A few weeks ago, the big cold spell put everyone in lockdown here in Texas. A week before it hit, we had warm, springtime temperatures, and the bass spawn was projected to begin. I made a trip to a local lake with my kayak to fish for the early arrivals in the warming shallow water. To my surprise, they had not moved up, and the water temp was still pretty cool. I decided to give it a couple of weeks and try again. Monday I made another trip and found some small males starting to move up and preparing the beds for the larger females. I began fishing with a ribbit frog in the thick cover on the north end of the lake. I had a lot of blow ups by small male bass but very few of them stuck. The water was very slick due to the lack of wind. The subtleness of the ribbit frog seemed not to spook them as it drew strike after strike. The largest ambush of the day caused a huge swirl on three consecutive casts without a hook up. I’m not sure if it was a large female or a snakehead. I decided the larger bass were still staging in deeper water. I tied on a small whopper plopper and started casting under, or close to, the cypress trees away from shore. This seemed to be effective for catching a few more small males.
Before starting my paddle back to the launch, a moving log caught my eye. The log was soon identified as my good friend Gary the Gator. Gary is a huge gator who patrols the lake with a slow glide and a cautious eye. We exchanged pleasantries, and I was once again on my way. The next full moon is at the end of this month. I am almost certain the larger females will be on the beds by then for some exciting angling.
This time of year, patience is the name of the game as the weather patterns fluctuate, and the bass move up and down the water column. In our present, I want it now world, we could all use some patience as we go through our daily lives. Colossians 3:12 says “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” This sounds like something we could all adopt in our lives considering our world’s current state of affairs.
I will be heading back soon as the full moon arrives, patiently hunting for that monster bass! Thanks for reading my blog, and enjoy the video of my recent trip. God bless you.
Tim Lumpkin
Legacy-outdoors.net
Instagram: @Tlump10
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