Yesterday Turns To Magic

[Bill Babler]

Started out early, and I mean early. Picked up Darren Cooper at 6:30 in the AM out of the Timbers development in the back of the Big Indian.

Everybody is telling me swimming a grub is the way to catch-em, but we still have not gotten that bite figured out. Started swimming it on flat gravel and did catch one fantastic 19 inch K right off the bat, and then it went cold.

Picked up the Pointer 100 and the McStick Chrome Shad, and got it started. Not a tremendious ammount of fish for either myself or Darren, but quality galore.

I started it with a very nice 4 plus pound SMJ and Darren followed with a couple of nice keeper SMJ's.

Moved to an interior point in the back of the Little Indian, on flat water, mind you and caught 3 more keeper Smallmouth, with another at 4.5 pounds. Was to later find out that yesterday was going to be a "Big Fish Day". The boy's were going to bite.

Headed out of the Indian's and around the dam area on a very nice tip from Tim Paige. Its nice to have friends in the guide business.

Hit a 45 degree bank, with just a ripple of breeze on it and Darren Bowed up on a 5pound 2 oz. SMJ. We tried to get both phones to take picks, and nither worked, which was a total bummer.

Dropped Darran off at 11 AM and when in to lunch with Becky. It was clouding up and getting breezy and I got permission to return on my own as the lodge was in pretty good shape.

Was back on the water around 1 Pm and Saw EP with some clients. He had a Mom and Son, and I knew anything I had to say wouldn't help, so I just told him it was tough. I knew he was just doing the best he could with what he had to work with.

This is not the time of year for non-casters, and it looked like EP was trying to cast for both of them, and run the troller and keep the boat positioned properly. Just about Impossible. God Bless him, the boy was all bubble as he said he had caught one.

At 1;30 the wind started to blow, and the front came in and it was just magic. Both Tetrick and myself, on different areas of the lake went APE.

Huge K's were inhaling the Slim Pointer 100 in TRS. Any location with gulls and wind blowing in on any type of bank held these huge K's. I mean 3 to 4 pounders.

Surface temps at the dam exactly 50. Shad are still dying by the 1000's and the gulls are really working them. IF you can find gulls, and wind, you will find fish, reguardless of the bank or structure type. Just gulls without wind is not working, it seems stiring the water to a froth, and gulls is magic. The wind was so heavy around 3 PM my troller was hopping out of the water. It was hard to stand on the deck with fish pulling one direction and the boat bounding in another.

1:30 to 3:30, I'm not going to say, cause I really don't know, but the number was huge, and I cannot remember catching a short fish. All total pigs.

I'm gussing the best 10 at probably 35 pounds in the afternoon, and the best 5 for the day counting Darren's and mind from the morning trip in the 22 pound range. Pretty nice range.

Was not only me and Tetrick, Paige caught the heck out of them as did a couple of guys I spoke to at the ramp. Everyone I spoke to caught them on Stickbaits in the wind, where you could find it.

Great day and Good Luck out there

[Whack'emGood]

Thanks for the report Bill. Congrats on a great day. Love those types of days!

If you don't mind sharing just one more little morsel of info... How long were you pausing the sticks? Is it still a very slow bite where you have to basically deadstick it or can you kind of keep it coming? I am not a very good stickbait fisher... I need all the help I can get!

Thanks again!

Whack'em

[denjac]

Everybody is telling me swimming a grub is the way to catch-em, but we still have not gotten that bite figured out. Started swimming it on flat gravel and did catch one fantastic 19 inch K right off the bat, and then it went cold.

Bill, my bite is crawl the grub not swim it. I think focused fishings desciption was scrub the grub. Sounds like you had a great day wish I could hae been there. I wil be down next week when the sky is high and the bite is tough. Hope I am wrong.

[Bill Babler]

Whacked, the way I'm fishing it is as long a cast as possible and jerking it down. I then go jerk, jerk twitch,twitch, and then let it sit. Maybe 15 to 20 seconds then twitch, twitch. Then I usually set the hook on a 4 pound jaw or a 3.5 pound K.

Denny, I know you told me how to fish that grub, but I just can't do it like that. Phil Stone is doing the same thing you are and catchin them pretty good, but again it is a very hard technique to do.

You will really be suprised at the ammount of moss that is now growing from the Indian's to point 7, it is getting really bad, and if you let that grub hit the bottom in anything under 8 ft. it is mossing up with green slime.

I don't know, there has got to be away to catch them all the time, I just have not figured it out.

[Whack'emGood]

Thanks Bill. Sounds easy to me!

Whack'em