Good topwater bite
Managed to get out on the Escanaba River for a couple hours after work Tuesday night. I started out throwing a Cormorant Dipstick worm, (similar to a Senko.) I missed the first couple fish that hit it. After that second miss, I grabbed my change-up rod, and threw a Rapala DT FAT 1-, ( a surface wake bait,) back at it. A few cranks is all it took to hook my first topwater fish of the year - a nice 19 incher! With the warm water, (nearly 70 degrees,) calm winds, overcast sky, and a hatch of large mayflies that had the bass slurping bugs off the surface like trout, it was nearly a "perfect storm" for topwaters!
Ended up landing 8 bass, with only one being under 17 inches, and three over 19. Lost 6 or 7 more! I found one fish hugging the bank eating bugs. It was too close to the bank to cast the Rap without the bait landing on top of it and spooking it. I switched back to the Dipstick, cast it on shore, and slowly dragged it back into the water without making any sound. It kept hitting the bait, but not getting hooked. I did this 4 times before I finally stuck her.
I had planned on dropping back down to the mouth of the river to try trolling for some walleyes, but I was having so much fun with the bass, I never got around to it. Usually when the river first hits 70 degrees, that trolling bite heats up. Maybe I'll get to it tonight, unless the smallies "distract" me again, ( I hope they do!)
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