Got out on the lake with the Rickster today to see if the Stripers are getting any closer to their summer patterns. So far the lake has been slow to warm with the temps still barely just over 80 degrees. We really need 85+ on the surface to help set up a solid thermocline and so far we just haven't had any real hot weather to help generate that much heat. I expect that will change shortly though as we move into August so it won't be long…
Rick and I headed North today after hearing about some fish up above Browns Bridge. Turned out my sources were right on. We were able to mark fish on our electronics and got several to bite as well. The first fish of the day was 12-13 lbs and was trolled out in some deep water which is always fun.
First fish of the day!
There were 6-7 boats in this area so these fish were a little skittish but we still managed several before lunch. And though we did get over 2-3 fish at a time, they weren't big schools and they weren't super aggressive. That being said, I still managed one jigging which is always fun on the lighter spinning tackle. All the other fish were caught on the troll.
Here is Rick with one of the fish he boated.
One of the nice fish Rick landed today.
Rick will be on vacation next week and if things go down like they did last year when he left town to visit his Dad, the Striper fishing should really get going while he's away. I expect a lot more fish to be active out in the deep water as we move to August so it could be "on" any day now. When this happens, they'll be schooled up a lot more which means more jigging and more catching!!
Start checking weekly for my latest report as I expect to be on the water several times a week for the next 2-3 months.
Capt. J.
Got out for a quick trip up the lake after hearing about some awesome action early this morning. Turns out all the action was in the morning; we didn't do well but it was a nice day to be on the water and in the end, getting to watch Rick commit another "classic moment" is what days like this are all about…
Got up to the same area I was at yesterday just after 3:00 and spent an hour looking for fish. We were marking a few small ones but nothing significant. Most were small and single so we just kept moving. Water temps were hitting a new high ranging from 77-80 degrees. Finally after 4:00 we came upon a small school and stopped the boat. I was able to get a small 7-8 lb'er to hit a jigged Daredevle. Rick actually got a hit but no hook up. We spent another 30-40 minutes chasing the few we saw but they were pretty much gone by 5:00 so we headed back down the lake.
Along the way we stopped at several locations but there just wasn't much happening. Water temps are climbing steadily; the main lake was 76 all the way back to the dock so the down line should be on soon. With the fish wanting to be high up in the water column and the weekend warriors hitting the lake big time, I just don't think it was a good time to be out. Friday afternoons generally means a lot of people will be hitting the water for some weekend R&R. Today was no exception. By 4:00 PM the boat traffic was like any normal summer weekend. In other words, it was pretty crazy out there with jet skiers, water skiers and people tubing. Definitely not the kind of traffic any fisherman likes to see. Next week I'm sticking to early morning trips as the fish are definitely more active and up high in the water column so that will be the best time to do some "catching".
We were back at the dock before 7:00 when Rick pulled another one of his classic "stunts" that made this trip well worth my time and gas. While moving off the back of my boat onto the dock, he somehow let one of his reels "fly" out his back pack and onto my swim board. From there it bounced into the lake where it joined all the other equipment Rick has tossed in over the years. I'm sure all this equipment (mostly mine) are huddled together on the lake bottom right now, enjoying a "cold one" this Friday night, talking about their "friend" Rick who likes to practice "catch and release" with his equipment!!
Had one of my best "May" days ever! I boated 9 fish ranging from 4 to 9 lbs. Fish were caught many different ways including surface, trolling leadcore, trolling umbrella's and jigging. All told it was beautiful on the lake with mild temps and little to no boat traffic.
Headed out later than I wanted. Hit River Forks around 11:00 and noted several boats downlining so I pulled up to see what the fish finders could show me. Not much but after a few minutes I did see a few shallow fish and instinctively decided to throw a Spook in case any were interested. Second cast I got nailed and boated a small 4-5 lb'er. Threw another 15-20 times and decided the fish had moved so I left. Not bad for a 10 minute stop.
Up at Gainesville Marina I stopped in front to see if any of the "fish" Rick reported were still hanging around. Instantly found some bait but then saw Doug riding up. He was headed back to get more bait; he said there were fish up the lake and he was coming back with more bait. I decided to check it out and see what I could find.
After spending an hour going everywhere but where Stripers were swimming, I found a few in Wahoo. Water temps were 74, BP was beginning to drop and it was just before 2:00 when I got one to bite. It took a large spoon trolled 3 colors on leadcore. Weighed about 9 lbs. After boating the fish, the screen filled with fish so I went to the jig. Got the next one on a large Daredevle followed by another the same way. One more on leadcore and then they quit biting and disappeared.
An hour later I found them down back down the river 1/4 of a mile. Using an umbrella I boated another 4 ending the day with 9 total. Not bad for May. Water temps at that point were up to 76-77. All the fish biting were in the 15-20 ft range over a 20-30 ft bottom. Very shallow but were schooling a bit and aggressive.
The weather has been so nice I decided I wanted to get out again even though I wasn't expecting to catch much given the prime and recent fishing being reported. My best chances would be up the lake but I didn't have any gas and I wasn't planning on hiking up that far even after I did fill up. I fished from 8:30 to 1:00 on the South side from Big Creek up to BB. For the day I landed one 8 lb Striper and lost one in FBB as I was headed back to the dock. That last fish was most likely a big fish. It hit a large spoon, 12 colors out, after I had marked two fish at 40 ft.
Temps were hot all over the lake. I marked 70 when I left the dock early but the water quickly jumped to 71-73 all across the lake. I actually marked some fish shallow and early in the back of FB by the 7 marker but couldn't get them to bite. Not a lot; maybe 1-3 at a time for 10 minutes. Prime was set for high noon and the barometer was rising the whole time so there wasn't much expected till the PM. I came across some fish breaking just after noon in front of AL over the channel but they were moving fast and gone before I ever got close. A lot came up though; the most I've seen since last year, and they were Stripers.
Caught my lone fish around 12:30 while trolling from VT up to FC. Thought about heading up FC but didn't and that might have been a mistake. I later heard someone caught 7-8 fish up the river, about half way, from FCB to FCC. Headed in around 1:00 when I got that big bite in front of the NWZ at AL. All in all it was about what I expected given the temps on the water and the time of year.
In summary, it looks like fish are moving back down the lake already. The temps are about equal up the lake as I was getting reports of the water temps up at GM to be the same as I was reading; 73-75 by mid day. I consistently marked fish deep, in the 40-60 foot range out over the channel, and I'm thinking fish are on the move aleady. With the high humidity we've been having, I don't think the lake is loosing much at night temperature wise which means it should warm up faster than it has these past two years. This rise could also be attributed to the fact that they're letting water out daily now and with all the water flowing (something they weren't doing these past two years either) the south side of the lake is getting all that warm water from up north a lot sooner rather than later in June like it's been. I plan on hitting the lake again next week at least once to closely monitor the channel and see if I note more fish on the move. My guess is the week of my birthday could be killer for fishing the southside but a lot will depend on the temps and whether they're still letting out daily or not.
Took the boat out for a short day trip to see what was going on up the lake. I got to the dock around 7:30 and was fishing by 8:30 up around Gainesville Marina. I spent most of the day looking and didn't see much. I'm not sure if I missed all the surface activity but I did hear of a few people catching fish earlier in the morning. I wasn't so lucky. Late morning I did get over some fish and was able to boat one small Striper along with a spotted bass. These fish were all hugging a 15-25 ft bottom and didn't seem to want to turn "on". I caught my fish jigging swim baits and did have quite a few window shoppers so they were "coming up" but just not taking it. The water temp up in this area was over 70 and sometimes as high as 72. There was a slight wind and the prime for the day was around 11:00 but the BP stayed high and I would say that was the main reason they never really turned on for me. Later in the day I heard of some fish being caught between 3-5 and noted the BP was dropping for a few hours right at the same time.
On the SS below BB, the water was still high at 70 so the lake is definitely warming up. I'm guessing there are fish SS already but that no one is fishing for them so there isn't much of anything being reported on them. I'll be heading out 1-2 a week now trying to keep on top of the fish to be prepared for when the real downline trolling action starts. Won't be long now…