Good Summer Patterns Are On

[Bill Babler]

Started this AM at the Knob 5:30 out of Lunker Landing. Surface temps 87.4. They had one of my old price sheets, from 1992, and were somewhat supprised I had to have raised my rates. That was from my first year full timin-it.

Didn 't want to "Bait and Switch Them". "Ha Ha, me so funny". So told them if 2009 rates sounded to high, I would understand. They paid in full with cash and were ready on the dock to give her a lick for a half day.

Joann and Tom a mom and son team, with Joann in her early 70's, I figured real fast this was not going to be a zara spook, or for that matter any type of a topwater morning. Really didn't matter, as fish were on the dropshot and also the crawler.

Joann was wanting a fish or two just enough to get her fish grease stinky, so I prayed for some whites or a cat or two. Just really won't do in the K's.

I am a very lucky guide. First location, she caught 3 super nice whites, all on crawlers, while I was still getting Tom to toss a yellow magic. Switched Tom to a spoon, and he caught 3 more. Six keeper whites and my fish hungry clan is taken care of before 6 o'clock. I am living right.

I catch a few whites on crawlers, from time to time, but for the most part it is not my bait of choice for them. [Mild understatement.]

Perfect morning for a topwater bite with a little breeze and very overcast, but I believe I only saw 1 or 2 little-ens boil. Crawler and dropshot fish were 26 to 32 on the bottom for me. Others reported 40 ft. suspend on the bluffends. I fished main lake flat gravel rolloffs.

Ended the trip fishing 5 locations catching a total of 34 fish. We had 17 K's with 6 keepers, smoched and released, the 6 whites, and another 11 Big fat Gills I also cleaned for the fish burn.

Spoke to Beck through out the morn, and he ended with 16 fish and 8 keepers. I am sure he also had a nice batch of gills. Gills were active to 36 ft. if you were on a gill honey hole. Did not catch a K, on any of the locations we caught the Gills.

Really nice day with very nice folks.

Wanted to fish a bit myself so after I let them off at 9:30, it was still over cast. I fished to 11:30 and caught 6 more keepers and two thumper Gogs. 3/8 oz Chomper jig, in Green skirt Cinnamon Purple twin tail. They just hammered that jig. I was dragging in just like a rig, never really having to set the hook, they just had it. 22 to 30 ft. Jig fish were 2 Jaws, 2 K's and 2 LM. Best of the lot was one of the K's that would have gone about 3.5, the rest were just solid keepers. All 6 fish had hook holes in there jaws. I was fishing near a derby release site that they most always hang out on. "Tell me catch and release is not fantastic." Someone else with catch them again and again, if they get turned back. Kind of a windy long gravel runout. I dragged it from deep to shallow. Shallow to deep, and crisscorssed it.

Had to deal with Jet skiers, and Cobalts towing multiple toys, so it was time to go in.

If I hear Shell Knob called the "Quite Side of the Lake" one more time, I am going to scream. It has as many boats on as narrow of water as we have on this pond, and they are the "Big Fast Runnin Expensive Ones that throw Huge Wakes. Good fishin, it is up there. Quiet, not even close to being that. By the time I got off the water, it was a complete Zoo.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Are the deep fish holding to any particular structure?

[Bill Babler]

  Wayne SW/MO said:

Are the deep fish holding to any particular structure?

The ones I am fishing are not. They are either on the bottom, or suspenders off the long points of bluffends. I know some of the guys are catching them off the deep trees. I believe Don gave a pretty good report on how to catch these.

I will tell you this. The fish from Eagle's Roost to Big M, are not nearly as deep as from Baxter to the Dam, main lake. I had both dropshot fish and jig fish in the very low 20's. At the same time the boys fishing the dam were catching them 38 to 42 ft. suspended. Low 20's is a much easier and better deal.

[captmac]

Brings up a question Bill, at what depth do fish need to be fizzed before they are released I don't eat em either

[focused fishing]

  captmac said:

Brings up a question Bill, at what depth do fish need to be fizzed before they are released I don't eat em either

Hey Mac,

As long as you release the fish right away there is no reason to fizz them, they will go back down fine. Once they are in the live well they will need to be fizzed if they come out of 25' or deeper. Although I have seen fish that came out of 18' need to be fizzed, think they were in deeper water and came up to feed. If you put it in the live well and it floats, it probably needs to be fizzed....... or it's dead.

EP

[Bill Babler]

Eric, is absolutely right. I even frown on very many pic's this time of the year. The quicker you get them back in the drink the better they feel.

On either these jig fish, dropshot fish or drag fish, work them in pretty slowly. I know this is a contridiction from what you usually hear, but bringing them up from 25 to 50 feet, the slower the better. That is unless they skyrocket, which will happen from time to time.

On my bout the other day, everything wanted air time even the Jaw's and that doesn't always happen.

Good Luck

[Fishinator]

Thanks for that report Bill, it got me motivated to get up at 5am Tues. morning to give it a try. I live by big Cedar so I usually concentrate on that area. Fished close to Guages Marina and caught 14 topwater fish before the sun peeked through (3 keepers). Caught them on a torpedo on main lake stretches and points. Switched to a Jig and drop shot when the sun came up, nothing from the jig and 4 from the drop shot "watermelon candy" (1 keeper) in 22 ft of water. The friend I took got hungry so we went to Big Cedar by boat and were stuffed by 9:15 am. Hope this helps someone.

Fishinater,

Don D.

[Bill Babler]

Thanks for the report Don. It is very hard to get good information from the dam thru Cricket Creek, unless myself or Phil Stone are down there. Seems like that area is pretty tight lipped.

[twosets]

Great, a "you shoulda been here last week " report right before I am going to be there.

What time and where monday, Bill?

Looking forward to it

George