That fell short of Kehde's goal, but still amounted to a good day on the water.

"I haven't hit 101 yet this year; the closest I've come was 83," he said. "But I've done it in the past. I had one year where we hit 101 six times. So it's not impossible."

Kehde doesn't make things easy on himself. Not only does he set his arbitrary goal at 101, he limits himself to four hours of fishing. He goes out at midday — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — not normally looked upon as prime fishing hours. And he only fishes public water, not the private farm ponds or strip pits that are filled with bass.

But he has learned that his methods will catch bass virtually any time of the day.

He starts by using finesse baits such as the Strike King finesse worm or Zero hooked to light mushroom jig heads. Then he uses spinning equipment and a reel spooled with 8-pound test line to cast those lures to weed lines, rocky banks and laydowns and stumps.

Kehde, a freelance writer whose work is often seen in In-Fisherman magazine, has spent most of his life fishing for bass.

He went through a phase where he used larger baits in hopes of catching huge bass. But then he became intrigued with the finesse tactics the late Chuck Wood, a well-known lure manufacturer in the Kansas City area, used in the 1950s through the 1970s. Wood, who developed such popular lures as the Beetle Spin, preached that you didn't need a big lure to catch a big bass.

Wood has since passed away, but Kehde and others are carrying on his legacy. They have established an informal "101 Bass Club" and trade information almost daily about their progress in hitting the lofty mark.

Kehde believes that heavy fishing pressure at some of the small lakes is taking its toll, making it harder to reach that elusive total. But he said that it's still possible. And that keeps him casting.

"I live in a good area for this type of fishing," Kehde said. "I don't have to burn a lot of gas to get to lakes that have a lot of bass in them."