[minstrel]

I've spent most of this season looking to transition away from Busse North due to a combo of things. This meant getting skunked a lot and narrowly ducking heat exhaustion around spots at the S. Pond. Finally I dialed in some fish, so I've been working the area I've posted about.

I decided it was a good time to switch things up so I went back to see how conditions were back at Beck. Initial impression was good: the shores don't have floating matted weeds, the cottonwood invasion has ceased, and the weeds out in the lake weren't an issue. The only negative was that some spots are getting closed in/overtaken with the massive growth of cattails along shore. The first I came in contact with were almost over my head high!

I started with my usual spinnerbait fan-casting. About 5 casts in I caught one in the tenish inch range. Like all bass I catch of that size I politely thanked it for coming out to play and added 'Tell the big guys I'm looking for them!' before releasing them back. I'm not sure if that has ever worked, but it's worth a shot

I worked my way around with the white and chartreuse double spinner (willow and colorado blades) on one rod and 5" senkos on the other (baby bass at first, then brown/orange). I ended up with six on the day. The most interesting one though was caught near the in-let. That spot always tells me 'throw a RatLtrap!!' as that's what I caught my giant Beck Walleye on. It's been several seasons now but I keep throwing it. The weeds were more of an issue at shore and since the 'trap casts out so far it was tough staying out of the weeds offshore as well. I decided that it wasn't worth the trouble, but since I had it tied on I'd give it a try along the tree line instead of straight out. First cast, bass on! (and also you can see the shore weeds at that spot...)

The other bests were both on the spinner:

and...

The initial smaller guy on the spinner and two senko fish not pictured round out the six pack. It was a nice welcome back... so it seems Beck has rebounded from the no-catch days earlier on... so I guess I'll have to add it back into rotation for a while as it is one of my favorite places when the fish cooperate.

 

[FishinMatt]

Love seeing the Beck bass. They mostly evaded me during my city days.

 

[minstrel]

After a near-skunk at Busse Sunday I ventured back to Beck Tuesday it was hot...

I had one dark bass emerge from the depths after hitting my blue/black senko.

Funny, as when I was packing up I looked at that color in the bottom of my tray and thought 'That baby's going to get hit today!' It's always my 'change up' color if nothing is getting hit.

This was a day like no other at Beck. There was no breeze. At all. Anyone who has ever fished Beck knows there is always a breeze (usually in your face) there. It was just hot and still. Check out the lake in the background:

I threw a spinner and could see it all the way in from when it hit the water. It was just odd. Oh, and did I mention hot?

I fished for about an hour after this catch and began to feel the heat wearing on me. I went back to my car to cool down/reset and peaced out to some music and a 2nd bottle of Gatorade. After about fifteen minutes I just said 'yeah, screw this' and headed home instead of back out for a second go-round.

 

[joetrain]

Seems like Beck has been pretty consistent for you this year.
~JOE~

 

[minstrel]

Beck was trash in Spring this year for some reason, I guess the delayed warming this year didn't help. I had a string of skunks out there and when the cottonwood set in I took it off my list for a while. Heading back though it's been good/back to it's regular Beck-ness. Had me freaked out early on though!

I was out Friday in the heat and wasn't catching anything so I went to the far side that I don't fish regularly. It was in the shade though so it seemed a better idea. Rolled up and there was a guy fishing in kind of the middle so I stayed near where the cat tails start covering shore access. I cast my spinner along the weed line, and had one hit on my first cast. I was starting to pull the lure out of the water. He was less than 20 ft from shore I'd think. I was so surprised I think I actually exclaimed 'Holy Sh*t!' out loud.

At the next 'spot' down I got another right off the weed's edge, again on the spinner:

We have Sun and Mon rain forecast, so I probably won't head out til Tuesday now, wherever I decide to go...

I had another rod tip incident late Friday, snapped off while re-threading line through the top guides. Like a damned twig... Shipping times are so delayed right now my new rod's not supposed to get here until the 12th.