What's in My Tacklebox

This BIG smallmouth couldn't resist
a Hot Rod Baits Tube in the
Dirty Craw color.

Summertime fishing is in full swing, and you change up your baits you will be catching a lot of bass during these hot months.  

The Iowa Sportsman Article: Summer 2023



What’s in My Tackle Box? Bass Fishing Edition

Bass fishing in the state of Iowa can take you to many diverse locations without traveling very far. This may complicate things when thinking about all the different types of lures you must have to catch largemouth and smallmouth bass. I have been chasing these creatures around the state for three decades and have learned a lot of lessons along the way. When loading up a tacklebox for a trip, it is vital to have a little bit of everything. Here is what you need for a successful day of bass fishing:

Fast Baits: Spinnerbaits and Bladed jigs are a must for all bass anglers. These cover water quickly and can be used around wood and sparse weeds that will be starting to grow this time of year. Crankbaits are a great tool as well. Have a variety of depths when you pack things up. Shallow running crankbaits all the way to 15 feet will cover most applications in any river or lake. Colors of these baits should include white, crawfish and chartreuse colors. Last, but not least is a swim jig. This can be fished around all types of cover and can be worked through and on top of grass mats.

Slow baits: Jigs are a go to bait this time of year, my personal favorite is a Wig’s Jig in the black and blue flash color. Texas-rigged plastic baits are a must for any bass angler. There are literally hundreds of plastic style baits imitating all sorts of different creatures. Keep it simple and have some crawfish imitators and some 4-inch Hot Rod Baits tubes. These two styles of baits will catch you plenty of bass. Colors to have are the typical crawfish colors, black/blue combos and bluegill patterns.

Trailers: Each tackle box needs to have a few plastic trailers for the baits mentioned above. Jig chunks, twister tails, paddle tails and minnow style plastics will dress up the jigs, spinnerbaits, swimjigs and bladed jigs. White and natural colors to match your color preferences will be needed.

Topwater Baits: I must admit that this one is the hardest for me to narrow down, I love topwater baits, and there are so many good ones out there to use. Each and every time I hit the water this time of year it is a must to have a good array of topwater baits. No matter if you are on a lake or river system, these can provide you with the most fun of any day on the water. The easiest topwater bait to use for bass is a buzzbait. Black, white and chartreuse are all good colors to use. In clear water situations a bluegill pattern can be great as well. Poppers are the next topwater bait that everyone should have in their tacklebox. These come in every color under the rainbow, the action of the popper is more important than the paint job most days. I stick to the white colors and bluegill patterns for these. Walking baits like the IMA Big Stick are by far the most challenging lure to use for the angler. Once you master the “walking” action with your rod sweeps, you will fall in love with this lure. Lastly, the hollow bodied frog. If you are fishing around a lot of weeds and or docks, this bait is by far the most exciting bait to put on your line. This floating lure will float on top of weeds and can be skipped under docks to entice those fish hiding along the poles. My favorite is the Optimum Baits Furbit frog, there are a lot of color choices, and they are built with a 6/O hook, helping to keep those fish on the line as you reel them in through the weeds.

The above-mentioned baits may seem like a lot to some anglers and not very many to other anglers. This is a quick rundown of the baits that are overall successful this time of year, and will work for a pond, river or any lake in the state of Iowa. There are many, many other types of baits out there to catch bass, but I never go fishing without these mainstays, they will help you catch more bass this time of year. As always, experiment with colors, sizes and retrieval speeds as you fish. Sooner or later, the bass will tell you what they want on a particular day, and when you find out what they like, get the camera ready for some awesome Catch/Photo/Release pictures!

Indee Bass Club travels to Pleasant Creek Lake

 

Pleasant Creek Lake CHAMPS

The Indee Bass Club members voted on areas to fish for 2023 and Pleasant Creek Lake, near Palo made the cut once again.  This event began at 6:30am, which gave anglers about six hours to chase down as many bass as possible.  The two-angler teams are in a boat with their adult captain, the goal is to catch five keeper bass.  

The morning started out very nice, the sky was overcast, a mild breeze and the bass were biting.  Anglers searched the entire lake looking for their limit of bass, a goal that many anglers were able to accomplish.  

Colton Cameron and Carter Eddy were once again the winners of the event.  They were able to bring five keeper bass to the scale that weighed 10.85 pounds.  Carter also caught the Big Bass of the event, a largemouth that weighed 3.24 pounds.  Coming in second place was EJ Miller and Owen Latwesen.  They caught five largemouth that weighed 9.64 pounds.  In third place was Jackson Beatty and Gable Eddy, they had five keepers that weighed 8.27 pounds.  In fourth place was Ranger Reed and Carter Cameron, they had five keepers weighing 7.32 pounds.  The anglers able to catch their limit reported catching fish on a variety of baits; chatterbaits, crankbaits, topwater baits, stick baits, spinnerbaits, swimjigs and Texas rigged plastics.  In fifth place was Cal Sweeney and Hunter Sherwood, they had three keeper bass that weighed 4.63 pounds.  In sixth place was Hunter Weepie, he had three bass that weighed 3.75 pounds.  In seventh place was Wyatt Mether and Carson Hanaway, they had three bass that weighed 3.31 pounds.  A total of 17 students participated in this event, all of which received awards and fishing gear.  

The Indee Bass Club is a free club run by volunteers.  This is possible by the great support of sponsors, they include; BankIowa, Klever Concrete, Colony Heating/Plumbing/AC, Tim Reed State Farm Agency, Buchanan County Wildlife Association,  Rick Wendling Memorial, Cy & Charley's, Shay's Minn Kota, Scheels of Cedar Falls, Hank's Bait and Tackle of Waterloo, The Rod Glove, X-Zone Lures, Hot Rod Baits, and Quantum Rods and Reels.  All Independence students, including St. John students are able to participate in the club events.  For more information on the Indee Bass Club, check them out on Google, Facebook and Instagram.  

Summertime Panfish

When the weather is hot, the panfishing can be hot too, if you know where to locate fish in your nearby lake.  Hot summer days with a mild breeze are great days to get outside and enjoy some panfishing.  This can easily be done with a boat or small craft like a kayak or canoe.  These hot days of summer place panfish in certain locations throughout lakes that you can pattern from one area to another, keeping you busy on these hot Iowa summer days.

Panfishing in the summer can be done with a variety of techniques and baits. It is a time of year when you do have to experiment to know exactly what the fish want and where they are located. Here are a few “can’t miss” strategies as you begin to look for summer panfish.


Locations: Panfish live in all lakes here in Iowa, of course some lakes may thrive with bluegills while others may have a great population of crappies. These two panfish, typically the most sought after here in Iowa, live together throughout the year. Oftentimes when you find one species the other isn’t too far away. For the most part, these creatures are eating the same food as one another and cruising the lakes for their next meal. The food source this time of year can be a variety of creatures. Panfish will feed on microorganisms, first year fry, baitfish, bugs and crawdads. Basically, if it moves in the water and they can fit it in their mouth, they will eat it. With that in mind, as anglers we need to think where do these creatures spend their day, when you find the food, you will find the panfish. In most lakes there are three specific things to look for to find your next meal of panfish. The first being brushpiles, these are magnets for the bait that panfish eat. Brushpiles give the small creatures a place to hide, and in turn make an excellent place for panfish to come and grab their next meal. There are times where you can anchor down around a brushpile and cast to it for hours picking up fish after fish. Another great location are weed lines. Summer in Iowa always creates a lot of weed cover, ponds, small lakes, and big lakes typically will have submerged weeds and weeds on top of the water too. I always try to find some of the deeper weeds in the lake. They may be close to an old creek channel or at the mouth of a cove. I have seen in many cases that the bigger panifish will be closest to the deepest water. Lastly, and the most difficult area to find panfish is the open basin of the lake. Fish will roam during these hot months swimming over the deepest parts of the lakes looking for a meal. In most cases there is no rhyme or reason for their location, they are simply swimming, however staying close to channel swings and or flooded timber should increase your chances. Do not fish too deep in the basins, if a thermocline is present the panfish will not be active below it. These three distinct locations have always been a great place to start looking for summertime panfish, some are better than others on specific lakes, give them a try on your favorite panfish waters this summer.


Techniques: Catching panfish does not take a lot of fancy gear. Keeping things simple is a great way to chase after these fish. One cannot write about summer panfish without mention of a slip bobber. This technique has caught more panfish over the years than anything else combined. A bobber, when used to its fullest potential, can be deadly on panfish. Over the years I have found a bobber to not only zone in on a specific depth of water, but to use it as a trolling device. Once you cast it out, you can reel it in at any speed to control that deepest depth the bait will run. Some days a slow steady retrieve will have the panfish going crazy. Anchoring down and “trolling” your bobber slowly all around the structure or basin that you are is very effective this time of year. Casting and retrieving your favorite jig or small spinner is great too. Trolling the deep basin is a tried and true way to catch fish in the summer. If possible use the trolling motor instead of the gas motor to sneak up on the fish. On windy days, use the wind to your advantage by setting up a controlled drift. Use the wind to move you, and your trolling motor sparingly to adjust speed and direction. As with any fishing day, change up your colors and sizes of plastics, as it can make a big difference. Live minnows are hard to beat when searching out crappies, make sure you have some way to keep them alive during these hot months, they won’t last long without a plan. Small worms are a bluegill’s favorite meal, always have some ready to tempt them.


Fish Care: When catching fish in the summer months it is important to keep the care of the fish in mind. If you are going to catch and release for the day, have your camera ready for a few pictures. When the water temperature warms above seventy degrees, fish cannot be out of the water very long and survive another day. If you are going to keep some fish for eating it is important to care for them as well. It is best to keep the fish alive up to the point of cleaning it this time of year. If you cannot do that, then it is vital you get the fish in a cooler with ice. Chilling the fish while they are alive will preserve the meat and make those filets taste better than ever.


Panfish are a fun fish to chase, even when the weather may tell you to stay at home in the air conditioning. They are great to go after when kids or older adults are involved in the fishing trip. By concentrating on certain structures and cover in the lake you should be able to quickly find some hungry fish. The many techniques to try to catch these fish will have anglers interested and hopefully bringing in their fair share of fish for the day.

Iowa High School Bass Team Championship

 The 2023 Iowa High School Bass Team Championship keeps growing.  This year there was a record setting 49 boats entered in the event.  With only a $20 entry fee per boat, and working with sponsors I was able to give away OVER $3,000 worth of prizes.

SCHEELS of Cedar Falls~~The Rod Glove~~X-Zone Lures~~Quantum Rods/Reels

Check out the story filmed by John Campbell of KCRG-TV-9 below:

Indee Bass Club Kicks off the 2023 Year

 The Indee Bass Club held its first tournament of the year on the Wapsi River on May 3rd.  This event took place on a Wednesday evening and the weather couldn't have been any better.  Sunny skies and nice springtime temperatures made the night a beautiful one for fishing.  Eighteen anglers set out to catch as many legal bass as they could and bring back their five largest to the scales.  Although the weather on this day was picture perfect, the weather in the weeks prior to the tournament was not the typical spring weather the bass are used to.  Extremely warm temperatures and then a big cold front had the bass in unusual places and not willing to feed up as they typically do this time of year.  That did not stop the members of the Indee Bass Club though, as spirits were high when they were released to begin the event.

As sun was setting and the boats were coming back to the dock to weigh in their catch for the night the chatter around the parking lot wasn't as jovial as when they started.  Reports of bass being caught were on the low side.  Walleye and Northern Pike kept a few anglers busy, but the goal was to bring in five keeper bass.  The Wapsi River has a length limit on bass species, they must be 12-inches to keep.  That was also the regulation for the event.  No team was able to bring in a limit of five bass, which is very unusual for the Wapsi River.  However, as in any bass tournament, someone always finds some fish to weigh-in.  In first place tonight was the team of Colton Cameron and Carter Eddy.  They had three bass that weighed 5.36#, they were captained by former club member Cyrus Butters.  In second place was Gable Eddy and Zach Sidles, they had two bass that weighed 4.25#, their captain was former bass club member Jackson Toale.  In third place was EJ Miller and Owen Latwesen, they had four keeper bass that weighed 4.08#, captained by Brian Miller.  In fourth place was Ranger Reed and Carter Cameron, they had one keeper bass weighing in at 2.17#, captained by Todd Reed.  In fifth place was Christian Simmons and Carson Hanaway, they had one bass that weighed 1.09#, captained by Dave Wilson.  Big Bass honors went to Gable Eddy, he brought in a big smallmouth bass that weighed 3.35#.  Others involved in the event were not able to bring a keeper bass to the weigh-in.  

All anglers were treated with Subway sandwiches, chips and drinks at the weigh-in, provided by Tim Reed State Farm Agency.  Needless to say, they were hungry and very appreciative of our sponsor helping out!  The Indee Bass Club is a free club to any student in grades 7-12 at the Independence schools, including St. John's.  This is made possible by the awesome companies that support the club.  They include Colony Heating/Plumbing/AC, BankIowa, Klever Concrete, Tim Reed State Farm Agency, Cy and Charley's, Rick Wendling Memorial, Shay's Minn Kota, Hank's Bait and Tackle, SCHEELS, Buchanan County Wildlife Association, Quantum Rods/Reels, The Rod Glove, X-Zone Lures, and the Hot Rod Baits Bass Series.  You can find the Indee Bass Club on Facebook, Instagram, and their website.  The next club event is June 24th at Pleasant Creek Lake.