The Struggle Was Real, But Worth It!

3.50lbs Ish's Phat Frog (Brown)

6:00-11:00AM SPSI, East of GOMH, Loon Sex Bay
Conditions: 64-77℉, Partly Cloudy, Calm to blowing pretty good out of the SE
Water Temp: 75℉

I should have been on the water by 5:30, but I was putzing around and didn't get to the lake until about 5:40.  It looked and felt beautiful with it being glass calm, but there was no surface activity going on, just nothing.  I stopped at West Point for about 15 minutes and didn't get hit except for one quick swipe by a pike on the SBKO.  I next went to the South point of the small island. I immediately noticed a bass boat fishing across the way in Channel Inn Bay.  As I was working the reeds he moved to the NW point of the small island and started working his way south covering water fast.  I wasn't having any luck, just nothing going on.  When he got within about 50 yards of me.  He caught a quality bass a ways out there on the weed flat.  He said he had gotten a few so far just randomly fishing a Whopper Plopper 130 and covering water.  He continued on around the point to the East.  I finally caught an 11" dink on a craw tube on the point.

28" Whopper Plopper  90 (Yellow Head)

I started noticing some baitfish activity out where he caught the bass so I headed that way throwing the small Whopper Plopper.  Just before I was going to pull it out of the water this 28" pike nailed it.

I then worked my way to the slop East of the GOMH.  I think I missed the first hit I got, then landed a small pike on Ish's Frog.  I went about half an hour with nothing then missed one, caught a 15.5" and lost one in the slop that felt bigger than a 15" on the Ish's.  Then nothing for another half hour or so.  I went back to the SPSI and got this skinny 16.66" on a Hack Attack Jig .

2.31lbs Hack Attack Jig/Chigger craw

   I then went to Loon Sex Point and caught a 15.5" in the slop there pretty quickly on an Ish's Phat frog.  I missed the next fish when I didn't get a good hookset due to the wind bowing my line.  Had it on for a few seconds and felt like a better fish, bummer.  Had a small pike hit me off the tip of the point.  The wind was blowing into some rice just across from the point perfectly to set up an ambush.  Sure enough a good size fish was there, but I wasn't ready for it when it exploded on the frog and got a lousy hook set.  Missing that fish really got me pissed off at myself.  I don't know whether it was a bass, pike, or dogfish, but it was big and I totally blew it.  As I drifted along I then had 15.25" hit the frog boat side and basically hook itself.  I then missed another good blow up and caught a 12 incher.

I cast into the open hole on the left and good size wake immediately went up to the frog and stopped.  I thought it was gonna be a dogfish.  I moved the frog and it blasted it.  I was ready this time and got a good hookset.  It was the 3 1/2 pounder at the top of the blog.  I think that is the biggest bass I've caught in this bay this year.  At that point I was feeling much better about my morning.  I then tried some pitching and punching with the Hack Jig and lost at least 4 bites, but they were all smaller 1 to 2lb fish.   I pitched my way to the end of the slop that the wind was blowing on and called it a day.  I definitely need to put the frog rods down and work on my punching game.  With the water getting dark like it is I think conditions are getting right for it.

13.27lbs for my Best 6

7 Bass

3 Pike