I put in at a big Lake Erie tributary boat boat launch, 200 trailers for giant motor boats parked there. The wide creek channel was lined with moored big stink boats. Plan A was to fish adjacent "Wet Lands" that lacked ramp access. It was fenced off and the weeds were solid 2 feet above the water surface. Plan B was to paddle upstream. Skipped past decent natural cove on the northern shore and some pockets on the south. That all ended at a low bridge, only 2 feet of clearance, PERFECT!!!
Upstream was a perfect shallow weedy football field sized hole, no other access. One guy fishing off the bridge, I gave him some room. Nothing would hit a 2/0 White Dive Banger and Bass were busting minnows. Switched to bait casting, first cast broke on a bird's nest tangle and spent 30 minutes trying to untangle the broken end out from underneath that. A chartreuse spinner bait was running too deep and picking up weeds but I did get a hit.
Retied to a 2/0 Chartreuse Dive banger fly and that quickly got hit. I marching the popper back from a long cast in a steady rhythm of sharp medium pops, not looking at all, when I felt the jolt. The second fish I landed was 18 inches, I didn't see my phone in my lure bag. After releasing him I found it. It didn't take long to get the second 18 incher.
I was only hooking half the hits and half of those were getting off. The best cover was beside grass patches rising up to the surface from 4 or more feet of water. This fish was a bit shallower, after the hit I couldn't budge him, I quickly pulled the light kayak up to him and he wasn't tangled in anything substantial but just seemed to chose to fight in that same place.
Up stream the channel curved, got narrower and passed under a couple of road bridges. There were bass up there just not as big or as many.
I left at 1:00 having caught 3 bass over 14 inches on the 2/0 dive banger and one or two more on a bigger 2/0 Popping Wedge.
Spent the mid day With the family, picnicking and sitting at the nearby Luna Pier Beach. Nice cloudy day, a bit of pleasant faint drizzle, had to pay for parking.
At 6:00 PM there wasn't enough time to try some where new. so I went back to the boat launch. I was the quickest in and out launch I have ever found. Fished that hole above the low bridge through and back 4 times. For the day, landed a bass 20 inches , two 18 , a 17 and a couple or more 15 and 14 inches each.
Got this deformed 17 incher in a narrow drain channel leaving out from a back corner or a weedy side bay where I couldn't see it on the way in. Later caught a 12 incher with the same affliction or injury.
.This is the fish I thought was 20 inches.