When I plan a fishing trip the night before I always plan on waking up at the butt-crack of dawn. At around 4 in the morning, my alarm goes off and I leap out of bed to get my truck ready. I try to have my rods rigged up with all of the lures I plan on using throughout the day and the night before so that I can just throw them into the car as I'm about to leave. I lift my kayak onto the truck bed and push it forward. I then secure my kayak by using 2 straps to ensure no failure when driving to my spot. I then chuck my other necessities such as my paddle, tackle box, kayak seat, and rods into the back seat. I then speed off into the morning dusk to get to my fishing hole.

As I arrive at my destination and park, I usually unload my kayak from the truck bed first. I undo the snake-like ropes used to secure my kayak pull my kayak off of the bed and place it on the ground next to me. I then grab all of the necessities that I had put in my car earlier. I put my paddles together, grabbed my tackle box and seat, and secured them to my kayak. Then I go back for my rods. I then push my kayak into the water hoping I don't fall in when I go to jump onto it. I always pray that I won't mess this up because then my trip will be cut short. 

I get on the water at about 5:30ish when the sun is rising. The water is normally super calm which is perfect for fishing a topwater. I grab my topwater rod - a 7’3” heavy St. Croix Bass X - and whip the topwater frog I had put on it the night before. I love fishing the topwater frog because you can see the fish strike with your eyes. It is truly amazing when I do get slammed because it has to be a huge football-mouthed fish to get the frog into its mouth. 

As the sun comes up over the treetops I switch to my favorite lure: The Senko. I live by the Senko because there are so many different ways to use this little worm-like bait. I love to wacky rig and Texas rig them because it gives the best action. I normally stand on the kayak at this point because it is easier to see fish and cast at bass that are sitting near shore. Wherever I see a fish lurking I try to cast and then slowly jig my rod up and down. The bass usually loves the action that it gives and it will strike almost every time. 

After fishing for bass for a while I typically go and troll around the lake with 2 rods in the water. I try to troll one deep diving crankbait and one shallow diving spinnerbait to cover both the top and bottom of the water. I have to constantly paddle around the lake to catch a fish because the baits have to have enough speed to make the chattering sound and vibration that attracts the fish. 

At the end of the day, I pack everything up, load the truck again, and head home - usually sunburned and exhausted from the long day out in the sun.