Jason Lucas wrote it, right there in black and white. Would he lie to a fourteen year old kid?”Cast your popping bug so it lands softly between the lily pads, let it sit for as long as you can stand it, then twitch it a little and hang on to your hat”
That was 1949 and I was soaking up every bit of bass fishing info I could get from the three major outdoor magazines.
Forty-five years later I’m still practicing what Jason taught me, staring at my homemade popping bug and twitching it on the calm surface of Kill Creek Lake. This beautiful little body of water near De Soto, KS has become my home water by default. Even though I ‘ve yet to catch a bass over a half pound I love this place. It’s twenty-four miles from my home, small enough to fish comfortably with my fourteen-foot johnboat and electric motor, and… well… it just looks bassy. Lots of standing timber, lush weed beds, everything but lily pads.
The fact that it’s yet to yeild a bass weighing over a half pound isn’t important. In the twilight after sundown when I’m staring at my homemade popping bug, letting it sit for as long as I can stand it, then twitching it a little, I’m still hanging on to my hat… and waiting. There’s got to be some big bass in a place that looks this good.
