Round Lake Return just because 9-20-2017

[djkimmel]

Returned to Round Lake again on September 20th (2017) because we are just getting along pretty well this season, and I need that after the recent funk I got caught in (though it was a relatively short funk).

Started in the dark as usual of late for me out there though things didn't go quite as well as I'd like. The topwater bite was just too HOT in the morning for me to even post anything to the social web until I took a lunch break later!! Started with the Jitterbug in the dark as I've found it is the thing to do out there.

Missed one nice strike that I then hooked on a follow up KVD 2.5 (pike killer - Green Gizzard Shad) after it wouldn't go after the Jitterbug again. I lost it at the boat while fiddling with the flashlight and phone camera. Then I lost a TOAD on the Jitterbug!! AWESOME HUGE strike!! KABLOOSH!! Like a bass, not like a dogfish! Fought like a rabid bass too! Darn thing bent my new hook straight though while stripping line towards deeper water and pulled off!!


No more good strikes on the Jitterbug and it was changing over to a hazy, foggy, gray dawn, so I followed my usual pattern of switching to a different topwater and for a short time again the Titanium Freak Buzz was what the better early bass wanted as this nice keeper smashed it solid over shallow weeds near the sloping drop!


Then a TOAD whalloped the Titanium Freak buzzbait!! I actually stalked this big largemouth bass after seeing it repeatedly come up on the same inside corner of the big point! The way it was smashing bait you'd think it was a 20 pounder!!! It did hit like one - WHAMMO!! Awesome strike and multiple jumps from this really hard fighting beauty of a bass!!

Forget all about a funk after getting smashed by a big largemouth bass like that with all the jumps and drag-stripping runs!!


It was still foggy, gray and early. The buzzbait bite slackened but lots of fish busting scattered all over. I've made it a definite habit to have a good assortment of topwater baits available to pick up quick this season out there at Round because there seems to be switch being thrown, or some bass just have different preferences than others... maybe they are getting used to what I'm throwing faster?? I went to work with the 110 Whopper Plopper and off rolling again for a short time! Caught this decent, long, skinnier keeper, a bunch of smaller ones and lost an mean 3+ that pulled off 2/3's of the way to the boat. I was still stalking individual bass based on repeated attacks in the same general spot by bass that appeared to be bigger than the many little guys also chasing the small panfish and bait! So much bait out here at Round Lake this year - more than I ever recall seeing for the whole season before!

Wish I would have landed the nicer bass. Another awesome smashing topwater strike from a bass I had just seen ripping bait right across the top so I knew it was a nice bass! I may have been a little too excited and 'ready' to go on this one!


Things still weren't hot enough for my bite taste compared to widespread topwater attacks I was seeing all over one of my favorite areas... So I switched topwaters again - to the bigger, noisier popper, and things really went wild immediately!! 3 keepers in 4 casts!! Was really hot for awhile! Pike (of course) and bass including lots of smaller ones too - oh my!! Fun, fun, fun...


Another nice keeper Round Lake bass that smashed the bigger popper within minutes of me picking it up! I was still basically stalking individual bass that appeared bigger in their topwater assaults!


Of course, the pike were just going flat out nuts over the popper! I hesitate to pick it up sometimes because they can track it down and snatch it a little easier than some of the other topwater lures! Luckily some were crazy enough to crash it but completely miss so the damage was minimized! Sometimes I can pick out the pike attacks from the bass attacks by the way they make their attack, or because I actually see the pike coming most of the way or completely out of the water!!


I was still fishing around the big point. Still some topwater action going at mid-morning, probably because it was still a little hazy and very gray. I was chasing a big boil out deeper off the pike side of the point when I cast my Sexy Shad Series 5 between some sparse milfoil and WHUMP - another HAWG!!!

As much as I love topwater, I'm possibly a crankbait fanatic! I have tons of them for all situations. I had the Series 5 on because I was still fishing on and very near the point. Where I threw between the clumps was only going from about 4 feet deep down to maybe 7 feet. The vibration of the crankbait vanished and the big fish knocked slack in the line so it wasn't until I made a long sweep with my 7 1/2 foot Grandt crankbait rod that I felt the super solid weight of a big 'un!! Another great fight before landing this big bass!


The wind kicked up just enough (though it's almost going in circles) with the sun popping out to slow the topwater bite way down suddenly. But I whacked another good one off the break with the same crankbait I caught the hawg on earlier! Still catching a few on poppers too but mostly small ones now though I've seen a couple really good ones mixed in that I tried to target, but without success now for some reason.

Also, as has been the pattern of late, the afternoon bite was slow and tough with more pike and mostly small bass. Got on my usual late afternoon, early evening topwater bite at the end again though. No big ones this time. Caught a pike and a few bass on the Whopper Plopper 110 pretty quick before I switched back over to the 2K Jigs Titanium Freak Buzz buzzbait. Bass started slapping at it pretty quick but I was missing most of them for some reason?!?


Actually got 2 buzzbait miss follow-ups and about 4 couple more small bass just pitching the Power Worm to the pad/weed edge as I worked my way in. At least I had some nice action despite no big ones on my way in to end the fishing day!!

That's a wrap. New lake tomorrow!