Fishing Log: Powers Lake -- Woodbury, MN

As Etta James so eloquently said, "at last."

Yesterday's plans included a fishing trip in the evening somewhere in Woodbury, MN. I wanted to target a smaller pond, after having no action on Lake Marion. Well, mother nature had different plans. A downpour started mid-morning and poured on and off for the rest of the day. On top of that, gusting winds reaching over 25 miles per hour kept me off the water for the day. Certainly not weather for fishing, that's for sure.

On Tuesday, May 20th, I awoke to gorgeous fishing weather. I stepped outside to start loading up my kayak to find the air stickier than epoxy. The humidity level was hovering around 90%. Temps were sitting in the 60's around 9pm, but they were sure to rise as the sun grew higher in the sky. I decided to head to Powers Lake in suburban Woodbury, Minnesota.

Powers Lake is 60 acres in size, with a maximum depth of 41 feet. It felt slightly warmer than other waters I have fished so far, with the water probably hovering around 52 or 53 degrees. The slightly warmer water increased my optimism for the day. I decided to target the northern end of the lake and then work my way down the northeastern shore of the lake, looking for pike and bass in the shallows.

Not a single gust of wind.

Upon arriving at the landing, I found placid water with a faint fog sitting over it. There wasn't a pip of wind to be felt for the first hour or so. Normally, I would've gone on a topwater frenzy with these kind of conditions, but the cold water didn't really help my case there. There were countless mosquitoes sitting on the surface, with no bites coming after them. If these insects felt comfortable sitting on the surface, no popper I had in my tackle box would do me any good. I targeted downed trees and other cover with a Mepps "aglia" spinner for awhile, with no reaction. I then put on a Rapala crankbait in "purpledescent" color pattern, casting out from shore into deeper water hoping to find suspended pike. A switch to the same Husky Jerk I used on Lake Marion yielded no fish either. The north end of the lake was crystal clear down to 5 or 6 feet, and with the help of polarized sunglasses I would have been able to see anything moving around. An hour or so of no results made me abandon the northern end and decide to explore the northeastern shore.

Another hour and a half of no results along the northeastern shore had me as frustrated as I've ever been fishing. I was trying everything I had in my tackle box; spinners, swim jigs, swimbaits, Senko worms both wacky-rigged and Texas-rigged, spoons, and jerk baits, among others. After three hours of futility, I decided that it probably wasn't the baits that I was using, or the way I was presenting those lures, but that most likely I just wasn't where the fish were. With such clear water, I should have at least seen a few largemouths in the shallows on spawning beds. Almost ready to throw in the towel, I decided to cut across the lake and fish the south shore, heading north towards the fishing pier.

First bass of the day: 12 inches.

I reached the other shore and rigged up a square-bill Strike King KVD crankbait on my ultralight setup. I chose to go with an orange crawfish pattern, figuring that this would be the most realistic bait choice up close to shore for largemouth. A dozen casts later and I hooked up my first fish of the spring from my kayak, a 12-inch largemouth. I used a method of continuous retrieve, pulling my rod tip up and then letting it down slowly to add even more action to the lure. The KVD crank has a distinct tight wobble, with a darting side to side action when the rod tip is jerked. A bit later I snagged another this way, drawing him out of the reeds. The water clarity aided me in seeing him dart out from the weeds to nab the crankbait as it shimmied past the cover. The excellent factory hooks on the crank hooked him on both sides of the mouth, allowing for an easy retrieve.

Lastly, I passed the fishing pier and wanted to cast just a few more times up near a culvert leading to an overflow area. I figured that there was a chance a big pig was hanging to the edge of the culvert looking for easy pickings heading to and from the drainage ditch. I pitched the crank right up to the mouth of the passageway, and quickly dove it down deep with a hard jerk to my left. It hit like a train, peeling drag off of my ultralight reel. For a couple moments, I was

Best of the day.

worried I had snagged a pike, figuring it would bite off the crank from the 6-lb test in a second or two. Just after thinking this I was greeted with a dramatic jump from the lunker at the other end of my line, a 16-inch largemouth. A drawn out fight ended with me pulling him into the kayak, with most of the work being done by the drag-system. I've never had a bass take 3 full, separate runs of drag from my reel, but this one did. A quick measurement and photo in the boat, and then he was ready to be released, unharmed.

The lake didn't follow the script that I had planned for it, but perseverance ultimately yielded me with two respectable bass and one nice lunker. A great day on Powers Lake was had with perfect weather throughout. As the spring turns to summer, this lake will most likely only get better. As the water continues to warm and a weed line develops on the drop offs, I plan to target for pike again. Until then, bass will be your most likely target in the shallows for now.

Tight Lines!