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Bassin on Rend Lake by Don Dziedzina
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Spinnerbait… crankbait… worm. Have you ever heard anyone say that? It’s kind of a systematic approach to get bass when the bite is tough.

Last week I took a trip down south and was staying at the Rend Lake Resort. I wanted to fish there for bass because it would be a first for me there.

Joining me was Jason Johns of Todd Gessner Outdoors guide service (www.ToddGessnerOutdoors.com ). Like all of Gessner’s guides, Johns does guide for crappie, stripers and even catfish. But he really loves to fish for bass. After some conversation over breakfast at the resort, we decided that the direction we would take was spinnerbaits, crankbaits and worms.

For the sake of our fishing, spinnerbaits actually meant spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. That would be the first bait we would try at the different spots that we fished. If nothing happened or we had a blow up on the bait and a miss, we would switch to a crankbait with the next cast.

A crankbait lets you slow down your retrieve yet keeping it at a certain level in the water column. You can let the crank stop, suspend, dive or float to the surface. You can let it sit for a bit after it first hits the water or crank it in immediately. The bottom line here is that the second choice is one that you can fish a bit differently.

If we know a fish is there or find a spot very likely to hold a fish and neither the spinnerbait nor crankbait worked, then we would work a worm for an even slower presentation. In addition, if we found a few fish jumping on our higher speed baits, the worm would let us meticulously work little pockets and pull and extra fish or two off a spot.

Rend is really a good bass lake. We caught quite a few and they were nice sized. As Johns said,” If we work this right, we can scratch up a limit of bass out of this bay in no time.”

He was right. Working the bays one by one, and hitting the rip rap shores where there was a difference in the bottom contour from surrounding areas, we were able to produce fish all morning and afternoon.

Having the opportunity to go with a guide like Johns takes a lot of the guess work out of finding fish and emptying out the tackle box looking for the right bait to throw. Since he is so experienced in fishing for bass on Rend, he does well in local bass fishing tournaments and it’s kind of fun to hear the stories that come with one spot to the next.

The best part about fishing with Johns is his ability to adjust. We got blown off the water twice in one day due to major storms moving through the area. I’ve seen it many times where after a stormed moved through the bass turned off like someone hit a switch. Strong winds, lightening and thunder often sends fish into hiding or hugging the bottom. It then takes a while before the bass go on the move to feed again.

After the first storm caused us to run for cover, we waited out the storm at the resort. Once it did pass, we headed back out to the water and it wasn’t long before another bass was in the boat followed by several more.

Rend is better known for its crappie fishing. The catfish bite there is excellent as well. But the largemouth bass fishery is really good and it’s probably one of Illinois’ best kept secrets.

Today we worry about spending too much money on gas when taking our fishing vacation. Gas prices of over $4.00 a gallon makes many of us think twice before booking a cabin or room for a few nights. But with Rend Lake being only four hours away from the Lincoln-Way area it’s a very affordable destination for summer fun.

For assistance in lodging in southern Illinois take advantage of the services offered by the Franklin County Tourism Bureau (www.FCTB.com) or the Williamson County Tourism Bureau (www.WCTB.org). For information on the Rend Lake Resort and fishing guide services, you can also visit www.RendLakeResort.com or call 800.633-3341.

I love fishing down south. My trips down there have always been successful and a lot of fun. Most of all the southern Illinois hospitality can’t be beat. For anyone who is looking for a place to go for that summer fishing vacation, there’s great fishing not that far away in southern Illinois.

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