Bass Opener With The Dogs
Bass opener is one of those days we look forward to every year. All of a sudden there’s a whole lot more water to fish and it’s easy to take the boat out in the evening to our local lakes that are full of bass.
In our zone, FMZ 16, bass open on the fourth Saturday in June, and we try to be out there first thing on Saturday morning. When it came time for opener this year, Darrell and I decided we should be responsible homeowners and skip a day of fishing in order to install a new door. We learned two things: 1) replacing doors is not as easy as we’d hoped, and 2) we’d really rather pay someone to do home repairs/renos (too bad we can’t afford it!).
With that headache out of the way (1 door down, 3 to go), we packed up the boat Sunday morning, had the dogs jump in the truck, and headed for the lake.
The parking lot was surprisingly empty when we arrived. There was one boat leaving, another launching, one with a canoe, and us. That’s almost unheard of at this time of the year. Maybe it was the threat of rain that keep people away.
We launched and I was careful to keep the boat away from the log that had damaged our prop the previous year. That had been a costly experience! Darrell parked the trailer then had the task of getting all three dogs organized and over to meet me at the boat. I drove back to the gabions to get him and after everyone had piled in, we were off.
It seems the first few minutes of every boat ride involves me reminding Erza and Molly not to jump overboard, and Panda walking in circles to find the perfect spot to lay down. Have you ever gone boating with three 40-ish lb dogs in a 16ft boat? It can be chaotic at times. But, so very worth it.
The water level was down about a foot from normal and our favourite back-in-the-sticks spots for pike had dried up. Yes, it was bass opener, but we’ll never pass up the chance to catch toothy critters. We headed for some large, submerged logs that have held bass in the past, but couldn’t convince anything to bite. My spinnerbait wasn’t making anything stir, and neither was Darrell’s jerkbait.
One of my favourite things about this spot is all the pitcher plants that can be found lining the edges of the lake. They were in full bloom on this day and the red and purple hues of the flowers stood out among the green of the other vegetation.
Fish were few and far between and about the size of my hand or smaller. Throwing a Berkley Power Nymph I caught a sunfish and two perch, which Erza insisted on inspecting before I released them. Jack used to love checking out every fish we caught and it’s made me happy to see Erza showing the same interest. The other two dogs couldn’t care less if we catch something. They just want to be out there with us.
Now remember, this was bass opener, and so far we hadn’t seen a single bass. We headed for the best area in the lake to catch fish, hoping there would be some hungry bass kicking around.
At this point I had been casting my spinnerbait a fair bit since I enjoy throwing it, but after a few passes by some prime structure (an old dock), I decided to change back to my curly-tailed grub. If I could only have one lure to use for the rest of my life, it would be a jighead with a curly-tailed grub on it. I wouldn’t even care what colour.
I tossed the jig to the corner of the dock, let it fall, and then went to pull it back towards me. My lure didn’t move. It felt like I had snagged bottom, but not quite. Fish on!
My heart started pounding as soon as I realized that weight was a fish and I began to reel her in. Darrell dropped his road and ran for the net when he heard my drag scream. I knew I had the drag a little light, but at that point I was hesitant to tighten it. Showing a patience I rarely display, I played this fish out instead of horsing her in. I was sure to lose her if I horsed her, but it felt like ages before I got her near the boat and up to the surface. She peeled drag and took off more than a few times.
Such. A. Rush.
There’s a reason why anglers love fishing for bass.
After an amazing fight I finally got her close enough for Darrell to net and then I got a good look at her. She was a beautiful fish, as all smallmouth are, but the bigger girls are even more beautiful. A quick picture and measurement (over 19 inches long) and I placed her back in the water. One kick and she was gone.
While finding another bass proved to be a challenge, Darrell kept casting out his jerkbait and eventually hooked into a pike. It wasn’t hard to find more toothy critters after that. With a good mix of weed, wood, and shallow water with quick access to deeper water, the smaller pike were hanging out close to shore. I started casting my spinnerbait again and each of us hooked into a few more pike.
Before long it was time to head home. Erza and Molly sat on the side rod locker, while Panda snoozed at my feet. They were absolute stars on this outing. When we first started taking them out in the boat, Panda and Erza would bark at everyone they saw. They’re farm dogs that hadn’t been socialized a whole lot, so I understood it, but it was something we had to work on. They come on almost every camping and fishing trip now and have really relaxed and learned how to enjoy the adventure.
I spent a lot more time with hands on dogs instead of bass for this particular bass opener, but it was an excellent outing nonetheless. I can’t wait to get out again and we’ve already planned to get our wacky rigs ready for the next outing. The bass in the lake we’re heading to really love a wacky-rigged worm.
Did you get out for bass opener? How was your trip? Let us know in the comments!
argosgirl
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