Jesse L’s quest to best his PB 26.5″ walleye was almost realized at the very last micro-structure we probed yesterday. The fat girl ate a #B-Fish-N Tackle purple/silver B-3 blade snap-jigged back to the boat from 8-16 fow, coming unbuttoned just out of net range with a couple violent head-shakes.

This tanker came out to dance at about the 12th spot we probed. Trophy walleye spawning micro-structures aren’t much bigger than a bathtub or maybe a boat. River level and flow add to the matrix of these magical locations. Water temp, timing of the spawn and several other variables plug into the quest for a new PB. Presentation, fish orientation to the bait…and more than a little luck are factors, too.

Sheep, shorts and a 17.5″ white bass with gender identification issues found Jesse’s hook on the way to realizing his PB dream.

I thought the 1st spot we checked held the greatest potential. Over the years this backeddy with a rocky rubble shore dropping quickly into 30+ fow has produced several ‘dirty thirties’ Biggest was CPRed a couple years ago: 31.25″, weighing on the heavy side of 12 lbs.

The last time I visited this spot was fun fishin’ Easter Sunday afternoon. It gave up several male ‘eyes before going to a #Northland Tackle 3/8 oz purpledescent Deep Vee spin with a firecracker/chartreuse Moxi tail and liberal dose of Liquid Willowcat, a.k.a. ‘da juice” on a slow pull downstream against the backeddy in exactly 24 fow.

When all these variables lines up I boated 13 keeper males in just over an hour, keeping 2 for the Admiral’s dinner.

Dialing in a presentation to this degree requires considerable tweaking. Lure selection is a small part of the recipe. When you have 2 lines in the water, starting with a couple vastly different baits is a good idea. Jesse started with the Deep Veee spin jig. His partner Luke threw the B-3 blade. After Luke hooked his third quality SMB in a dozen casts, both guys went to the blade.

In the first hour of the trip the guys boated 11 SMB from 14-18″….not unusual in the Spring when water temp warms to 55 degrees. Bass tend to congregate in very small areas.

BUT the water temp was only THIRTY-EIGHT DEGREES!! Before yesterday I’ve always figured 43 degrees was when the brown bass would start actively chasing blades and #Rat-L-Traps.

When the water temp got up to 48 degrees by March 10, at least a couple SMB were part of the daily bag. But having 11 SMB garwoofle a blade in just an hour in THIRTY EIGHT degree water?? The lifetime learning curve took another bend.

Right now I’m looking forward to Monday’s total eclipse. My plan is to be camping on a prime spot when this celestial envent transpires.

Looked through the fishing diary I’ve been keping for decades about fishing during an eclipse.. Gave up. I remember fishing action around the time of this event was spectacular. Don’t remember what was being caught, just remember it was phenomenal.

Luke said yesterday that he has fished with me a couple times before. I honestly couldn’t remember–until he said my old Evinrude wouldn’t start. We had to navigate to the fish with the MinnKota. Both guys caught limits of eyes and tussled with a sturgeon AND I almost fell in the River when trying to put the boat back on the trailer.

Oh yeah. Now i remember.. Joked about having to buff the fingernail scratches out of the outboard’s cowling..

If Monday’s eclipse produces bizarre results you can read about it on this blog. But if nothing unsual happens it may be a week or so before I post again. The chew is really ramping up…and I would rather feed hooks to fish than spend time with this shiny object