Thursday Morning Report

[rps]

Fished 5:00 AM to noon Thursday. The first twelve, count them, twelve attacks on my spook I hooked nothing. Not one stinking fish. By then it was 6:00. I finally figured out that maybe I was missing the hookup because they really weren't that interested in the spook. I had noticed several followers as well as the misses and had been trying varying retrieves. I switched to a popper and finished the morning with six topwater LM between 12 and 16 inches. Only the largest would have been legal.

Around 7:00 I began longlining for walleye. I tried various bait depths between 12 feet and 20 feet in water from 15 to 35 feet deep. I fished flats, points and timber. Caught one 14" walleye and another seven bass, one legal. The bass were all spotted bass and came off the flats and points. I did not scope any fish deeper than 26 or 27 feet down. Most I scoped were suspended over some minor break or brush pile between 14 and 20 feet.

There was next to no boat traffic until after 10:30 and then it was relatively light.

[Bill Babler]

RPS, in all likelyhood you are right, and I am sure you have fished a spook long enough to careless what I think, but try this and let me know. On the hit or splash, do not set the hook, but just start reeling as fast as you can till you feel the weight of the fish. No jerking, setting or pulling. If they miss it just keep working it, till they grab it again, then start reeling with no jerk or pull. Let me know.

This really works and its the only way the Bass Master Elite Series anglers fish a topwater. If you are fishing a topwater with any of these guys and you jerk, they will laugh themselves right out of the boat. Bad experence, I won't go there. Just let's say, the voice of experence.

Good Luck

[rps]

Bill:

I will admit that all too often, when a fish attacks, my first impulse is to jerk. I know better, but impulse is impulse. Usually, after the first one or two, I do better. Today was tough for me because even after I lectured myself to do as you state, the problem continued. Realistically, I had a bunch of attention from the fish. Realistically, I didn't convert it to results right away.

Arn't we glad that we can discuss fine points. I caught more than one fish today. Your clients caught many more than one fish today. How many millions wish they could say the same?

rps

[Bill Babler]

Amen to that.

Always look forward to your post. I feel a kendred spirit with another White River Rat.

Three cheers for Big M to Beavertown.

PS For the rest of you, the fish don't bite on that end of the lake. Stay down mostly by the Dam as the fishing is much better down there

Good Luck RPS and keep us posted on your goings on.