[PECo]

I fished Batterson in my kayak today from 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM and then from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM. When I arrived, it was overcast with a light SSE wind. I threw a wacky worm as I was blown up the western shore. I caught only an 11 inch largemouth bass about halfway up the shore. The wind kept building until there was a light chop on the water. By the time I got to the basketball court south of the beach, I decided to head to the eastern shore to get out of the worst of the wind and chop.

Before I started across the pond, I paddled over to a zodiac-type inflatable with three guys in it that was anchored just off the shallow cove in the northwest corner of the pond. They were fishing with worms and bobbers, and hadn't caught anything yet when I spoke with them.

I headed to the middle of the eastern shore. I decided to work the shore from where the waterfront houses begin to the spillway in the northeast corner of the pond. I pitched my wacky worm underneath the first overhanging willow I saw and caught a rock bass. I kept casting underneath the willow and finally landed a 16 inch, 1 lb 10 oz largemouth bass:



As I worked my way north, I caught a 12 inch largemouth bass and an 11 inch largemouth bass, each near decent cover on the shore.

I spoke with a guy fishing from the north shore right next to the spillway. He had a couple of lines in the water with worms on them. He hadn't caught anything yet when I spoke with him.

It was starting to get darker and my coccyx (look it up!) was killing me, so I decided to head in. As I paddled back down the shore, I stopped to speak with one of the waterfront homeowners who was fishing from his back yard. He was trying for perch and didn't care whether they were white or yellow, but hadn't caught anything yet when I spoke with him.

Before continuing on to the boat launch ramp, I remembered that Fishface had told me yesterday that he had caught some fish in Batterson by trolling a Rapala behind his kayak. So I rigged up a couple of shallow-diving Rapalas and paddled back slowly about 20 to 30 yards from the shore. I caught my first yellow perch of the year:



And shortly afterward, I caught a couple of white perch, too:



I like trolling!

On my way in, I saw the bass boat guys with whom I had spoken on the night I caught my first walleye pike launching their boat. When I passed them, they told me that they were going to stick around after dark to fish for largemouth bass and walleye. By that time, the wind had died almost completely, so I decided then to stick around and try for some walleye myself.

At the ramp, I met a boy who was fishing with a rock tied to his rod and spinning reel. He had lost his bobber and hook, which were floating about 30 feet offshore. He had also managed to snag up his reel and told me that he was giving up because his rod and reel didn't work very well. I retrieved his bobber and hook, and then I rigged up his rod and reel for him with the bobber and a wacky Yum Dinger. After I got my flashlight from my car and gave my aching coccyx a break, I towed his bobber out about 50 yards from shore.

I decided to troll for walleye and headed up the eastern shore with the two shallow-diving Rapalas in tow. This time, however, I didn't get a bite. When I got close to the spillway, I felt a couple drops of rain and decided to head back in. As I paddled back, I started to think I might have overreacted to a tiny bit of rain when I heard, "Shhhhhh!" The sound got louder and I realized that it was the sound of rain hitting the water to the west of me and coming my way fast. As I paddled faster in the now pouring rain toward the ramp, I saw the bass boat heading in too.

I got to the ramp just after the bass boat. One of the guys ran to get their truck and trailer. The other guy told me that they didn't catch anything in the hour they were on the water. I also saw the kid whose gear I had rigged helping his dad get their little rowboat secured on top of their minivan. He told me that he hadn't caught anything either before the rain began and they scrambled to pack up.

I ended up catching four largemouth bass, a rock bass, a yellow perch and two white perch in five hours on the water. I guess I didn't do too badly, after all.
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[steven1smith]

Nice job PECo. I think I saw those same bass boat guys you did when I was there on friday night. They were in a silver and blue tracker that looked to be 15'-16' ft long. In the half hour I was fishing from shore, I didn't see them get anything, but I did catch a rock bass and a 10" largemouth on a white pop-r. Next time you go there in the evening, try using a pop-r. Even though I only got two fish on it, I got a number of other blowups on it as well.
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Catch and release only.
A 4lb bass is not going to grow to 8lbs on your wall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxCdnQ8WEfQ

[PECo]

Thanks, steven1smith. Yeah, I think the largemouth bass are finally starting to get a little more active. I threw a white spinnerbait for just a short while as I made my way across the pond, but the chop was hitting my kayak broadside so I didn't do it for long.

Yup, I'm sure that you saw the same bass boat guys. I asked them what kind of boat it is and one of them said, "Bass Tracker." So I asked what kind of Bass Tracker it is and he said, "Bass Tracker. I don't know. Well, it's 18 feet long!"

The bass boat guys like to fish the first cove on the western shore. That seems to be their spot. I think I'll give trolling another try the next time I get to fish Batterson on a calm night. I'm impressed by how much area you can cover that way. I think success would depend on just finding the right lure. Since I can troll two setups at a time, I should be able to figure it out fairly quickly.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!