Fish breaking everywhere!

Went out on the lake today for the first time in November and man was it wild! Fish were breaking everywhere; definitely the most action I've ever seen "up top". I spent 4 hours on the water and didn't have to travel beyond Flowery/Aqualand/Mud for all the "action".

Got on the water around 11 and immediately found birds in Flowery Branch. I wasn't able to get close as they would scatter as I approached but I never did see fish so I wasn't fretting it. After turning the corner at the mouth of FB and heading toward the gas dock, I was able to hit pay-dirt. Small pods of fish were surfacing all around and I started throwing everything at them figuring they'd be quick to bite my offering. Turns out I was wrong. For the most part, they didn't want anything big. Instinctively I expected this but with hope I kept the heavy tackle tied on hoping I could somehow coerce them. Wasn't happening… Reluctantly I tied on a fluke and sure enough, that was the deal.

Flukes cast to rolling fish would get attention. The key was getting on top of the fish right as they surfaced, which is a lot harder than it sounds, and the other key was patience. Fast retrieves are a no-no when they're on this small bait bite; let the lure sit and 4 of 5 times they'll bite it on the drop. At noon I had my first fish, around 12 lbs, and just 2 bites so I wasn't knocking them out but I was making progress. With fish seemingly everywhere I thought I would have had more luck but getting quality casts proved to be a lot more difficult than I imagined. Still, I hung in tough and stuck to my game plan.

Around 1-2 PM I was able to make 2 decent casts (after 20+ bad ones). Both resulted in hits; one hit was converted to a fish boated. The light lure on heavy line made long casts difficult and took away one of my "strengths". Still, I kept at it. Around 3 PM I got another bite and then another. At days end I had boated 4, ranging in size from 11-14 lbs, and all were caught on fluke. I did have 3-4 instances where I was over them thick and nada. This was hard to accept. But overall, not bad considering I hadn't been out in a month.

Today the surface temps were up around 66 degrees and still quite high considering the time of year. I do expect them to drop a lot in the coming weeks and for the most part, fishing to be tough or "tougher still". A good day will be anything over 5 fish; a decent day 2-4 and there is always potential for the inenviable "skunky" ala "Olla" (def: Rick going out for the nite bite and not catching anything…). There will be days when they turn on and this will usually be right before a storm. Fast approaching systems with a falling BP and wind will be best. Slow moving LP systems won't provide nearly as good impact with the best time to go for these storms a day or two before they arrive (even if it's sunny). Such is the pattern in the winter so try to go when it will most count and you'll be sure to put fish on the boat!