Puddingstone 3/11

[Bendo]

What a difference 6 days makes. My last trip, during the First Full Moon in February, had the Bass shallow and aggressive.This trip was very different. I got to the Lake at Sun Up, only to be flagged for a secondary inspection of my Hobie Float Tube. They were trying to call it a Homemade Boat, as it did not fit into any categories on their list. I had to have the Girl call her Supervisor in while I looked up my Tube on the internet. “ It’s a Hobie” I reiterated. The label is pressed into each pontoon. So they finally let me in, and I parked and went down to launch and the Senior Lifeguard pulled up and wanted to check if my Tube was wet or had any water inside the pontoons. He didn’t like my Blow Up PFD and loaned me a giant Orange One that I tied to the back seat. He gave me his card and took my information in case I tried to take off with the PFD. WOW, quite the reception. I got out on the water and kicked to the drowned trees I did so well at a few days before. I get started quick with 3 nice Bass in the first twenty minutes. The I got splashed by a giant Swimbait, cast within 2 feet of me. I look back and two guys in a John boat are 50 feet away, and they start bombing me with their Swimbaits. Apparently they were working their way around the Cove and I was in their way. I had been there 20 minutes, catching fish when they showed up. How dare I pull up in front of them. I explained I have been here for a while but they kept casting at me. I told them to knock it off, but they just kept cussing at me. I pulled out the Lifeguards Card and called him, and explained what was happening. He pulled up less than two minutes later. The guys in the Boat were yelling at him and I was a idiot that was in their spot. He made them leave and it looked like he was guiding them back to the Launch Ramp. Never seen anything like it. Great big Lake, plenty of shoreline. So I got back to fishing and landed 4 more in the next two hours. Seven blowups and seven fish on the Topwater Fluke. Most were out of deeper water at the outside edge of the Treeline this time. Nothing next to the shore and no bloody bottom fins. All looked to be Females, fat and healthy. Still, just not the peaceful experience I think fishing should be. I kicked back and returned the Big Orange PFD. Really not looking forward to going to Puddingstone again, at least by myself, and that’s a shame.