Vernon Lake 6-5-17
 

Figured I would stay local and see how I could do on some bass. Started out trying to get a little topwater action going. Missed several on short strikes on a Pop-R. Caught one small bass on Fluke Jr. Gave up on the that bite after about 45 minutes and decided to try some shallow bushes after all the rain we had on Sunday. Made a few casts and started here the bass chasing some shad about 200-300 yards away. Figured I would try and slip over and see if I could get in on the action. Aimed the trolling motor that direction and put it on auto drive on the slowest setting so I could retie some baits on the way. Tied on a Rapala suspending crankbait, a lipless crankbait and a KVD 9 in chartreuse. Once I got close enough I switched the trolling motor back to manual and started casting. And it was on. I threw everything I had in all directions for about 3 hours. I probably caught 40+ bass, largemouth and spotted, ranging from 8"-15". I even managed a double hook up. Lost probably 10-15 more from spitting the lure at the surface. It was a great morning. Little to no wind so I just trolled in circles. Here are a few of the photos that I decided to take after releasing several fish. I didn't keep any, just had a good time catching them. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...91fac8bea9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2cba4005e9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e90c0fcb56.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...95db715dc8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9b6bbff163.jpg


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Great! I've always wanted to fish Vernon, just never have.
I appreciate the stealth approach to your trolling. Lots of guys would see shad jumping and gun it in that direction. You used your time wisely and accomplished tasks you would have had to do later anyway. Hell yeah!


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I've always heard it is a stumpy lake. True?


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Yes and no. It's similar to Toledo with trees. It does have large areas without trees or stumps, but they will sneak up on you if you're not careful.


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I grew up fishing Vernon. YES it's stumpy. Be careful outside the boat lanes. A lot of rebar also. Nice haul though. If you can catch a cloudy windless day like that from May-October you can wear out the schoolers. That lake has always had a ridiculous amount of shad. I used to catch a lot of big fish out there, but they did away the slot limit a few years ago.

This year has been interesting because they drained it over the fall and didn't stop draining until mid January. My buddy caught a 9lbs 6oz bass outta there beginning of march. And we have caught many over 3-5lbs so far this year. One day last August my buddy sent me a video of a huge ball of shad busting the surface but there were no bass chasing them. I wish they would bring the slot back cause there are a ton of small fish in there now.


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