First time in the boat- April 4th

It was a long winter, and I had many awesome trips on the ice to chase crappies and bluegills.  As the saying goes...all good things must come to an end, so as the seasons turn here in Central Iowa, the boat had to get out of storage.  I hooked up the boat after work last Thursday night with friend Ken.  We headed out to a private lake not too far from Marshalltown to test the boat and see if we could get a few bass in the boat.  It was only 8 days after my last ice fishing trip in the same area...almost unbelievable!

The boat worked great, all things were functioning right on cue, and the bass were somewhat cooperative too.  We caught about 2 dozen bass in a few hours and got to test out some new equipment for the year too.  Quantum Rods and Reels came out with several updated models and some brand new stuff for the 2013 fishing season.  I will have reviews of those products as I fish them a little bit more, but if first impressions last, I will not forget soon how these new rods and reels performed.

We caught all our bass on shakey head worms, jigs or Hot Rod Baits Big Craws.  I did manage 2 bass on a spinnerbait too, and they really nailed it!  Water tamps varied from 47-51 degrees, as the previous sunny days really warmed the shallow waters.  It was a fun outing, everything worked well, some new equipment was tested, and we boated some bass.

This marked the first time ever, since owning a boat in 1999, that it has not touched water in March, a weird spring, which will hopefully lead to many great days on the water this year.