Started near dawn with no wind and caught some bass and small bluegills in lily pads near deeper water. There was a big morning hatch of newly emerged Damsel Flies, so the #4 Lime Mist MopWorm popper worked well. On a shoreline where I have seen isolated Alpha beds, I got some decent Bluegills and a big hybrid right before getting a smaller Pumpkin Seed.
Wakeley Kayak Bluegill & Bass Mopworn Poppers
I also tried where I had found post spawn, deeper water bluegill bed colonies last summer. There were a few of the big spawners still there but fishing was difficult because that spot was wide open to the wind that blew up later in the morning. I anchored and fan cast with a #6 bread head black marabou leech. I got one decent bass and maybe 6 good Bluegills along with smaller fish and a very small perch.
The afternoon was difficult to fish in the lily pads with a strong wind blowing, but I got a 2 more bass.
Like last year the the bass had big heads with skinny bodies from not much to eat. I saw no sign of the really big bass and pike that are in there. Nothing came looking for the small bass and bluegills I happened to catch. After missing them in recent years, it was good to see the big bluegills, they are quite robust from all the aquatic insects they are able to find.