After a mild winter we were able to get on the water almost 3 weeks ahead of last year and had some great luck. Took the Z8 up to pool 10 on the Mississippi and fished near Lock # 9 as well as around the Yellow river mouth area. Surprisingly the water temps were in the 56-59 degree range. Usually they are either iced over or in the middle 40s this time of year. 

Using a KVD 1.5 in the chartreuse and a Yum Wooly Bug in black and blue we were able to boat 13 bass including this 3lb 9oz chunker.

Well the 2011 fishing season is over. Not that it was much of a season for me, new baby and position at work took most of my time this year and left little time to pursue the little green monsters that live in the lakes. I only fished one tournament this year which was the Mcbride Open in early April. The time that i did have to fish was spent on Pleasant Creek lake because of its close proximity to where i live and i learnt alot about that lake during the course of the summer.

I am a bank beater through and through but the lack of shallow cover on this lake forced me to learn how to use my electronics. I fished football jigs, dropshots, shakey heads and deep cranks more this year than i have the last 5 years combined! Probably the most important thing i learnt this summer was patience. My usual approach to a lake is putting the trolling motor on high and targeting cover that looks like it should hold fish, well fishing 20 feet of water throws that approach out, though at times i did find my self chasing schooling bass that were feeding on shad which was alot of fun.

What did surprise me using these techniques was my 5 fish weight increased. I usually have a hard time breaking the 10lb limit but this past summer i had numerous 12-15lb limits which increased my confidence tremendously which is a huge part of bass fishing i think. Knowing that i am a more diverse bass fisherman going into next year will hopefully pay off with less skunks and more bass in the boat. I think that all bass fisherman that are serious about our sport should at times force themselves to fish a technique that they are uncomfortable with and pursue that technique until they can consistently find and catch fish with that technique. So with that i challenge you to make a goal for yourselves to master a technique that you have read about, wondered about but have never fished for more than 20 minutes at a time. New years will be here soon so make that resolution for next year. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year guys