Rainy Monday

Type:
Region: Southern
Location: St. Mary's Lake

Although it was cold and rainy, I launched my kayak on St Mary�s Lake on 5/13. I stayed away from moving bodies of water such as the local rivers due to the high water. Hoping to catch a few largemouth bass, I was pleased that I was able to catch a variety of species; bass, pickerel, crappie and yellow perch.

The lake water was high but clear and there was a slight wind. Fog hung over the lake's warm water. Air temperature was in the mid 50�s.

I started out by casting small square bill plugs and spinner baits. Unfortunately, they didn�t produce any fish so I changed to a 1/4oz swim jig with a paddle tail and beetle spin dressed in a white twister tail. This combo did produce fish by casting directly on the bank around laydowns the action started. But, only attracting smaller fish. Turning my focus to wind blown points and casting on the leeward side brought in a few additional fish, but in the end I found most fish in 4� to 6� of water in coves that were calm and protected from the wind by trees. Simply fan casting over grass beds with a beetle spin and swim jig scored me bass, pickerel and yellow perch. The crappie were caught around a beaver den back in the north east cove.

It was a fun day even though the rain put a damper on things. I caught a total of 21 fish. 10 bass 6 pickerel 3 crappie and two yellow perch.