Round Lake is tougher unfortunately 7-28-2016

[djkimmel]

Last year I was spoiled on Round Lake. I was spoiled still back in early to mid-June too because it has gotten tough now! I returned again for another crack at the mysterious Round Lake bass of July 2016.

Only to find the store changed their hours from 7am to opening at 9am on this exact morning!! @#$%@#! Had no idea so now I can't get on the lake for a couple hours. I got up early at 5:50am to get ready and get out there to start right after 7 and now I can't.

What to do? What to do...? I almost headed over to Lake Ovid to try pitching in the weeds around the boat ramp but in the end I turned around and went just around the corner to Babcock's Landing - a small boat ramp - canoe-kayak launching site on the Thornapple River. Very scenic and night have been a good move if it wasn't so very weedy. I couldn't believe how weedy (and shallow) it was!



Above is a picture from the small gravel boat ramp at Babcock's Landing on the Thornapple River. There were tons of fish though most were small but I couldn't get any bites on a swim jig and most other lures were too messed up by all the weeds there where it is really shallow.

It was a very peaceful place to waste a couple hours though. There was tons of small fish, a few big mystery fish in the duckweed and lots of water birds including Eastern Kingbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, Bitterns, Great Blue Herons and a Bald Eagle - a monster of a bird that kept diving at the water in the open pocket down at the next point being chased by small birds and getting the herons squawking up a loud chorus. I enjoyed it though I caught nothing other than a baby leopard frog - there were tons of them hopping along the shore!


A hen Wood Duck came flying right in to the boat ramp while I was sitting in the car for a few minutes to post a picture. It swam around until it saw me point the phone out the window, and then it took off squeaking and whistling away but it only flew about 50 feet further up the river before flying off for good when I think it noticed the Bald Eagle watching the same part of the river!


While I was in the car a big Great Blue Heron flew in croaking away and went to hardcore fishing just on the other side of the gravel boat ramp from my car. I snappped a picture hoping to catch it catching a fish or frog but after a few minutes of playing statue it flew further up the river.

At 9am I drove back to Round Lake and got my boat as soon as they opened. The lady told me the owner (who has sold the store to a couple brothers now who are taking over soon apparently) had texted her late the night before to say they wouldn't be opening until 9am the next day and from now on... shoot! That's too late but maybe I can work something out.

I went out and started hitting a good stretch of shoreline and then another point from the one I usually start on. I was throwing the Kustom Kicker Jigs Jackpot bladed swim jig with an Angling AI small swimbait trailer and started getting whacked right away! BUT... I wasn't hooking them?!?

I would get popped hard and nothing. I had a couple followers and they mostly looked like small pike but one I was almost sure was an almost keeper-sized bass!?! Then I had a powerful hit and set the hook. The rod bent double and I had this one. But it got off... ?!? What the??

I couldn't believe it! After 5 bites with no fish in the boat I put a trailer hook on the Jackpot jig. It is a lot like a spinnerbait maybe sideways... I also started fishing deeper too off the breaks and went to the Bullet Craw. I finally caught a couple small bass in a row off the side of another point I don't fish as much but they were both dinks.


I went back to throwing the Jackpot along a trough and finally got whammed again and this one I got but barely hooked on the trailer hook! I mean barely. I should have took that as a clue and changed colors or something but I was stuck in a rut and kept throwing the white Jackpot.

I ended up getting 12 bites on it and landed the one bass. I know some of the fish were little pike and I'm almost thinking that some of the bites might have been really aggressive panfish pulling on the tail of the swimbait after seeing some panfish chasing after the swim jig and grabbing at it, but I'm not sure.

I got no keepers on the slow baits either off the breaks. It was my slowest day yet on Round Lake. I even tried randomly drifting out in deeper water dragging and tossing the Bullet Craw. No bites. I saw a couple keeper bass following my Jackpot swim jig - one of which took a swipe at the jig too but didn't get it good enough to hook up.

So now my little pet lake from last year is really tough this year and I'm out of ideas. I tried the shallow pads last time only get like 5 bites that I didn't hook. All of which seemed small too. I actually saw one of the bass and it was almost a keeper - chunky swamp bass but they aren't hitting at the frog good.

I'm going to have to give the lake a rest for awhile and think of a new plan of attack I guess because last year's topwater bite has not even begun to happen this year. I know there are good bass in there because I caught them in June. I just don't now what they're doing right now...?? Hmmm... Well, who doesn't like a challenge?!?