More Weekend Bass

[diggyj]

Started fishing Friday night from the dock and was quickly into some decent sized bass using the XZone Slammer.

Saturday the weather was absoluetly amazing. It was sunny, hot and humid. I hit the water at around 6 am and fished one spot for a little over 3 hours as the action was so intense. Caught close to 20 fish in one spot. Managed to bring many fish to the boat and lost a few other big ones as the spit the hook boatside. Another couple were thrown back immediately as hooks were in bad spots and actually caused bleeding.

Is it the right thing to do or should they be kept in the livewell to see if they survive then released?

The Slammer was once again bringing quantity and quality to the boat. The key was color though. Certain colours definitley produced better then others and I found myself swithcing back and forth several times. Fish were caught in less then 10 FOW. It was also critical to keep moving around. Worked the area hard with the trolling motor and the hard work payed off. Caught a nice walleye and a colple of Crappie as well. The Slammer attracts many different species.

And they say that Rice is over fished and has lots of pressure, I say no way!!!!!!!

Dirk

 

[cityhunter]

Good Lookin Bass. Nice Pictures.

 

[Porter86]

Very good lookin bass...put up a fun fight at all?

 

[diggyj]

OMG yes the smallies fight like crazy, even the small ones have lots of spunk and attitude, just love it.

Dirk

 

[Neb]

Nice catching! Haven't really done much fishing that way but looks like it's worth a trip

 

[ALN]

Just incredible. Wish I can catch that many fish

 

[photo_rob]

Jeez....Looks like you are completely dialed in to Rice.

I myself am having problems. Everyone hears about Rice Lake being this mythical lake with so much hype. Half the people will tell you it's over fished and hasn't been good for 20yrs, the other half will tell you it's still the prime lake to hit out of the Toronto area.

I've found neither to be true so far, as I've been just twice now and seen average results both times. First time out got a small Walleye with a few bass on but not landed, boat partners both got a bass each. Second time out, just a 12" skinny largemouth.
Nothing to cry about, but it still makes me boil with envy when I see guys just crushing the lake with great success.

Heading out on Saturday again with some buddies, maybe I'll be able to learn the lake more.

The only thing I've found to work in terms of artificials is drop-shot Gulp minnows, but even those get taken by the panfish.
The south shores of the lake, and the mouth of the river on the north seam to be where I'm marking decent fish, but not really landing anything besides what I've mentioned.

Maybe the problem is that it's tough to cover a lot of water with a rental, or maybe I just need to scoop up some of the Slammers you swear by.

Just wanted to thank you guys for sharing the info that you do...any tips or encouragement would be awesome. I can provide more details by private message, but I'm not fond of getting into specific spots on the forum, and I understand most of you guys wouldn't either

 

[diggyj]

Jeez....Looks like you are completely dialed in to Rice.

I myself am having problems. Everyone hears about Rice Lake being this mythical lake with so much hype. Half the people will tell you it's over fished and hasn't been good for 20yrs, the other half will tell you it's still the prime lake to hit out of the Toronto area.

I've found neither to be true so far, as I've been just twice now and seen average results both times. First time out got a small Walleye with a few bass on but not landed, boat partners both got a bass each. Second time out, just a 12" skinny largemouth.
Nothing to cry about, but it still makes me boil with envy when I see guys just crushing the lake with great success.

Heading out on Saturday again with some buddies, maybe I'll be able to learn the lake more.

The only thing I've found to work in terms of artificials is drop-shot Gulp minnows, but even those get taken by the panfish.
The south shores of the lake, and the mouth of the river on the north seam to be where I'm marking decent fish, but not really landing anything besides what I've mentioned.

Maybe the problem is that it's tough to cover a lot of water with a rental, or maybe I just need to scoop up some of the Slammers you swear by.

Just wanted to thank you guys for sharing the info that you do...any tips or encouragement would be awesome. I can provide more details by private message, but I'm not fond of getting into specific spots on the forum, and I understand most of you guys wouldn't either

You are right about Rice Lake, for most people it is either hit or miss, they love it or they hate it.

I thankfully am loving it this year. There has only been one weekend were its been slow due to water level and should that happen again, I will know where to hunt them. I am having luck on both north and south shores but the key for me has been to be on the water early. Everytime I have fished this summer it has been from sunrise up until 9 or 10 am. I have only been on the water once in the afternoon. I would suggest being at your first spot just after 6 am when the sun comes up.

As far as baits, I would recommend the Slammer. When I was out with a buddy on Fathers Day Weekend, I outfished by a 10-1 margin when he was using the Gulp minnows in the tub and I was using the Slammer. I actually caught 10 and he caught 1, so enough said.

Fish rocky, sandy flats and just outside weedlines. Also the key is to move around and not stay in one spot to long unless the action is non stop.

Circle Margaret Island or either of the Foleys, you should come up with some bass doing that.

Dirk

 

[photo_rob]

I headed out Saturday with some buddies...It was an absolute blast!

The rookie (first time ever fishing) caught a beautiful 16" walleye. The other buddies on our boat had a few bass.
I on the other hand dialed in to about 10 or 12 bass!
.
I located just TONS of baitfish that seamed to get trapped and circled off of structure because of the high afternoon winds, and they all looked to be tiny shad or shiners.
Going with the "match the hatch" mentality, I decided to drop-shot 3" Gulp Black and silver minnows.
I was lucky to scoop up one of the last 3 packs of Slammers from the tackle shop, but the bass definitely wanted a smaller profile (4" gulp of the same color didn't work, slammers were getting bit on the tail).

I didn't get to fish the east side of the lake (or any of your recommended spots) since we didn't cross the underwater railroad tracks, but I did totally dial in on structure found on my first 2 trips to Rice Lake, as well as some maps I bought.

I think the real difference this time was covering more water, and truly "dragging" the weight of the dropshot rig on bottom with frequent twitches.
Thanks for the advice "diggyj"!

I can't wait to go back!...what a perfect day it was!

 

[diggyj]

Thats awsome, congrats on a great outing.

Dirk