Snow And Cold , Slows Down Spring Bass Fishing

The last 2 or 3 weeks the weather has been up and down , cold and hot, 2 to 3 days of warm and then 2 or 3 days of cold again.Winter just doesn't want to let go and surrender to Spring! There has been no fishing for about 4 days and maybe 3 or 4 days until I get to go again. I guess I can wait , it's not like I have a choice or anything.

Just last week the whites were trying to start the run and flooding feeder creeks and rivers were running in muddy and shut them down again. It's all about the weather , and when the weather warms up and stabilizes the fish will begin staging and spawning, thus meaning , is that fishing will turn it on and get very HOT!


Today we have received 6 or 7 inches of snow, here at my house, and its only in the 30s for a couple of days and then a week long warm up. I will be headed for the Lake in the very near future, and I hope the fish cooperate with me.

We anxiously await spring and the nicer weather but this snow does make some pretty neat pictures. The deer and turkey and other wild life is anxiously awaiting nicer weather , too! I saw 2 big gobblers standing by the highway today and they looked huge in this snow. beards dragging in the snow and they didn't seem to mind my stopping and admiring them.

Before you know it Spring will come and the bass fishing will be great! The sun will shine and make us feel good all over and it won't be long till major league baseball will start their regular seasons. Right now they are all in spring training down in Florida and I have to add , that the StL Cardinals are looking tough. We have a healthy Carpenter and Wainwright and they are all around healthier this year.

Anyway, Get ready for Spring is coming soon! The fishing , baseball, and sports of summer are not far behind! So get your tackle ready, boats in shape, and get ready to start your springtime engines, And then LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Until then keep your hooks wet, your lines tight , and boat safely , so that you can enjoy the "Great Outdoors!" Picture down below, now that's what I am Talking about. Sunning in the "Great Outdoors"


See Ya out there soon , I hope!

Getting Your Boat Ready For That Next Trip?

Hello, everyone, and welcome! Wow, after my last 2 or 3 trips to the lake , my boat was a long time over due, organization and deep clean time! As you can see by the picture it was filthy. A lot of snow and rain has the back roads around the lakes, sloppy and muddy at best! I rolled back the cover and opened it up to air out. What a mess! It took me 3 hours of organizing my lure boxes again. I hosed "old blue" and scrubbed the carpeting real good and did a check of everything , battery connections , etc , you know the old going over.

I learned a long time ago preventive maintenance prevents breakdowns, on the water and maybe miles from the truck.
It gets up to 60 something today , 20 tomorrow. So it has been too cold to wash and wax the hull. A good buffing wouldn't hurt either it seems.

My "bass tracker" is definitely not a big expensive luxury bass boat but what the heck it gets the job done. It is exactly what I need for the lakes around here. This boat is 3 yrs old now and runs like it did when it was new, and I figure will last many years to come if I continue to take care of it , like I do! I have to admit , It grew on me! I was thinking about a Nitro , but for about a third of the cost bought the tracker instead. I really wouldn't want to have to part with " old blue " cause I have kinda grown fond of her.

I guess I should keep her cleaner so she looks pretty! But she's just a bass boat , and she's also been the most reliable boat I ever owned! So I guess , I can keep her around for a long while yet. Tomorrow its supposed to start getting warmer again and Wednesday is supposed to be in the 60s maybe. I will give her a good scrub and buffing and get ready for the next big adventure on my agenda!

So until next time , Keep your lines tight and your hooks wet! Boat safely and see ya out there , I hope! And remember, preventative maintenance will help you to have an enjoyable trip , Take the time to check out your boat, between trips, grease your buddy bearings and check your electrical systems, etc. Most of all just enjoy
the "Great Outdoors!"

New Blog On My Blogroll! Check It Out!

Hello once again, welcome and make yourself at home! Make sure to check out the archives and enjoy the good articles and fishing tips. If you haven't subscribed, then feel free to do so, as it's a good way to keep up to date on the fishing , here at "Kenny's Great Outdoors!"

This article here is a landmark, it is the 100Th article since "Kenny's Great Outdoors" was first started. In April we will mark the first years anniversary . Wow 100 articles! It was a lot of work but for you readers there is a lot of information available in the archives.

I want to take a minute and tell you all about a new blog I found.
Jon's East Tennessee Fishing Blog . You can find the link in my blog roll or you can just click on this blog link. It is a relatively new fishing blog that appears to be a contribution to the Outdoor community. I picked up some good tips on his blog already , so check it out and visit his blog regularly and I am sure you will do the same.

I wanted to get #100 out of the way and I couldn't think of any better way than by sharing this blog with you and I hope you all have read all 100 articles and waiting for more. There will be more of course. I just love all you guys and gals who subscribed , and I love your feed back! So keep it coming!
So until next time, keep your hooks wet and your lines tight! Remember to boat safely, and see ya all out there soon , I hope. Keep it safe! Head on over to Jon's and let him know Kenny sent ya!

Truman Lake - White Bass Day!

Well , welcome , once again, to "Kenny's Great Outdoors!" Where the fish tales are big and hopefully the fish to go along with them, are big also!

Saturday turned out to be a great day on the Truman Lake! It warmed up into the 60s and was sunny, a little breezy at times but other than that not a bad day to spend on the Lake with my better half! Since it was warm and sunny , she decided to go see if we could catch some "white bass" and have some fun! She always makes it a point to out catch me if she can. I might add that she can and does put it on me pretty good sometimes.

Since she likes to troll we tied on some chartreuse shad raps, and took off for the" pomme" arm of Truman Lake. Somewhere around Sap Landing! :-) We hadn't went very far and She hung into a good white and started grinning! " Better get to catchin" she said. See what I mean? About a 2 1/2 pound white, not bad to start the day. Of course , I netted it for her and explained that she had a good navigator and guide with her , which is why she always out catches me. Right? She knows better!

We trolled till noon and grabbed a bite to eat and some coffee. I decided to try my luck at arrowhead finding, while she stretched and relaxed in the sun. It was obvious she was having the time of her life. we had 15 whites and 3 walleye, so we weren't doing too bad, so far! I found 3 or 4 nice arrowheads and then back to fishing we went!

She gets pretty excited when she catches big fish and she was catching some really nice whites. We just kept trolling those shad raps and they just kept trying to take our lures and poles when they hit. Man , They hit hard and fight good, especially on my ultra light! By 3 o'clock we had caught our limit of 15 apiece, and decided to leave well enough alone and head for the house. 30 whites and didn't even work hard at it at all!

We looked back on the day , we saw a few deer and turkeys. We saw several eagles and truly enjoyed the "Great Outdoors" So until next time , keep your hooks wet and boat safely! See ya out there, I hope! By the way She caught 5 nice walleyes too! What a bonus! I smell a fish fry , soon! Since Saturday , the rivers have all come up and colored the water. We hit it lucky!

Another Perspective - The Hunt for Gray February!

Hello , and lets get straight to the point of this article. This is a really hot Item so read on!

Kristine from the Outdoors Bloggers Summit has issued a challenge to the members. A recent anti outdoor statement or article has the outdoor community in arrears! An author for The American Spectator , has written a very controversial article and has stirred up one heck of a hornets nest! Click on the title of the article or any link in this article and leave your comment if you will. If you don't have any comments, then that's OK too! I personally think this guy is a real idiot, even though he is entitled to his own opinion , he should have thought twice about posting this article. I disagree with him totally as you can see from the comment I left on his site. Please excuse my fowl language as I was hot under the color and that is no excuse, I know!

I actually had to force my self to reply in this manner, but , as a supporter of the Outdoor Bloggers Summit I feel obligated to meet the challenge. It is an issue that needs to be

addressed by all!

I truly feel , that this man has not only offended the outdoor women of the world, he has also offended, and insulted the outdoor community as a whole , while making out all men to be low forms of life! By making the statement of "a beer in one hand and a gun in the other" he has given the anti gun, anti hunting, and anti fishing, and anti outdoor communities a lot of ammo against the outdoor communities.

Way to go Mr. Ortlet! You are too cool! Actually what a fool. All comments will be appreciated and I encourage all to go and check out the article and leave a comment. Then go to the Outdoor Bloggers Summit and leave a comment and give them your support! It's One hell of an organization in the making and they all truly get involved in this sort of issue. I personally support them and encourage all outdoor bloggers to team up with them and get involved in the Promotion of the "Great Outdoors!"

Please remember to subscribe to the site if you haven't already! And until next time, Keep your hooks wet and your lines tight!

Bass Fishing- Sometimes Hot - Sometimes Not!

Welcome to all visitors, guests , and regulars! Last Saturday, I went fishing down at Truman Lake! The weather had been warm for a few days and they were predicting 50s and 60s temperatures and sunny. That was all it took to get Steve and I to go fishing!

Started out early a.m. fishing a few suspending rogues, which I might add was fairly productive but nothing big. I switched over to a wiggle wart , chrome with a black back. Began to catch them 2 and 3 pounders! They tore it up till about 11 and then the bite went cold! Went back to the truck and grabbed some sandwiches and chips, and an ice cold Pepsi. While we were pigging out on grub, we were discussing a new approach.

He tossed a black jig n pig and caught 2 or 3 real quick , again 2 and 3 pounders! I was throwing a Big O and I caught 3 big ones! They were around 5 or 6 pounds and hit that lure like they really wanted it! Only they didn't get what they bargained for except a sore lip and frying pan! Then like an instant replay about 1 they quit biting. Dang! By this time we had 8 nice bass! We fished until 4 and never caught another keeper, we did catch about 12 white bass though! No telling how many of those whites we could have caught. We caught those in trolling about 1 hour back to the truck!

We both agreed that it was an excellent day! We also agreed that it was a little windy, but it still made for a great day in the "Great Outdoors!" So until next time, keep your hooks wet, and boat safe! If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe for later post.

See ya out there, I hope, and maybe we can share a fish tale or two!

Are You An Observant Bass Fisherman?

It is a good thing to be an observant person when your on the lake or river. There are many aspects of being a successful fishermen.

Water temperature, water color, cover, depth, and especially the weather! All of these things contribute to determining how to fish, what to fish with or where to fish.

Sometimes the "where to fish" is where we have problems! Anyone fishing in unfamiliar waters has encountered this dilema while trying to catch fish. If you haven't encountered these problems , you haven't fished very much.

When fishing , whether its bass fishing, striper fishing, or whatever it is sometimes hard to find the fish. Even fishing familiar waters can give you a challenge. I have learned to be observant while I am fishing. I try to be aware of the speed I retrieve my lure or the color, the weather , and the water color and temperature, just to name a few.

We should observe the professionals , to determine where to fish. I am not saying call Kevin VanDam and follow him around all day. But that would be fun! What I am saying is this, the birds on the lake are fishing everyday and they know , where the fish are!

Just stop and think about that for a minute. Most of the fish we pursue are predatory fish. They eat crawdads , insects and shad!
Did you get that , SHAD, one of the food sources of all predatory fish. Where you find the big schools of shad , you will find predatory fish close by! Now here is where the Pros (birds) come in. They are always in pursuit of shad when they are hungry!

Where you find Shad you will find gulls, and other fish eating birds.
Where you find Shad you will find predatory fish! So when you are on the lakes be observant of the gulls, etc. When you see them watch and see what they are doing. Are they sunning, or are they eating? If they are eating minnows or shad then it is because there are predatory fish feeding on the shad and crippling or wounding these shad and the gulls are picking up an easy meal.

Now it goes to say if 50 gulls are standing in shallow water just making noise or standing there, then they are not feeding. When you see them diving from way up and splashing into the water they are feeding . This is a pretty good sign , not always, that predatory fish are nearby, causing a feeding frenzy not only of the fish but the gulls too. This is a good way to find a school of stripers, white bass, catfish, or even walleye, and I have gotten into the big large mouth bass many times like this, too!

So the next time you are at the lake, watch the birds, after all who knows more about fishing than the professionals! This is just another way to have the edge when you are out fishing! Whether its familiar or unfamiliar waters, the "birds" know! So until next time, keep your hooks wet and remember to be observant of everthing when you are fishing , Including the birds!

See ya out there, and enjoy.....the "Great Outdoors!" Also. to remember, to boat safely!

If you enjoyed this article then subscribe to this blog and keep up to date with us here at, "Kenny's Great Outdoors"

White Bass - Spring Run!

Early spring, is the time of year, you will see fishermen in sneakers, knee boots and waders run, skip and jump to their favorite tributary streams when the white bass run kicks into" High" gear. They all know how much fun the white bass run is and how easy it is to catch these hard fighting white bass! Light tackle is recommended and practically any lure you throw will do the trick!

Dogwood blooming, morels pushing out of leaf litter and white bass spawning up feeder streams of Ozark impoundments are strong signs of Spring, and also signs of the "white bass run!"

You can sometimes find Whites in the mouths or lower stream channels as early as January and February particularly during stretches of unseasonably warm sunny weather. However, when the air temperatures drop back down the "whites" will retreat back to deeper, warmer lake water temporarily ending the fishing excitement.

The peak of the spawn is usually sometime in March,depending on the weather, though some over eager anglers start fishing for whites earlier to catch the first schools of fish on their way upstream to spawn.

The peak of the spawning run will occur when water temps consistently reach the 60 to 65 degree F. range. When the dogwoods reach full bloom is also a way some fishermen determine the peak of the run! I thought that was just a good story, but that story proved to be true every year that I intentionally compared the timing of both the temperature and the dogwoods blooming!

The best white bass opportunity is usually from mid March far into April. Longer days and a rising water temperature triggers the spawning run! A water temperature of 55 degrees triggers the run.

You can catch them on practically any lure, casting, and trolling is the best methods of catching these hard fighting white bass! I love to catch them on an ultra light , using small bright colored jigs. You can even have a blast with a fly rod!

Fishing can be better after the spawn than during. At peak spawning time, white bass are focused on reproduction and not on feeding. Once the spawn is over, the fish are hungry and often more eager to bite as they migrate back downstream! The next window of white bass action happens during summer when white bass school on the surface.

Whites should be filleted and the strip of strong-tasting red meat removed from each fillet. That red meat is the reason a lot of people won't eat white bass! Take that red meat out! The blood vein or red meat makes the meat have even a stronger taste than cat fish!

So get out there and catch them white bass when they are making their spring run and you will have the experience of a life time! Keep those hooks wet and we will see ya out there , soon!

Listen.....Spring Is In The Air!

Spring is in the air! Just look around and listen. The days are getting longer now and the weather fluctuates between warm and cold. Certain birds associated with warm weather are starting to show up! Robins and bluebirds are all hopping and flying all around. If you look closely you can see trees, starting to bud, and you can tell that Spring ... is in the air.

With Spring comes warmer weather, birds singing, the sounds of crickets or tree frogs is common. The old whippoorwills start doing their own thing and nature just comes alive around us. The old private fishing hole is not so private now. The smell of barbecue is in the air too! Wow! It's time once again for fishermen of all sizes and shapes to come back to life and start fishing again! Hip hip hooray!

A lot of good weather is ahead and we are just foaming at the bit, so to speak and just can't wait to get back out there in the good old "Great Outdoors!" We have been cooped up,so to speak, and it seems like spring will never get here. But it is in the air , and right around the corner. Anxiously anticipating, Spring, is quite an ordeal for me, because, I love spring!

Fishing is going to be red hot and the weather is going to be beautiful. I love to watch the outdoors come back to life, and everything turns to green and the temperatures are more comfortable and enjoyable.Trees leafing out and flowers blooming and gardens going in once again. Kids fishing and playing , how exciting it is!

Winter is cool and everything but now we want spring to come, and it will come, slowly, majestically, and with uttermost beauty. We will once again, watch nature, at its best. The earth just simply comes alive once again. Get ready for some fantastic "Spring Bass Fishing, in the very near future, it is awesome! I just can't wait , but I guess I will have to! So keep your hooks wet and remember to boat safely. See ya out there soon! I hope you all are as anxious about Spring as I am! Enjoy, the "Great Outdoors!"

How To Key In On Bass And Catch More Consistently!

When Bass Fishing, a person, needs a broad understanding and lots of knowledge about his adversary. This is true in any sport.
The more you understand the nature of a bass and his habits and why he does what he does, the more successful you will be as a bass fisherman! So let's elaborate on this by keying in a few points.
We should ask ourselves the question, "What do bass need to survive?"

A bass needs a few things to survive, Without them the bass will perish!

Oxygen - Food - Cover - and of course water! ;-)

Oxygen - is very important to a bass. As a general rule, cooler water, has more oxygen content and will cause the bass to be more active. There are many things that can contribute to oxygen levels in the water , to name a few, Rivers , wind blown banks, deep water areas, power plants, just a few, there are many more. In the hot summer months a bass will go below the thermal line to get more oxygen.


Food - Bass will eat just about anything , but their main food sources are crayfish and shad. If there is plenty of oxygen and cover then the food chain will usually be present for a bass! A bass needs good oxygen levels to be active to feed and there you have it.

Cover - There is all kinds of cover that a bass will use and he uses cover for multiple reasons. One reason is to hide in ambush for an unsuspecting prey. A bass will expend as little energy as possible to get as much as possible, at one try. The bass also uses cover for shade to get away from the sunlight. A bass has no eyelids or eye lashes, to keep the sun out, so he will try to get in the shade of cover, whether it would be a stump, a log, boat dock, you get the picture.

If you learn to key in on these areas, Oxygen, Food, and Cover, you will be more successful at your bass fishing!

Bass have a few survival mechanisms built in by nature.

Sight, hearing, feeling, taste and smell!

These are used to tune or key in on their prey and they work equally well in all conditions! When the water is clear, or muddy it doesn't have much of an effect on how well a bass can obtain food for survival. A bass is very much so , a highly tuned predator!

If you learn to use lures, that key in on these areas of a fishes senses, stimulate their senses , so to speak , you will catch more fish, thus , becoming a more successful bass fisherman!

If you enjoyed this article, read some more articles in my archives, and subscribe if you will , to keep up on the latest news here at
"Kenny's Great Outdoors! So until next time keep your hooks wet and we will see ya out there , I hope!