Sore Thumbs

Very nice!  That's a great day in Indian.  I really need to start throwing a fluke.

I love throwing flukes for bass😀! Congrats @Sore Thumbs on a great day!

Someone mentioned a Fluke fish the other day and that got my blood pumping. Went to Quill Creek aka Indian Creek today. Caught about 20-25 fish all on the Fluke. Only 3 keepers but that bite is about to be on fire after this next cold front. Caught a female White, Crappie, Ky, Smallmouth and LM. All of the LM and SM were mainly 12-14 inches. Only boated 3 Ky all were keepers. Did see a lot of beds. Only 2 with fish on them. It was pretty windy so I’m sure more are on beds than that. WT was 61-58 as it dropped as the day progressed. Had a good time. 

Someone mentioned a Fluke fish the other day and that got my blood pumping. Went to Quill Creek aka Indian Creek today. Caught about 20-25 fish all on the Fluke. Only 3 keepers but that bite is about to be on fire after this next cold front. Caught a female White, Crappie, Ky, Smallmouth and LM. All of the LM and SM were mainly 12-14 inches. Only boated 3 Ky all were keepers. Did see a lot of beds. Only 2 with fish on them. It was pretty windy so I’m sure more are on beds than that. WT was 61-58 as it dropped as the day progressed. Had a good time. 

Someone mentioned a Fluke fish the other day and that got my blood pumping. Went to Quill Creek aka Indian Creek today. Caught about 20-25 fish all on the Fluke. Only 3 keepers but that bite is about to be on fire after this next cold front. Caught a female White, Crappie, Ky, Smallmouth and LM. All of the LM and SM were mainly 12-14 inches. Only boated 3 Ky all were keepers. Did see a lot of beds. Only 2 with fish on them. It was pretty windy so I’m sure more are on beds than that. WT was 61-58 as it dropped as the day progressed. Had a good time. 

Someone mentioned a Fluke fish the other day and that got my blood pumping. Went to Quill Creek aka Indian Creek today. Caught about 20-25 fish all on the Fluke. Only 3 keepers but that bite is about to be on fire after this next cold front. Caught a female White, Crappie, Ky, Smallmouth and LM. All of the LM and SM were mainly 12-14 inches. Only boated 3 Ky all were keepers. Did see a lot of beds. Only 2 with fish on them. It was pretty windy so I’m sure more are on beds than that. WT was 61-58 as it dropped as the day progressed. Had a good time. 

Someone mentioned a Fluke fish the other day and that got my blood pumping. Went to Quill Creek aka Indian Creek today. Caught about 20-25 fish all on the Fluke. Only 3 keepers but that bite is about to be on fire after this next cold front. Caught a female White, Crappie, Ky, Smallmouth and LM. All of the LM and SM were mainly 12-14 inches. Only boated 3 Ky all were keepers. Did see a lot of beds. Only 2 with fish on them. It was pretty windy so I’m sure more are on beds than that. WT was 61-58 as it dropped as the day progressed. Had a good time. 

Someone mentioned a Fluke fish the other day and that got my blood pumping. Went to Quill Creek aka Indian Creek today. Caught about 20-25 fish all on the Fluke. Only 3 keepers but that bite is about to be on fire after this next cold front. Caught a female White, Crappie, Ky, Smallmouth and LM. All of the LM and SM were mainly 12-14 inches. Only boated 3 Ky all were keepers. Did see a lot of beds. Only 2 with fish on them. It was pretty windy so I’m sure more are on beds than that. WT was 61-58 as it dropped as the day progressed. Had a good time. 

Got out earlier than usual.  Started at spot 2 were I finished off previous trip.  Knew it was going to be slow but them big fish caught last week had to be still there roaming around. Caught two toads right away in 14 fow 12 feet down on a steep ledge and then it went quite.  No consistent pattern all day like previous trip.   Scattered bad.  Had to move all over the place.  Deeper water, channel edge, shallower clean trolling water that’s not in the bushes but has a pea gravel bank and steep ledges.  Every move caught a fish but never another one. Caught one hammer in 20 foot just roaming out in the middle while just crossing back over to a shallower ledge.  With how all it went every fish caught was a SOW!!  Sure made the effort a rememberable day.  Caught 10 pigs and two squeakers.  Tossed 5 back and kept 7.   Man this weather.  Next week forecast doesn’t look stable at all.  Good fishing and god bless Lance

Nice job!

Bobby, earlier this week I also found shad that were shallow (20 to 25ft) in a creek and a single loon was having a big time aggravating them and there was not a single fish I could see (so that does happen). Also, I ignore the main lake deep shad (over 50). Regarding locations, I would try to figure where a bass would stage for the spawn and if that location has shad then you will have a good chance to catch a few. I am looking for groups of fish and that normally requires the presents of bait fish. Currently, I avoid the obvious gravel points because they get to much pressure. I think paying your dues hunting for shad is the key to fun fishing and catching numbers.
I use a 3/8 oz jig head with four different SB lengths (3, 3.25, 3.3, and 3.8 with the 3.3 being my best choice. I also have a 3/8 underspin with a 3" SB. I rarely use a 1/4oz unless I am casting into 4ft to start my retrieve.  The 1/4oz rises to quickly during the retrieve and it does not cast far enough for my taste. Also slow roll the bait.
I am seeing bass on my graph feeding on the shad. If you find shad in 20 to 25ft and your boat is in 35 to 45 (and you see a few bass on your graph every few minutes) then you are in the right scenario. 
The shad are normally in one of two scenarios.  First, if you have a tight bait ball like you see in the winter then the feeding fish might be near the bottom and not disturbing the main body of shad. That is when you let the swimbait go to the bottom and then retrieve. This is the best scenario to cleanup with a spoon once the SB wares out its welcome.
The second shad scenario is scattered over a bigger area due to fish feeding aggressively. This is when you want no wind so you can see everything that happens on the surface and as soon as you see surface activity try to cast to it ASAP and let your bait drop to about 5ft then retrieve. You will catch random fish while waiting for the surface activity, but the surface activity takes top priority. 
I am fishing the SB horizontally but you need to keep an eye on your line while the SB is dropping to the desired depth. Also, try to stay off the majority of fish and make long cast.

I thought this morning was going to be tough because I blanked yesterday morning and today we had post frontal conditions and cold temps to start the day. In general the fishing has been good when I can find the shad postured at the right depth (20 to 30ft). This morning I had approx 20 fish with about 12 keepers (all 3 species). I found shad in three locations in a creek and the fish were actively feeding. If I can find the shad I have a lot of confidence that there will be a group of  fish around. I just keep an eye on my graph to determine how deep to retrieve the swimbait. You can use a flutter or slab spoon to catch a few. I normally exhaust my luck with the swimbait then move my boat closer to the shad and try a spoon to pick off a few more. I move my boat closer because they like the spoon on the initial fall. The old bank line was fairly productive about 10 days ago but the falling water and cold fronts have me fishing deeper. Lately I keep me bait in 20 to 50 FOW. WTs vary from 57 to 59.5 in the mornings. 

Some of you may have read the post I made last weekend outlining the struggle that we endured in trying to catch some suspended fish. Well, appropriately so, this Good Friday offered some undeserved redemption. 

It seems that in our work-week absence, the fish have moved back up into the shallows to stage. We tried a few mainlake points before we made a bee line to the warmer water. The further back we ventured into the creek arm, the warmer the water was, and the more the fish bit. We ended up with 15 fish, about half being keepers. Nothing to most of you, but a darn good day for us. All spots except for a short smallmouth, a 15" crappie, and a nice white. 

All bites were on 3.3 Keitech Sexy Shads on 1/4 oz or 3/8 oz heads. 
Happy Good Friday to each of you! Looking forward to celebrating the resurrection of Christ this weekend! 

One thing on Whites this time of the year.  They can be extremely fickle.  Others, with more knowledge of white bass, please correct me if I'm wrong, but very, very seldom will they bite early after a high pressure cold nite.  During high pressure bright days its the same deal.  Middle of the day is for naps and golf, not fishing.  Usually right before dark or if you get some cloud cover and especially just a twinge of breeze they can go.  At times  you will see some surface activity if they are there, not feeding, but just some swirling and movement.
I believe your post is in the correct location.  
Good Luck

I love throwing the fluke! Been waiting for the time it’s on. I knew it was close. Need Indian Creek to stay at 60 or above. Then it’s on like Donkey Kong. 

Got me beat, as usual... I had a handful of smaller fish. Put in at Prairie at daylight and fished the cove across from Copper Mine almost all day. I did have one interesting moment. I skipped a fluke past a tree, and it disappeared with a swirl and no splash. I don't know about up here, but on the St John's River that usually means it's a big girl "sipping tea", as my cousin calls it. Anyway, was no big girl, was a little fella that managed to stick himself to the bait and the bush at the same time. I had to stop, while reeling in, and take his photo just because, well, how many times do we see a fish eat a bait and a bush??
_

I don’t think it matters on leader size. I use 7,8 and 10. I haven’t seen a better bite on smaller diameter. About the same. I like 7 on my drop shot because when I tie the palomar and go back through the eye of my ds hook the knot will go through allowing the hook to stick straight sideways. 

I’ve had a few trips in the past week or so and just haven’t had time to post them here.  I’ve been long line trolling lately.  6-8 rods, 6 pound test.  1/16 and a few 1/8 jigs.  Haven’t slayed them but I’ve been catching enough for dinner over 12-15 fow.  Some even deeper.  I’ve learned a lot from folks on this forum and others.  Just trying to share the knowledge in case it helps others.  I’m definitely still learning.  

I've been flogging the water to a froth since arriving here March 1st with nothing worthy of a report. However, just being here and trying beats the land of ice and snow every day, all day. Like Basspastor, catching them deep is a summit I'm still looking up at. Thank you for your inspirational post, by the way. Yesterday, I ventured over to the Kings in search of warmer water. It was stained less than I expected given the recent rains, but still had enough floaters for a little pucker factor running down the lake. Table Rock finally granted me a bit of mercy as I blundered into a school of Spots and LMs, catching 20 including 5 keepers. One of them was this "Lil Ol' Meat Pouch" to borrow an epithet from Zona. She went 21 1/2" and tipped the scale at 5.23 lbs. She eagerly lunched a white chatterbait with an Albino Zoom Swimming Super Fluke Jr for a trailer. I remember thinking, this is a big one and wondering if it might not be some other specie as it was pulling so hard. All of the fish came on either the chatterbait or a 4" Keitech Swing Impact on a 1/4 ballhead jig. Water temp was 61. 

 

Yes you can do that however counting down a swim bait or working a jerk bait gives you a better handle on depth if you know how deep they are staging.  I just am not strong enough anymore  to keep winding those big lip cranks.

Fished with Tom from Eagle Rock today, very nice spring day, but slow fishing.  We caught 15 or so bass, only two were keepers and both keepers were smallmouth.  Started off swimming Keitechs of points and rocky banks, that is where the two keepers came from, along with a couple of shorts, 3 keeper walleye and a couple of white bass.
Finished up the day back in the main channel of Indian creek where we got some Ned fish, which were all 12-13" spots and a couple of largemouth.  Had a good puller that got off, but no keeper sized fish to the boat.
Most fish were off the bank in 5-15 FOW.  Little bit of a green stain to the water up in Indian creek, clear water down by the dam.  

We always come down from Michigan to share your beautiful lake and fish the Aunt's Creek Association Buddy Tournament.My buddy Dale and I came down last week Friday. We had just got the news that the tournaments were called off. We each drove our own boat and trailer down with planes that our teammates would come later to join us in the tournament. We also expected four others to join us. Then the Coronavirus stated getting more people infected and shutting down more stuff, everyone else decided to stay home.We figured we could socially distance ourselves on Table Rock, so we have been fishing out of our own boats, trying to stay within a mile of each other the past week. we fish about 6-8 hours a day, and compare our catches and stories. The first day, 3/21, was very tough. I caught one 2.5 pound largemouth and Dale got skunked. The next day we stayed between point 9 and Aunt's Creek. I caught a 3.5 pound smallmouth and a Spot. Dale caught a ball Spot. I believe it rained in the morning on Tuesday. We fished the Aunt's creek area again. I had five keeper smallmouths and a 40 inch Striper. Dale got skunked. The next day, we took a ride up the white towards Campbell. I caught 14 spots, two smallmouths, and two largemouths. Dale had 12 spots and two smallmouths. Next day we went to Kimberling City. I caught Two nice smallmouths, three 3 pound largemouths, and a nice spot for 17.68 pounds. Dale had a nice bag of four smallmouths and two spots for 16.86 pounds. We are kind of competitive. Thursday we went up the white again, and I only had three keepers, but one was a 3.65 small jaw. Dale had about a dozen, with a couple of smallmouths and the rest spots. Today we went back to Kimberling City and Dale had seven with a couple of real nice spots, one over 3 pounds.I had five fish, buttony three keepers which include a couple of small jaws, and a big spot. The majority of the fish Dale caught were on a 5/16 round ball jig with a smoke/purple Yamamoto 4 or 5 inch grub, or a 3 inch Kalin Grub.Keeps his boat in 25-30 feet and makes a cast award shore and slowing reels it back, trying to keep it near the bottom, without getting slimed.Most of my fish were caught on swim baits, using a 1/4 ounce Shin Spin jig with a 3.8 Keitech. I also caught a few, including the 3.65 smallmouth, on the 5/16 jig with a 2.8 keitech. The day I caught the Striper, I caught all five keeper smallmouths on a finesse A-Rig thrown very close to the flooded bushes. Much like a spinner bait. I tried a spinner bait, but couldn't get bit on it.Trying to decide where to fish tomorrow. Still haven't caught a big bass(I did lose a five pounder on Tuesday) Tried to net it by myself, and I should of boat flipped it. Glad it wasn't in a tournament. Still would like to have a 50 fish day. but with the water levels going down, I don't think the bite will turn on. We are leaving early Monday to head back to Michigan. Good luck everybody.








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Great fish, you should have kept it.  It came over the dam at Beaver.  They try to shock them out but a few get away.   Had to be a fun battle.

@Quillback you got me thinking of fresh fish. After work I took Livie to a small pond near us. Hoping to catch a few bluegill and crappie. Livie had the bluegill mojo landing about a half dozen quickly but didn't catch any bluegill over 8 inches to keep. Livie caught a couple of golden shiners and a largemouth as well as two crappie. One was 10 inches her largest caught in MD. I only caught black crappie all 8 to 10 inches using a white and chartreuse trout magnet under a float. Kept a few for a dinner this weekend. Not a @Lance34 hand full of crappie but enough for us three😀.

Well, I guess on the bright side I never really expected to live to be 536 but here I am.
It's been a good ride though.
Can't wait to see what the next two or three centuries I have left are gonna be like......