Catching some Bass at the Annual Event

Fred and I fished Lake Theresa during our annual Boy Scout end-of-the-year party, a private pond of 15 acres or so. We nailed bass after bass near the spillway, one of mine nearly two pounds put right back, a bleeder. Fred lost a good one, seemed a better bass than mine.

For all that, action compared a little slow to previous years. Five or six kids, not Scouts, drove up, parked, fished, and got busted by police. Pity them. Made me wonder if fishing pressure has increased. Perhaps detritus from weeds is choking out the population. Fred mentioned dredging, wondered if it will ever get done. The shallow flat is shallower than used to be, and this year the weeds are a lot thicker, despite the late spring. This month of June has felt more like late April so far, except for temperatures well into the 70's today.

Who knows, maybe people are fertilizing lawns more than less.

Fished Senko-style worms near the dam. That was my natural choice after losing a bass of at least three pounds in deeper water last year, but with light diminishing, barometer falling with the storm approaching, bass surely would have slammed topwater plugs, at least those bass in shallower water. The pond has normal clarity. Not stained, not very clear. I had a look with my son about 10 or 12 years ago and it seemed a lot clearer then. We saw bass seemingly everywhere, though of course we didn't dare fish.

After dinner and speeches, the storm blowing through quickly just as we cleaned and packed up, we fished surface lures on the flat and caught nothing. Bass and even a pickerel have always been active and with the stormy weather, expected, but seemingly just not present.

I took out my tripod and got the shot below in low light. I could have exposed the pixels more in Shop, but toned it down, approximately as evening fell.