Bass Opener 2015
Ahhhh, my favourite time of year! The smallmouth are big and hungry. I wake up bright and early on Saturday morning only to see the lake littered with bass boats because of the CSFL tournament. No problem. Time to get in the kayak and show 'em how it's done!
In past openers, my friends, family and I have had success using various fast moving lures like crankbaits, grubs, and top-waters. So this year I start with a LIVETARGET Metallic/Green square-bill on one of my baitcasting outfits using 15 lb. fluorocarbon. Soon after I catch my first fish. A great start to the day!
After working a bunch of docks without success, I slow down my presentation and whip out a Green Pumpkin Strike King Coffee Tube on a spinning outfit with 10 lb. braid and a long 8 lb. fluorocarbon leader. This set-up lands me the rest of my bass. After catching a small fish, I move to really shallow water with a mix of sand and rocks on the bottom. Here I catch my second lunker of the day: the one that inspired my story about bass fishing.
I go back to the cottage for a break, but first I toss a small wacky-rigged 2.75" Green Pumpkin Z-Man Finesse TRD senko off the end of the dock (these baits came to me in the mail from one of my mystery tackle box shipments). I hook a MASSIVE smallmouth, only to lose it in an attempt to beach it after a long fight - it was just too hard to net on my own. After tossing my hat to the ground in rage, I try to focus on the positives: I got it to bite and played it well. The only thing I couldn't do was convince my buddy to wake-up at 5:30 AM to help me net my fish!
Speaking of which, after a nice breakfast, my friend Nick and his fiancee join me on the water - this time in a canoe. The fishing slows as the day goes on and I have to work hard to catch another two decent smallmouth. The first comes from under a houseboat.
Then, I cap off the day with the bronzeback below. Looking at the results of the tournament, I did pretty well - even without a motor! If only I landed that giant...Oh well, there's always another day on the water. Next stop: Peninsula Lake.
Greg Cholkan is a lawyer, fisherman and Hemingway impersonator. He works in Huntsville and Haliburton with Barriston LLP and his practice focuses on real estate, wills and estates, and business matters. Follow him on Twitter: @gregcholkan
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| First fish of the day. It's a serious hobby... |
I go back to the cottage for a break, but first I toss a small wacky-rigged 2.75" Green Pumpkin Z-Man Finesse TRD senko off the end of the dock (these baits came to me in the mail from one of my mystery tackle box shipments). I hook a MASSIVE smallmouth, only to lose it in an attempt to beach it after a long fight - it was just too hard to net on my own. After tossing my hat to the ground in rage, I try to focus on the positives: I got it to bite and played it well. The only thing I couldn't do was convince my buddy to wake-up at 5:30 AM to help me net my fish!
Speaking of which, after a nice breakfast, my friend Nick and his fiancee join me on the water - this time in a canoe. The fishing slows as the day goes on and I have to work hard to catch another two decent smallmouth. The first comes from under a houseboat.
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| The houseboat bass |
Greg Cholkan is a lawyer, fisherman and Hemingway impersonator. He works in Huntsville and Haliburton with Barriston LLP and his practice focuses on real estate, wills and estates, and business matters. Follow him on Twitter: @gregcholkan
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