Hoffman lakes and figuring out topwater

Nicely done.  I need to zero in some top water frog action one of these days.

I was wondering what all the fuss was about but there's a rush when you watch the water explode in the middle of the weeds and your lure disappear and a cinder block hits the end of your line and the rod doubles over.  Then it's half dragging the fish to me and half dragging the kayak to the fish.  I'll be back out there next chance I get.

Very nice. I like hsrd body poppers thrown around logs.  Have had lo ts of luck with this.

One of the hardest things to do is let the fish take it when you see the torpedo flying up at the bait. Can't tell you how many I've missed like this.

Made it back out to Little Muddy.  Water level dropped about a foot from last time and sure enough the fish scattered.  Worked over the same spots as last time just to check and had one fish that really wanted to frog, hit it twice, carried it a few feet, but couldn't hook him, I'm guessing it was a dink. Swapped over to a crankbait and put the first fish in the boat in open water.  Found a channel between some floating weeds and had a big bass nail the crankbait but shook the hook on the jump.  Tossed it back out and it carried the lure out of the channel but couldn't set the hook.  Guessing he hid in deep water after that.  Went back a couple times to see if I could pull him out of the channel and didn't get another strike.  Got another hit on the frog in a back cove full of lily pads with some fish hitting the surface but couldn't hook him.  Started fan casting open water with the crank and the wind blew me into a large patch of lily pads so I changed back to the frog and just hucking it as far as I could to cover the flat.  Second cast I blasted it out until I was almost out of braid down to the mono backing near some stumps.  I was half paying attention working the frog back and when I went to pop it I got solid dead weight, I gave it a second to see if it was just a snag and the rod tip started bouncing and I jammed the hook in.  Probably a good 50-60ft from the kayak in the middle of the weeds, I reeled myself to the fish more than the fish to me and got him in the boat.  He swallowed that frog.  Paddled around for a couple more hours to cover the rest of the pond and finally packed in it when I couldn't figure out the pattern for the fish and the wind was blowing to heavy to get a decent cast out.

Put 2 fish in hand.  Both measured in at 14".  It was a weird day.  In the end I caught fish in blue bird conditions with low water and missed a couple others but I just never got a feeling that I had a figured out the pattern and left feeling a little defeated.  Both fish were probably instinct strikes that I pulled in on luck but that's what I get for leaving the house late and missing the morning bite.

Interesting coloration.  Very dark.  Compared to the 2-tone river bass that I thought was a spotted bass it looks like a totally different species.  Really starting to appreciate the difference in fish that I'm catching in different ponds.

Lots of good advice in this video Luni. He's fishing the new kvd popper but good overall advice for all poppers.

http://www.wired2fish.com/topwater-fishing-with-kvd-splash/

In the back of Little Muddy there is a old dock past the spillway. It's near the SERE training site close to the bleachers. Since I only have a 19ft flat bottom, I never put in at Little Muddy. However, I park in the back of the lake and walk the back shoreline. Every time I get close to that dock, no matter how sneaky I am, big fish get really spooked and blast out like torpedoes. I'm not exactly sure what they are but, they're big. Maybe if you took your kayak, you might have a better chance at em and finally put an end to the mystery.

I know the one. Last time I was out there it was late morning by the time I fished my way to the dock and the real fish had moved deep. I think the low water might mess with it a bit too.

You've inspired me...I went out and picked up a few frogs and I'll be giving them a whirl this weekend, probably at McArthur