Chasin` Quail on a nice Fall morning is something that I`ve enjoyed doing with my best friend Curt Ryder for several years now. This past Saturday was our first go at it this season down in the Pine Barrens and I brought the Go PRO.  

It`s about a two hour ride for us to get to Greenwood Forrest, but we love it down there. Totally different terrain than we`re use to hunting in up here. There`s really no hills, no wild rose bushes to wrestle with and no ticks to get bitten by……..just sand and pine trees everywhere. 

We met up in Clinton at 5am that morning to begin our journey into South Jersey. Stopped at a WaWa when we got a bit closer to grab a breakfast sandwich as we got closer to Greenwood. The forecast was calling for a partially cloudy day with a high temperature right around 50 degrees. Perfect Quail hunting weather. 

When we pulled into the parking lot, there didn`t seem to be quite the onslaught of vehicles that we usually encounter down there. Didn`t really matter either way, as Curt, “Jake” and me were raring to go!

Now over the years, Curt has had some really awesome English Pointers. I mean really top-notch, hunting bird-dogs. Heck for that matter, I had never hunted with a pointer in all my years of hunting, until Curt started taking me out with his pups. “Jake” is a four years old and while he may not always hunt that close to us, he always finds a lot of birds. Curt uses an actual GPS collar on him so he knows how far out he is and in what direction.  

We started walking out, and it wasn`t long before `ol Jakey was on a bird. 

We got in position and Curt went in to put the bird up………….. Bang! My `ol 1959 20 Gauge Belgium Browning A5 cracked in the cool morning air. We had our first Quail of our eight bird limit.

Jake quickly jumped into another patch of woods and shortly went on point again.

This time Curt`s 20 gauge Over/Under Beretta Silver Pigeon cracked……dead bird. 

We continued hunting throughout the early morning hours……… laughing and bustin` on each other like any good friends do. Couple hours later we came upon a couple other hunters and I asked, “How ya boys makin` out this mornin`?”- They replied, “We got one”……. I said, “Ohhhhh….good good” – Then the older fella turns to me and asked, “How you guys doin`?” – I said, “We got a few…. six to be exact” – The old guy looked kind of surprised and said, “Six?” – Me,”Yea….between the two of us” – (Didn`t want him to think I had shot six by myself! HaHa!)

So without further ado……. Here`s the Go PRO Video I shot of that morning`s adventure down in the Pine Barrens;

As Curt and I walked out of the forrest that morning with our limits of Quail, I said, “Ya know, I got a feelin` a lot of guys don`t get their limits down here Curt” – He said, “Well….. Like I always said to you, Jake doesn`t always hunt that close, but he covers a lot of ground and usually finds a lot of birds” 

Good friends, a good dog and a good hunt………..Doesn`t get much better than that folks. 

Till next time….

Isn`t it interesting how the thought of something that you grew up doing, still evokes the same passion years later? Hunting on Thanksgiving Day is a tradition that I have been doing since I was ten years old. At 53, I still enjoy doing it as much as I did when my Dad would take me when I was 9 years old.  

Over the years, my best friend Curt Ryder and I have continued that tradition each Thanksgiving Day. Usually we`d meet up north and hunt till about 9 and he`d drive straight to his Mom`s up in New Hampshire and I`d head back home to get ready to go to my Mom`s for dinner. 

But this year was going to be a little different, as my nephew Tyler asked if he could join us on our Thanksgiving morning hunt. I said, “Absolutely!” and told him that Curt would be ecstatic that he was going with us that morning up north. It`s always more fun to hunt with an extra guy or two.

We arrived at our spot that morning and as expected, there were a bunch of other “Orange Jackets” just raring to go. Much to our surprise, there really wasn`t the usual ton of shooting that we were accustomed to hearing on Thanksgiving morning. Actually it was sort of strange not to hear the usual array of shots. Especially on Thanksgiving. Because they do stock a bit heavier than on a “normal” stocking night. Don`t get me wrong now, we did find birds, but not as many as we had in years past. 

We all joked and teased each other as we hunted…..(ok ok…… maybe I teased Tyler more than he teased us! HaHa!) – For me personally, it`s very rewarding just to see a smile on that young man`s face while he`s hunting and having a good time.   

And it was a real nice morning for all of us as we got four pheasants and called it a day at 9:30. Later Curt joined us for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my Mom`s that afternoon as well. 

. 

This past Thanksgiving was extra special for me this year………… considering all that had happened to me back in July.

I`m very thankful to have the pleasure of being here for another Thanksgiving and being able to experience all that life has to offer. 

Till next time….

The weather forecast last Sunday, kind put a damper on my deer hunting plans. I woke up to about two and a half inches of fresh snow(which I love hunting in!) and up to forty mile per hour wind gusts(which I hate hunting in!) – So that kind of bagged my deer hunting plans. 

As I took the pups out to pee, I looked at the trees out back swaying in the strong gusts……… then looked over at my `Yak covered in snow, smiled and thought, “Ahhhhhhhh…… why not?” – 

“Hell….. I ought to be able to wrangle up something(long as I didn`t get blown out of the `Yak!)” I said out loud as I brushed off the snow and loaded her up on the Murano. 

Figured it had been awhile since I went after that `ol toothy Esox…..the Northern Pike, so that would be my target of the day. So off to the Passaic River I went.  

After arriving at one of my go-to spots, I quickly set up my gear in the `Yak and launched into the murky waters of the river. I started out working a Chatterbait on one rod and a Bomber lure on the other. After paddling and casting about for a good hour, I hadn`t even had a follow let alone a strike or miss. Fish definitely are much slower in regards to striking in the cold-water and believe me, I was retrieving at a snail`s pace trying to provoke a strike. But nothing. The wind was definitely more than just a little challenging at times. With the wind howling, I wedge the `Yak up between a “V” of a half-submerged small, dead tree, in order to hold me in the current.    

Finally a solid strike and Fish on! Definitely felt like a nice Pike as I held the pole and attempted to paddle free of the brush, in order not to lose the fish. Wait…….. I just lost the fish. “God damn it,…. he felt good too”, I said aloud. 

I decided to drift down river a bit………. And it wasn`t long…..BAM! Fish on! A really nice, fat 24 inch pickerel.

The fish acted healthy, vibrant and had great colors. Here are a few pictures of what I`ve been describing;

Obviously, some kind of parasite or disease has caused this, but only in the pickerel that I`ve caught in the last few months. 

I kept fishing that afternoon, hoping to land a few nice pike…….. instead I caught four more pickerel! All very nice size and I certainly do enjoy catching any of the Esox family. 

Despite the very windy, cold conditions, it was a good day “Snot-Rocket” Wranglin` on the river indeed. Heck….. I had the entire river to myself too! Hmmmmmmmm…….. imagine that.

I reported this to the NJ Division of Fish & Game on Monday and sent them these pictures. They in turn, had the State Biologist call me to discuss this situation. He asked me to bring one to him in a bag, so they can do various tests and try figure out what is going on here. He wasn`t at all sure what was causing this or why it was only in the pickerel. 

Till next time…..

Sunday was a special day indeed. See it was my first time taking the `Yak back out on the Passaic River to have a go at some Northern Pike. I had only planned going for a few hours in the afternoon, as the forecast was calling for heavier rain that evening. I sent my now ritual text to Sharon, letting her know where I was fishing……… well……sort of. I sent the text saying I was going out to wet a line for a few hours and she wrote back asking where exactly. I reluctantly texted, “After Pike” – She; “You`re not going to the Passaic are you?” I said, “Yep….. I am and I`ll be very careful where I go”

She knows I like going into really difficult spots with the `Yak and all, and was concerned about launching in the river for the first time since my heart attack. The Doc said I can carry the `Yak for a short distance and that`s exactly what I had planned that afternoon. This will be a cinch, I said to myself as I loaded up the `Yak and made my way to the murky river.  

Arriving at the spot that I had planned to fish, I eagerly carried the `Yak a very short distance to the water`s edge.I then loaded up my poles and gear, parked the truck and jumped in my `Yak and was on my way! 

As I paddled my way upstream, I began making some short casts around the debris that was protruding at various spots along the river`s course. Eventually I paddled up to a couple very large blown-down trees that had the river blocked at one point. Rather than get out and drag the `Yak around the dead trees on land, I decided to beach the `Yak and have at it on foot first. So I climbed out, grabbed my lure bag, both poles and made my way into the brush to get around the fallen trees. 

Worked my way to this deep-looking pool that had more than ample brush and debris laying along the bank on the other side. An area that looked absolutely like a Pike`s haven, I thought to myself. I began working my Chartreuse spinner-bait on the edge of the brush line. On my third cast…… BAM! Fish on! Not big by any means though. A small Pickerel had jumped on…………. And this was by all means a sick fish. The young Esox literally had some sort of sores all over it`s belly and sides. I have seen fish with a fungi on occasion, but never one that had any sort of actual sores on it.  

I could see that several of these sores were open and actually bleeding as I examined this fish.

Rather than put it back in the river, where it may cause other fish to become sick, I decided to dispose of of it and bury it so other animals couldn`t eat the apparent diseased fish. After digging a fairly deep hole with a make-shift trowel I made from heavy branches, I quickly buried the fish and put a log on top of it`s muddy grave. 

Still on foot, working my way further upstream, I came upon another really nice hole that had a lot of “Pike-Appeal” – As I tossed the spinner-bait into the murky waters, I saw a familiar swirl just a few feet from where my lure had landed. I knew that swirl all too well as I made another cast into that area. 

BAM! Pike on! 

After a short tussle, I had wrangled up my first Northern Pike since suffering a  heart attack this past July.

After a little fun-photo session, it was time to get back to the `Yak. 

I promptly worked my way down-stream as it was getting later in the afternoon now and I wanted to take advantage of what daylight that was left.

I paddled approximately a mile or so down-river and began working that trusty spinner-bait at every imaginable angle possible. Covering as much of the debris and blow-downs as possible that I drifted by. 

And yes………. I did have the Go PRO that day as quite a few of you have asked me that question in the various places/forums that I posted pictures of that day`s adventure on the Passaic. 

So without further ado……… Crank up those speakers, grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the show!

Caught a couple Pike…….. Back in my `Yak…….. An all around really great day.

(Even though that big `ol Pike slapped my in the face with his muddy-ass tail! HaHa!) 

And an even better day to be alive to talk about it.

I woke up at 3am the other morning, to take what has become my “early-mornin` ritual piss” – An affect of the various heart medicines that I now have to take each day. Apparently while trying to be in my “stealth-mode” that morning, I wasn`t as quiet as I thought and little Piper, our Pomeranian puppy, heard me and decided he also wanted to pee at that hour.  

Then Dingo, our Australian Cattle Dog also woke up as well. So the three of us strolled through the garage and out to the backyard we went. 

I looked at my phone and thought, “Ahhhhh…..what the hell, I`m up now…..why not have a go at it before daybreak?” – 

And that`s exactly what I did.

Put the pups back in the house, got dressed and out into the wee-wee hours of the morning I went.  

Right on the edge of darkness. 

I arrived at the spot I planned on fishing at 4am. “Perfect” I thought, as it wouldn`t be light for another two and a half hours. Now lately I have been trying my luck in the dark by going out around 9-10pm, so I wasn`t sure how good this very early morning adventure would or wouldn`t be. 

Grabbed my gear, turned on my light and hiked into the cool, early morning air. I brought two poles that morning. One was my regular Bass/Pike set-up. The other was this cool, older Shimano reel that I had just bought at a flea market. Now let me tell you, I like to find a good bargain every now and then, and I bought the three reels and all four Bomber lures that you see below for $40! Hell those lures alone are easily $9-$12 a piece! 

Now I could really “sweeten” the deal by catching a few big fish, I thought to myself. As I had the FX200 Shimono spooled with 20lb. Power PRO braid, paired with a 7ft. Medium-Action Ugly Stick as one of my weapons of choice that morning. I tied on a Jawbone top-water Frog on this set-up while the other set-up had my old trusty Jawbone top-water Mouse.  

I made my third cast into the night-time air…….. working the frog very slowly, twitching then retrieving, then stopping.

Then…… BAM!! Fish on! Niiiiiiice! That didn`t take long at all! A nice 17 inch Largemouth had his picture taken and was calmly released back into the dark water.

I moved down further along the shore-line and began working the frog in a marshy, lily pad infested area. As I worked the black frog across the pads, I actually paused several times. A lot of times, the bass will strike as the frog stops moving, especially in the pads. I worked this area a good thirty minutes, covering as much as possible. Then I decided to launch the frog way out. With the 20lb braid, the frog casts a mile.  

Popping across the water, the frog broke the glass-like, calmness of the lake. BAM! Fish on again! Whoooooah! A good one at that!, I said aloud as the Greenback broke and danced on top of the water. The Shimano drag screamed into the night as the lunker dove down deep into the black water! What a fight! Finally after several acrobatic flips, I had played the mighty fish out. As I brought him to shore, I reached down and grabbed his bottom lip. After a quick measurement and a couple pics, the 21 inch Bucket-mouth was released from where he came from. 

The bite was definitely on, I said to myself as I prepared my frog for another assault on the black water. This time I started casting really close to the shore where I was standing. I mean literally tossing the frog in a mere six or seven feet from where I stood on the bank. Hitting the lily pads and weeds directly and working the frog all the way back to the edge where I stood. Didn`t take long……. BAM! …… missed! ……… I slowed down….. then stopped to frog………….. BAM! Fish on! Didn`t miss it that time! I now had my third bass of the night/morning and had only fished about one hour and a half. Now it was about 5:30am. 

Still on the edge of darkness.

I hadn`t even picked up the other pole with the mouse on it and my “Flea-market-Special” $10 Shimano reel was scoring the fish just fine. 

Now at  6:10am and getting a little lighter on the horizon, as I began working the frog once again in the shallows. There was a lot of brush in this area that I was approaching, as I made my way around it. As I started casting, I swore there was this black huge object on the water`s edge about forty yards away. Bear?, I asked myself as I strained my eyes to see it. Nah, I said….. and started casting. Then I looked back about ten minutes later and the “object” was gone. God damn that was a bear!, I thought out loud.  

As 6:30am approached, it started getting light fast. I moved to another area that was full of pads…… now I was going to cast directly into the thickness of those pads. After making several casts, I worked the frog extremely slow in an open pocket. Then stopped and began twitching the frog very lightly. Then another fiesty largemouth busted through the pads and smashed into the frog! Fish on again! I battled this nice Bucket-mouth through the pads and eventually landed my fourth bass as the edge of darkness dissipated into the early morning light of dawn. 

I figured I`d stay right where I was and finish up the morning with a few more casts. And what a morning it turned out to be at that. Then suddenly, my frog was literally “slurped” in the pads as a hungry Greenback attacked the rubber frog! Fish on! And after a very short tussle, I had landed my fifth bass of the night/morning.

Yep…… that morning on the edge of darkness turned out to be quite the adventure indeed and that $10 Flea-Market Shimano reel “Deal” had gotten a lot sweeter!

Sunday was a big deal…..for me anyway. See I took the `Yak out for the first time since I suffered that heart attack back on July 14th. Now it probably doesn`t seem like much to most of you out there, but it was a big deal to me, as I work my way through this element of uncertainty.  

Arriving at the lake, I was very anxious to get the `Yak in the swampy, green-pea soup looking water. “Had to be a bass or two in here” I thought to myself as I carried the `Yak to the water`s edge. 

Now if you`ve been following my site/blog, you know that I`ve been really nailing nice Bucket-Mouth Bass at night on Jawbone Top-Water Mice Lures. So why not try one today as well? 

As soon I began tossing the little rubber mouse close to the edge of a bank, I noticed a decent swirl in the muck to my left about forty yards away. Slowly I re-angled the `Yak, pointing it in the direction of the swirl and took a cast. In a matter of seconds…..BAM! Fish on! And a decent one at that! I battled him through the thick swampy muck, eventually working him close to the `yak. Nice fish! As I had him right alongside the `yak…..he thrashed the swamp grass and was off.  

Not bad, I thought. Less than ten minutes here and I already had a bass on that was at least eighteen inches. 

As I worked my way over to another area, I cast into a break where the pea-green soupy water met a clear opening. BAM! Fish on! Nice young bass met my mouse. 

And yes, I even brought my Go PRO that day. So without any further ado, here`s the short clip that I shot of the day`s adventure back in my `Yak; 

So I thought it be nice to have some company while chasin` largemouth bass in the dark the other night. My girlfriend Sharon was eager to go………..But….Only if she could bring part of her “Pack”……

So her “Magical” Pomeranian “Buttercup and “Piper” the little “Devil Dog” Pomeranian puppy got to go.

Now Sharon gets chewed up alive by mosquitoes, even if she uses the Deep Woods OFF that I use. However, if she uses Burt`s Bees Herbal Insect Repellent(which doesn`t contain deet….. so it`s safe for kids and pets), then she`s ready to take on the outdoors.   

We threw some blankets and my turkey hunting chair(for her to relax in while I fished), got some drinks and drove out to one of my night-time spots. Her “Pack” was pretty excited as they always are when they get to go for a ride. 

The plan was for me to fish while Sharon hung out with her pups……… but…… Sharon likes to fish and is really a natural at it. 

As I worked the water in the darkness, I missed…….`er I mean…….. The Bass missed my top-water mouse at least four times within the first hour. Then finally….. BAM! Fish on! Here we go!……….. ughhhhhhh…… he`s off. I repeated this “Fish-On-Fish-Off” feat at least three more times. It got to a point where Sharon said, “Hey…… Why aren`t you catching any fish?”……… Me: “Ahhhhhhh……… Damn fish……. they`re just not biting right tonight. Yea yea……. that`s it. The bite is off” —- Sharon gave me a sort of puzzled looks and asked, “The bite is off…… What does that mean?” Me: grumbling as I walk away, “Ahhhhhh…… that`s just the way it is tonight”…………

Then the little Fisher-Lady says “Can I try?”…… Me: “yea sure” knowing that she has never fished for bass before tonight. Then I showed her how to work the Jawbone mouse across the top of the water with my next cast. Then she took her first cast of the night……………. “Wow” I thought to myself…… “That was a really good cast” 

On her fourth cast, the calm water erupted as a bucket-mouth smashed into the mouse! “I got one!” she said as she set the hook. She played the heavy fish out slowly working it towards shore. I quickly jumped down the bank and grabbed the big bass as she brought it to the edge of the shoreline.  

“What a fish!” I said. A beautiful 19 inch large mouth bass! Her very first bass ever! Quickly I unhooked the big bass and set her up with her “Pack” of Pomeranian`s for the great picture that you see on top of this post. 

It really made my night watching her catch that beauty! She worked the top-water mouse like she had been doing it for years. (Hmmmmmmmmmmm……….. now I`m beginning to wonder if this was her first time! HaHa! just kiddin`)

I took the pole and said, “Guess I`m gettin` skunked tonight hun” …………….. And outfished HaHa!

After taking a few casts, I said “Well……. how `bout one more cast and we call it a night?” Sharon said that sounded good. 

“Last cast of the night” I said………

BAM!!! Fish on! Felt like a good one! 

The big Greenback thrashed the night water as I reeled him in. A nice one indeed. 19.5 inches…..HaHa!
A mere half inch bigger than Sharon`s.  

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of fishing with a gentleman by the name of Dennis Huskins for a few hours before work. “Doc”(as he is indeed a retired physician) and I communicated on the fishing forum/site “Hooked-in.com” and decided to meet in person up in Warren County that morning. He took me to one of his favorite fishing haunts to show me around a bit. A very versed fisherman who truly loves to fish, Doc explained what his favorite lures of choice where to use at this lake and gave me one of his swim-baits to try.    

Armed with several poles, I asked Doc why he brought so many. He explained his very cool side-hobby to me. He actually buys broken St. Croix Rods from eBay, repairs them, then tests them out personally, and if they pass his testing(catching/landing fish), he then resells them on eBay. 

While we only landed a few fish in a short time frame that morning, I certainly enjoyed his company and am looking to some future fishing adventures down the road. Yep……. another Fishing Friend indeed.

So I went to work that day, and as I was driving home that evening, something occurred to me. Back in the early 90`s I had been quite successful fishing for Largemouth Bass at night with my Step-Father Rich. I just totally forgot how well I did fishing out on Spruce Run with him…….in the dark. My favorite lure of choice to throw at night was a Banjo Minnow…….. Remember them? 

I got home that night, ate supper and told Sharon that I was going to have a go at it and try chasin` some Largemouth Bass that night. She wasn`t all that crazy about my plan, because of having the heart attack a month a half before. She didn`t like the idea of me running around in the dark by myself. However I assured her I`d be fine and that I would text her exactly where I was……….besides, I had my knife…….. ha! ha!

Grabbed my poles, gear, bug spray…….. hmmmmmm…….. but what the hell was I forgetting? Ahhh…must not be all that important I thought to myself. Just remember that……..

Got to the spot I wanted to try at around 6:30pm…….. still was light. I decided to start out throwing a “Jawbone” Top-Water Mouse, as I really enjoyed using those when I went after the Snakeheads down in South Jersey. On the third cast I had a decent “blow-up”(fish missed my lure)……….as I worked the weedy vegetation. Then darkness started rapidly setting in………

Just on the brink of darkness, the water erupted as really nice Bucket-Mouth smashed the mouse! Fish on!

The heavy Bass dove deep as my rod bent in half and the drag screamed in the night air. Between thrashing the water and doing acrobatic breaks, the Bucket-Mouth surely put on quite the fight. Eventually I landed the beautiful 4.8lb Greenback.  

I caught two smaller bass that night and then decided to call it quits around 10:30pm. 

Up to this point, I hadn`t used a light at all………. and it was a new moon(no moon) so it was really dark. I turned on my phone(which doesn`t have a light on it…..whole other story) for what little light from the keyboard and fumbled through my gear bag for my light.

Son of a bitch!…….. That`s what I forgot back at the house……. a light! Now I would have a hell of a time walking my way out as I was a good half mile or more from my vehicle. Away I went, fumbling through the woods in total darkness trying to use the horizon as a guide. Eventually I did get back to my truck. As I was opening the door, a State Trooper pulls in………… shines his spot light on me and says “Ken Beam”….. 

I said, “Yea…..that would be me”….. He got out and introduced himself and said he had known of me from various hunting/fishing forums and that he followed my adventures on my site. Helluva nice guy as we must’ve talked about all types of hunting/fishing for at least thirty minutes. Then another local town police car pulls up and he asks the Trooper if everything is ok. The Trooper walked over and said, “Yea yea….everything is cool. This guy is like a local fishing legend” —- With that the other cop got out of his car and introduced himself and the three of us chatted another fifteen minutes then said out good byes.

But now I had the “bug” for this night time `Hawg Wranglin` and wanted more.

The very next night Sharon was working the late shift and wouldn`t be going to work until 9:30pm. “Well why not have a go at it for an hour or so….would be a late night but why not?”, I thought to myself. 

The highlight of the night was this beauty…… A 23 inch 5.8lb Greenback! An amazing fight and again, on the Top-Water Mouse. 

When you`re on a roll, why stop right? When the dice are hot, ya keep rollin`!

The following night I decided to try some new territory a little further north and got there around 6pm. Wasn`t long and I had this beauty…. a 19 inch 4.3lb Piggy on the shore. 

Two nights later, I convinced Sharon to come out with me at night. So she brought her one little Pomerainian with her as well. Her and “Piper” sat on a little chair while I worked the water. After being there for two hours and losing four nice Bass, I thought to myself, “Guess I`m gonna get skunked tonight” —

Ahhhhhhh….. “One more cast”……..

“Last cast of the night” and this nice Bucket-Mouth crashed the pads, hittin’ the. “Jawbone” Top-water Mouse….again.

A nice way to finish the night indeed. 

The Summer dog-days of August can be hot as hell in New Jersey…… but so is the Largemouth Bass fishing!

And this past weekend was just that. Hot, buggy and muggy. But there were `Hawgs to be had.

I studied my Goggle Maps the night before and picked out a couple new places up in my neck of the woods to have a go at it in the morning. I decided to only go with top-water lures that day as I do indeed love to see `ol BigMouth blow up on the water as he chases my mouse. Ohhhh by the way, lately I`ve only been throwing a “Jawbone” Top-water Mouse when I do the top-water gig. Seems like I get more/better action up here in North Jersey throwing a Mouse, as compared to using a KVD Frog, like I used in South Jersey when I went after the Snakeheads.

I arrived at my first spot around 7am covered myself with bug spray, grabbed my gear and made my way out to my first spot. Really liked the looks of this little lake. Covered with green algae, lily pads and plenty of debris. A Largemouth haven, I thought to myself as I anxiously got ready to cast my “weapon” into the green muck.

I fished my way around as best as I could. Definitely need the `Yak, I said out loud as I could hardly cover much at all from land. As I said, these were new spots, so this was really more of a scounting mission to learn about this new territory. I didn`t catch any but did have five decent blow-ups on the mouse as I only fished this spot for an hour. Tough to access by foot. I could easily spend a day out here in the `Yak.

So onward. To spot number two.

Now the second lake was totally different vegetation-wise from where I had just been. The entire lake was heavily covered with lily pads. I mean…. more than heavily!

But I could just about smell the Bass under those pads

After several blow-ups/misses, I switched up my technique a bit. Using a more “throw and wait a few seconds before I retrieve” tactic, I danced my mouse across the top of the pads on my next cast and the water exploded as the Bucket-mouth crashed into my lure! I was on-board with my first Bass of the day.

I then decided to hike over to another section of the lake. Again, lily pads as far as you can throw a lure.

I was so intrigued by this new territory, that I decided to have a go at it again, the very next day. I really wanted to work those lily pads again, but I only had a couple hours to spare that Sunday afternoon. Arriving out there around 1pm, I decided to hike to the other side of the lake and work that area. Working my way close to the edge of the lake, I got to one particular spot and started casting my mouse. All of the sudden I heard all of this buzzing……… bees. Sounded like a huge swarm…….. I quickly looked all around as they seemed close. Boy…… were they ever close! I looked down and my heavy CarHart pants were covered in yellow jackets!!!! I had stepped on a nest in the ground and was literally standing on it!!!! I ran like hell and the yellow jackets kept coming!!! Eventually, I was out of their range and had brushed those nasty little yellow devils off my pants as I ran! While most of you probably wear shorts this time of year while fishing, I prefer to wear long pants out in the woods. And in that particular instance, I was glad that I did. I never was stung one single time……….Just was very lucky.

Needless to say, I eagerly moved to another area and began fishing the pads again. Then as I got around to another clumped of pads, a good size snake came across the pads and actually bit my mouse! I thought I had him as I lifted him in the air, but he actually bit the side of my mouse and was only hanging on by his teeth and dropped off quickly. Three more times after that, the snake went after my mouse on those pads.

I climbed up on a knoll that had about a six foot drop to the edge of the water. Now on the edge, were these young trees that ran three to four feet above the knoll I was standing on. So the tricky part was to cast over these trees to hit the pads in the lake and then if I could get a bass, I`d have to get it to the edge and actually hoist it up and over the trees to where I stood. About eight feet up.

The very first cast was picture-perfect………. right where I wanted it. Then as I started using my “dance-a-little/retrieve” method, all of the sudden, the mouse was seemingly sucked under the pads! No violent strike or blow-up, just this almost eerie sound, as a big bass engulfed my mouse!!! I immediately set the hook and the bucket-mouth bent my rod and thrashed among those lily pads! I played the heavy `Hawg out and worked him towards to waters edge. I quickly hoisted him high into the air, trying to vault him over the young tree tops.

But then things went wrong….

The good size `Hawg Bass flipped in the air and was off!

Laughing my way up the bank, I grabbed the bass, took a couple pictures, measured him(19 inches) and gently released the gallant bucket-mouth.

I actually had the Go PRO that afternoon. Here`s a short clip of one of the bass I caught that day;