I got a chance to go out on my tube on Father’s Day. I was going to go panfishing with my kids, but they were engrossed in their activities for the afternoon, so it was an opportunity for me to explore a new local lake.
The lake I had in mind is a bass catch and release lake, so the theory is that there should be some lunkers in there. I launched off the swimming beach at the Southeast corner. As I got away from shore, the bottom showed a shallow grade. I spotted some reeds about a thousand feet from shore and I headed in that direction (they are in the pic, but hard to make out).
I dropped a jig + trailer as I paddled out. I ran into a some weeds a few hundred feet out but it turned out to be a narrow band. I worked my jig through the weeds, but only felt inanimate tugs on it.
As I got closer to the reed island, the bottom came up to meet my feet. I was still a good 200 feet from the reeds and it was barely a foot deep. There was another set of reeds closer to shore so I worked my way in that direction. It got a little deeper near the reeds by shore. As I worked the area with jigs, a scum frog, swim jig, power worm, and super craw, there were a few splashes between me and my first destination. I threw some plastics near the activity, but nothing would bite.
I decided to work my way around the reed island. It was a little deeper on the other side, but not by much. Finally, I wanted to get into the reeds, so I pulled out a bubble gum super fluke. Still nothing. By now I was getting very discouraged. Several tube outings and very little to show for it. Not even my magic lure was doing anything.
I got all the way around back to where I started and tossed the fluke back into where I saw splashes earlier. Tick-tick, <pause>, SET, fish ON! Finally! It turned out to just be a small guy, but at least I got something. I threw the fluke back into the area and got another tick. SET, but nothing this time.
Species: Largemouth Bass
Size: 11.5″
Lure used: Bubble gum super fluke
Paddling around the area, I realized that there was a weed bed between the two reed islands. It was a little deeper and the water was a little greener. The shallows that I went through on the way to this bass habitat was all sand. The water was much clearer in that area. I worked the weeds with some jigs and plastics, but would get no more takers for the afternoon.
I was tubing in an isolated area, but just outside the reeds toward the main part of the lake, it was a motor boat highway. Motor boats, water skiers, and jet skis pulling kids on rubber rafts were driving just outside my area. It was very busy, probably because of Father’s Day. I want to try the shore on the other side of the swim beach next time where the grade from the shore is a little steeper, but that weed bed I found is tempting to go back to. If you went back to the lake a second time, would you try a new spot, or go back to an area where you know there will be fish hanging about?
