Cindyjo

I have had several days with only one or two fish in the last two weeks. Today was better. Boated 15 but not a keeper in the lot, not that it matters they are all returned. All were caught jigging a 1/4 oz kastmaster spoon. Tried deep water but in the Cape Fair area the bass were hitting specifically in the 14' to 16' water depth. Vary the depth any more than that and no takers. I could not locate the thermo on the sonar. Zoo plankton are in near the north shore line due the south wind we had last week. Interesting to see them congregate by the trillions. Look like big brown blotches on the surface, almost like a submerged tree. I would guess the rest of the food chain will follow them. No inadvertent crappies, so I don't know where they are hiding. Several boats in the area but they kept moving locations so it appears they were not as lucky. One would leave a recognizable fishing spot, then 5 or 10 minutes later another would go to the same spot. I saw this happen 5 times in one spot. Fished from 11:30 until 3:30. Water temp 52 degrees. I saw 47 degrees last week.

Actually I started vertical jigging in 35-40' of water. As I moved up the water column thats when I found them in 15'. This was in the open channel. I tried downloading pics earlier this year but the server just kept circling.

I have been out many times since my last posting with varying degrees of success. I was out again Saturday from 2:30 - 4:30pm. I usually fish only 2-3 hours since I live on the lake and can go anytime. Using my side scanner I locate the quick drops off. Work up to the edge slowly watching the sonar. (both the side scanner image and sonar image on the screen at the same time). Once I was in the 15-16' depth the bass could be seen on the sonar. Using a spoon I would vertical jig as I approached the correct depth. The bass were hanging there and boom, they would hit. Missed several and caught 8 with two keepers. The shad are running near the bottom. You can see them all over using the side scanner. There are so many shad I'm surprised to catch any fish. Long plumes of shad 50'+ long and several feet wide. I assume the bass were at that depth since the thermo would show up at 18'. There is good fishing as long as you are willing to take the time to determine the correct pattern and spend time locating the fish. Water temp was 55 degrees.

Thursday - fished 2 hours at sunrise. 3 bass 1 keeper Friday - went up the James just past Walnut Springs. Water depth 1.5'. Decided not to go further. 2 bass and 1 crappie. water temp showed 59 degrees. Yet in the Cape Fair area the water temp was 68 degrees. Yesterday - Again started at sunrise. Idled all the way with dense fog. 3 bass, 1 crappie, 1 catfish. I mostly fish using a road runner since it works well in the various water columns and will catch nearly all game fish. I fish mostly structure in OPEN water. It appears the crappie are moving into deeper water. Did not hit any big bass numbers like I have in my two previous postings. The James is very muddy from the rains with lots of floating debris. Seen several logs that caused me to shudder. Saw one tree floating down last night. Be careful out there with all the floating debris.

Started fishing last night in the Cape Fair area again at 4:30 and came off the lake at 7:00. Same story, with lots of LMB and 4 keepers. Same scenario of road runner on 6# test. Attached a couple of pics. As a reference that is an 18" net. Water temp. 74 degrees.

Whoops, 74 degrees.

Started fishing at 6:45am. They just wouldn't quit. Within 1hour caught 20 and I quit counting. I thought when the sun rose above the trees they would stop. They didn't. I fished in 12' of water with 20' on one side and 35' on the other. I thought when the breeze picked up out of the north they would stop. They didn't. I lost my last chartruse colored road runner and thought they would quit. They didn't. But I did at 10:45 with a growling stomach and raw thumb I headed in. The bass consistently hit when the lure was dropping. Sometimes I would hang up on a ledge and released the tension. As soon as the jig dropped it was hit. I don't believe the jig was ever hit unless it was dropping. Using 6# test on an ultra lite. Only 2 would have been keepers. The rest were consistently in the 12" to 14" range with maybe 2 of the fish less than 12". Although I quit counting I'm sure I caught 40 - 50 fish. Water temp at 45 degrees. i will be out again in the next day or two.

Went out Monday in the Cape Fair area. Hit the water at 5:00pm and left at 7:00pm. Caught 15 lmb with 4 keepers. Mostly on a chatruse road runner tipped with a 2" pumpkin colored tail, 6lb test. Most were caught in a 60 minute surge. Plus the lake threw in one cat. 10' of water adjacent to a 30' drop off. One was missing all of his dorsal fin, plus had a red spot on his side? Anyway, went out again last night. Caught 3 more in about 60 minutes same area. Ironically I caught the same fish with the damage dorsal. No mistaken its identity due to the damage to the fish. Ironically on the same road runner!

In the Cape Fair area my graph is indicating a solid thermocline at 22'.

They were up as far as far as the Bridgeport bridge one night last week with their twin Mercs. right at dusk. Saw me and turned around and headed back south. Last time I saw them that far north was in April.

Thanks Bill. For me the fishing has been tough. Now I feel motivated again.

You will never be too old to fish. But you will become more selective when you choose to fish. Keep challenging yourself and try to beat your last record. And wear your PFD.

Anybody hear of any walleye being caught in the Cape Fair area? What is the best technique to catch them? Thanks

Does anyone know if the lower unit anti theft locks actually work?