Bending the Rules on Ohio Largemouth Bass
In previoius entries I’ve mentioned guiding for largemouth bass at The Wilds. Mad River Outfitters offers an exclusive opportunity to fish these amazing waters right here in east central Ohio. I guided this week in the late summer heat. After meeting my client at The Wilds visitor center our day began with a good look at the white rinos, one of the many exotic species on the property.
In the morning we fished a small, walk-in lake with steep banks and surrounded by tall trees. It was nice to have a little shade but the temperature soon went into the 90’s and I was sweating just sitting in the pontoon boat. My client, Vic, caught lots of bass in the clear water but none of them were very large. People come to fish The Wilds for many reasons but one of them is certainly the opportunity to catch some big Ohio largemouth bass.
Any “experienced” bass angler would tell you not to bother fishing in the middle of a 90 degree day, with a clear blue sky. They might even offer all sorts of “scientifically based facts” as to why one wouldn’t catch large bass under such conditions. I’ve learnt many things guiding The Wilds this season but one thing I’ve certainly learned is that most of the rules I believed to be true about largemouth bass fishing can be bent if not outright broken. I’ve seen more than my fair share of 20+ inch bass this summer and they’ve all been caught under full sun in the middle of the day.
After lunch Vic and I headed into the north end of the property. We stopped to fish a nice sized lake that is known to hold some big fish. (Picture Above) It’s deep and has a number of completly submerged trees which provide great fish holding structure. By then the sun was high and very hot and for all its virtues this lake had no shade. Vic caught a few bass but again nothing large. We moved on.
On our way north we’d passed a couple of “pot hole” lakes. These are not big water, small enough in fact that for the most part they’d been passed by many times. We stopped at one that looked fishy. It also had tall trees that shaded about half the water. Before we even got on the water we could see some large bass cruising the shoreline. Soon Vic was fishing and it didn’t take long to realize that we were at the right spot.
First there was the “one that got away” after savagely attacking a large panfish that was hooked on the fly. Vic has some personal experience with 8lb largemouth bass and he estimated this fish to be that size. I was far enough away that all I saw was the turbulence caused by the underwater scuffle. Then there were some very nice fish landed (Picture Left) and plenty of action to keep our hearts pumping. At one point I was watching Vic’s fly, (a large Whit’s Swimming Frog) and about two feet to the left of the fly the water bulged up about the size of a football. I held my breath, Vic stripped the fly but that fish didn’t take.
This week largemouth bass fishing on the fly is my favorite fishing, and I like bending he rules.
Today I went fishing with a friend. It’s a simple thing but it’s the first time I’ve been fishing since I got back from Colorado. I’ve been on the water guiding and I’ve been in the fly shop but hadn’t gotten out fishing.
