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Fishing Stories from Ned Kehde |
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Submitted by Ned Kehde - May 30, 2000 In years past, this ardent Lawrence angler has caught bass at a variety of shallow-water lairs around Clinton's 7,000 acres from late March through early December. And the only times he won't be afloat on Clinton are on the days surrounding Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. It's not that he couldn't catch some bass during these holidays, but in Davis' eyes, it's a stressful and dangerous time for an angler to be afloat at Clinton. It is dangerous because the plethora of jet skiers, water skiers and recreational boaters turn the lake into a frothy quagmire. It is stressful because all the racket by all the boaters and skiers distracts even the most unflappable bass angler, making it difficult for him to concentrate on the perplexing chores of trying to catch the very slim population of bass that abide in Clinton. Instead of battling both the bass and the boaters at Clinton on these holidays, Davis says that bass fishermen should drive either 75 miles southeast of Lawrence to La Cygne Lake or 74 miles southwest of town to Coffey County Lake. Jet skiing and water skiing are prohibited at these reservoirs. What's more, the fishing pressure is always inconsequential during the summer. Davis says he can fish several hours at La Cygne during the middle of the day on these holidays without encountering another boat. Davis suspects that many angler mistakenly assume that the electric power plants on the shores of these lakes heat the water too the point that the fish become lethargic and difficult to catch. Of the two lakes, Davis prefers La Cygne. The reason for that is he is primarily largemouth bass fisherman, and La Cygne is the finest largemouth bass lakes in eastern Kansas. Even though Coffey is the best smallmouth lake in Kansas, Kevin doesn't like to fish the weedless and treeless offshore coverts that smallmouth often inhabit. If there aren't any partially submerged weeds or trees for Davis to cast around, he quickly becomes bored. But he never tires of casting to the many miles of stumps, root wads, piles of brush and water willow beds that grace La Cygne's shorelines. When fishing the shoreline habitats at La Cygne, Davis employs several casting outfits that are spooled with l5- to 20-pound line. He is exceptionally deft at wielding a spinnerbait, working it through holes and lanes in the weed beds and around and over the stumps and piles of brush. Throughout a day, however, Davis will put down his spinnerbait for a spell and work a Mann's 1-Minus through the same lairs. On those days when bass are sullen and taking their ease in the middle of the weeds and brush, Davis has become adept at pitching a five-inch tube or a jig and pork chunk into the thickest maze of weeds or brush. During the gray light of dawn, he finds great joy in enticing the bass to engulf a buzzbait or Zara Spook, which he nimbly manipulates along the weed edges. On May 27 of this Memorial Day Weekend, he employed all those tactics and caught 20 bass, and he hopes to surpass that catch on the 4th of July. |
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