn Kota, Rick Wendling Memorial, Cy & Charley's, SCHEELS of Cedar Falls, Lew's, Strike King, The Rod Glove, Hank's Bait and Tackle of Waterloo, Hot Rod Baits and X-Zone Lures.  

The club is operated by Coach Todd Reed, Keith Donnelly and Garry Anderson, weigh-in helpers include Dan Sweeney and Randy Toale.  The students next event will be the The Bass Federation Student Angler State Tournament at the Okoboji Lakes April 27th.  If you want more information about club or want to help them with an event, check them out on Facebook, Instagram and their website.

Jeff Heinze helping with the weigh-in on the WINDY day.

How to "Take a Kid Fishing" ~ The Iowa Sportsman Magazine

The lastest Iowa Sportsman Magazine is out, and the highlighted article this month is "How to take a kid fishing".  Here's my article, also a direct link to check out the entire May 2024 issue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fishing has been a huge part of my life from a very early age.  I can remember begging my dad to take me fishing on the weekends.  He worked six days a week, church on Sunday mornings, but I just knew a father of seven kids wanted to take us fishing every chance “I wanted to go”.  Looking back now, I can’t believe we went fishing at all.  However, those times out on the river, ponds and streams always seemed like fun.  As for my dad, I don’t remember him fishing much, but he didn’t seem to mind.  Those early days out enjoying nature and catching fish sparked something in me that has lasted a lifetime thus far.  I have taken this passion of fishing and passed it on to my kids, their friends, extended family members and the community.  It hasn’t always been perfect over the years with young kids trying to fish, but I have found a few things that are a must when taking kids fishing.  I hope my trials will help you have some enjoyable times with kids this year.

Location isn’t just important in real estate, it is vital when taking kids fishing.  First, you must think about an area that has plenty of catchable fish.  Most kids don’t really care about the size of the fish, it is all about seeing that bobber going under the water, or feeling that thump on the end of the line.  Take your time, do some research and pick an area where fish will be caught.  If you don’t have action every ten minutes or so, kids will get bored and lose focus, this is when the mood will turn negative and take away from the outdoor experience.  A private pond or county park lakes are a wise choice when it comes to a nice place to take kids.  Many of the county parks that dot Iowa are small, have great access from shore and typically have a lot of bluegills that are willing to bite.  Private, stocked ponds are obviously a great choice if you have permission to fish some.  Spring is typically best with small ponds, as the warm weather increases many small ponds can become full of weeds making shorelines difficult to fish from.  You will want to do your homework and check areas before loading the kids up for a fishing trip. 

When taking kids fishing it is important to KISS. (Keep It Simple Stupid)  Equipment should be the basics only, spincast, push-button reels are best for young kids, and as they get a little older spinning reels will work well too.  Live bait is great to use, most kids love to play with worms and minnows.  When getting bait, try to get small red worms, not the big nightcrawlers.  Smaller worms work so much better than nightcrawlers when fishing for bluegills.  Live bait rigs with slip bobbers are my go-to when fishing with kids.  They are simple to set up, easy to re-bait and the kids love to watch that bobber.  It is nice to have a few basic lures for the kids who want to mix it up a bit.  Small jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits all are simple to use and will give some extra joy to the kids as they cast them out and reel them in.  

Food and drink are a very important thing to consider when taking kids out.  Plenty of water, fruit, juice boxes, fruit snacks, crackers and other treats are necessary for a successful day.  Trust me, you can never have too many snacks when it comes to taking kids fishing.  First, it gives them energy and keeps their bodies going, secondly, it gives them something to do when the fish are not biting.  Bring plenty of them and a good variety, the kids will love them and hopefully give them a boost in the trip when the fish are not cooperating.

We all know that fish have their own mind and sometimes bite well and other times not so well, no matter what we do it may just be a bad day of fishing.  If this is happening, turn the day into a day of learning.  Talk and teach the kids about the different species of fish that live in the lake or pond.  Another neat topic to discuss is the ecosystem of the body of water you are fishing.  Discuss the small creatures that are food for the fish, perhaps try to catch some of those.  Crawfish, bugs, minnows and worms can take attention off of the negative fish and get their attention on other cool nature items.  Most kids will soak up any knowledge of creatures that may be close to your fishing area.  

The last thing to consider when taking kids fishing is the time factor.  Depending how things are going with your fishing activities, keep a good eye on the time.  You do not want the kids to want to go home, ideally you want them asking to stay longer.  This will set up your next trip nicely and allow you to have a positive conversation on the way home about the next adventure.  

Taking kids fishing can be very rewarding.  When the fish are active and biting things are pretty easy, however I hope you remember a few of the tricks I have discovered over the years to keep kids busy and learning about nature when the fish are not so interested.  I hope you all have the opportunity to take some youngsters out this year, remember, it is all about them and the outdoor experience.  Keep those things in mind and you and the kids will have a great day.

***NEW Fish Sandwich/Snack

 

With the first fresh crappie catch of the year I decided to try something completely different to enjoy them.  I love a good tuna sandwich, fresh lettuce, cheese and dab of mayo, YUM.  So with this idea in mind I decided to take twenty crappie fillets and give it a try.  The idea was to prepare it just like the quick tuna fish sandwich many of us have loved for years our of the can.  It turned out pretty good, totally different taste, but still very tasty.  I also tried it the next day on some RITZ crackers as a snack...I must say this tasted even better than the sandwich.  Either way, this will not be the last time I create this quick, simple, and healthy meal.

~Bake 10 crappies (20 fillets) for 10 mins at 350 degrees

~Flake the fillets to small pieces

~Add flavorings- see picture (I did add some mayo also)

~Fix as a warm crappie sandwich, or let cool for a cold sandwich or cracker topper snack.

The "Crappie Salad" mixture

April BIG BASS

 April always brings another season here in Iowa, sometimes a new season every other day!  As we all know we can't do anything about Mother Nature, but we can and should be trying to catch your biggest largemouth in the month of April.  The water tends to warm around fifty degrees in April, and when you get some consistent weather, that surface temperature can really get the bass biting, especially the big ones.  As you can see from the highlighted picture, bass can get big quickly this time of year.  A couple of key things if you are looking to catch your biggest largemouth bass this month.

1) Watch the weather: consistent weather patterns allow bass to feed up.  Warmer, sunny days will be the best times for you to to chase after your big bass.  Consistent weather is important too, it doesn't have to be really warm weather, just consistent.  Steady water temps will get these bass feeding and actively searching for food.  

2) Baits: This time of year I keep it pretty simple.  Jig and chunk, spinnerbait, and jerkbait for deeper water.  These three baits will cover shallow water, mid-depths and deeper water too.  These work on lakes as well as rivers all around the state.   This time of year you can really keep things pretty simple.

3) Speed: Thinking back to almost all my bigger bass in the month of April, it was a slow retrieve.  Whether it was a jig crawled on the bottom, slowing twitching a jerkbait or slow rolling a spinnerbait.  Keep your baits moving slowly to get those big bass in the chasing mood.

Best of luck to you the rest of the month, I hope you can catch a GIANT too!