After months of thorough and consistent chastising from the other two “Kansas Outdoorsman” here on the blog, this 3rd Amigo has come to terms with his lack of participation and is now officially ready to get “off the shnide” and on the board here at KansasOutdoorsman.com.
While I would love to be posting as much as these fellows, I simply can’t find the water as often, and even when I do, tend to have a million things to do afterwards that seem more important than blogging. Who doesn’t, right? In any case, I am promising to start practicing for “my time” – waterfowl season – by getting a few summer posts in, starting now. Thought I would start by summarizing my spring/early summer fishing…
I do manage to get a blog post in now & then for Bass Pro Shops in Olathe, where I served as a local Pro Staffer for a number of years. I thought I would share my published work there over here as well, as it tends to compliment what we three are – and will be doing as we continue to explore the outdoors together. This will correspond with an April 9th post by Nick, but feel free to check it out at your leisure, as it goes into some detail on how we patterned the crappie under very different – and challenging – conditions over two days.
I made some notes recently and am going to be posting (this is now posted HERE on the Bass Pro Shops Blog) a piece for Bass Pro Shops on what I found to be a “nearly magical” experience… Zoom’s Ultra-Vibe Speed Worm for farm pond bass. When the big kids are out at Melvern whacking the slabs, and us working men are limited to an hour or two to try and get the kids out, it’s tough to beat a quick bass jump on a farm pond, or even at various city or park ponds and lakes. While this may not be a secret to the bass fishing veterans out there, to those that do not regularly chase Mr. Bucketmouth, and are looking for short jaunts to the pond with the kids, this can be an exhilarating upgrade from ‘crawlers under corks for ‘gills… and is just as easy to fish.
That’s where Zoom’s Ultra-Vibe Speed Worm really takes the stage. I am not sure I have ever seen a more versatile bait that is easier to fish for a kid, or anyone, really – fishable under most any condition, and quite enticing to ye olde largemouth. This can be fished like a traditional soft plastic, worked slowly on the bottom.
It can be retrieved in a steady fashion, like a spinnerbait. It can even be fished across the surface like a top-water/buzzbait. Used Texas-rigged, with a very light – 1/16 oz worm weight, it can be worked through weeds, lily pads, and the like.
In short… It’s tough to present this bait in a manner that DOESN’T seem to work wonders on summer bass. My kiddos can handle med-light spinning outfits, which are just enough to make the 15-18”+ bass feel like quite a haul, too. A great and effective light tackle bait that will do all the work for you. Tough to beat!
Heading to Taneycomo for some floodwater fly fishing this weekend. Will be interviewing a guide I am working with who I cannot wait to share with you all, so stay tuned.
Wait… did I just create the expectation that I’d be posting again soon? Ah, accountability… well, the boys will be proud of me, eh?
