My Saturday Report

[crwdz7]

Well, here is my report from this past saturday when I tried my luck using pointers from my Topwater Pointers thread. Compared to most on here I am a Table Rock rookie, so take it for what it is worth. Put in at Campbell at about 5:30 and headed up the lake. I started out by fishing what I would call a main lake point, about 20' of water with the wind blowing straight at the point. If you look at Bill B's map that is marked with fishing spots for the Campbell Area, I fished the point labled TW on the north side of the lake at Basin Hollow. I guess that is a main lake point? Anyway, no luck there on top with the redfin. I headed straight across to main lake point marked TW at the Mill Creek Cove. No luck there, still on top. Moved east across the cove to that point and broke the ice with a 14" crappie on a salt and pepper Zoom fat albert. I also picked up a short kentucky on the grub casting out towards the main lake. While at this location, I did see three other boats fishing the mouth of the Basin Hollow cove much farther out than I was. Made me wonder what was out there, but there were guys there when I decided to move on.

From Mill Creek Cove I headed back towards Cambell along the small bluff on the south side of the lake to the point at the east end of the bluff. Right at the end of that bluff the water went from about 6 feet to 80 feet in a very short distance. I did the best in this location. I parked the boat right at the end of the point and cast parallel to the drop off right into the wind. I caught four shorts in that spot on the grub.

I also took RPS's advice and tried the point at the end of campbell bluff and had the best topwater luck albeit not much luck. My buddy managed one on a spook and I had a couple that I momentarily hooked with the redfin. I also tried the flat he refered to and caught one keeper on a finesse worm on a shakey head. I didn't have a scale, but I would say somewhere between two to three pounds. There were fish surfacing here a little as well. I had some takers, but I couldn't hook any.

That was my morning. I fished a couple other gravel points to no avail. Overall though I was pleased. I do have a couple of questions to add. I have always heard not to set the hook on a topwater bite until you have actually felt the fish so that is how what I tried to do with the redfin. Is that correct? I completely missed most and had a couple on for a couple seconds, but they all got off. Also, I tried the Zoom fat albert grub in a smoke salt and pepper color on some flat, gravel main lake points to no avail. Any help there? Are these fished fast, slow, stop & go, steady, on the bottom? I guessing all of the above, but I just haven't figured it out yet.

Well, I'll be headed back for the full upcoming weekend. Looking forward to seeing other reports until then to help me out.

Thanks Guys

Cody

[rps]

I am glad you had some action, although I wish you had nailed a couple of really decent fish.

Bill Babler gave the best description I ever read of how to "set the hook" fishing topwaters. He wrote I should never do it. He said to keep or start reeling until I felt the fish and then I should merely raise the rod and keep the pressure on. The fish will hook themselves or not and any attempt to set the hook risks yanking the bait away from them. Every time I go out I do a mantra - don't set the hook, reel; don't set the hook, reel.

[abkeenan]

I'll ad my weekend report here as well. Weather was difficult for me as i really do not like to be out in the rain and especially not thurderstorms....which was the entire weekend basically especially Fri and Sat mornings. Fished the Dam area and caught fish on a variety of baits like a lot of guys/gals have been saying in recent posts. Caught them on a spook, red fin, chug bug, fish doc c-rigged, swimming a grub and working a double "greedy" fluke rig. Had some nice goggle eyes on the grub and fish doc. Couldnt really say there was a pattern at all catching them from 2 feet out of bushes to suspended in 80 ft near a bluff end point (which i found and had not known about and this it should be a good morning topwater spot throughout the summer ). Will say that the morning bite is MUCH better than late morning to afternoon or even the evening for at least me. For those of you fishing this week or weekend i would get out there around 5AM. Talked to a couple guys when i was calling it quits on Sat. evening and they said they had done okay throwing a fin. But i didnt have much luck at sundown. Most of our fish came in Jakes Branch and that had the highest concentration of fish that i found. Swimming that grub on flat gravel points still seems to be bringing in the biggest numbers of fish. Hope this helps.

-Brett

PS- Brother caught most on the grub and I caught most on topwater and i would have to agree with RPS and Bill B when it comes to topwater that just let them take the bait under and reel down to them until you get a bow in your rod and apply some pressure. Those hooks are plenty sharp that you dont need to do much work. Have you ever just dropped a bait in your boat, clothes, tacklebag? Those hooks get into everything with relative ease, just immagine a fish trying to kill and eat it. Enough said.

[dtrs5kprs]

Well, here is my report from this past saturday when I tried my luck using pointers from my Topwater Pointers thread. Compared to most on here I am a Table Rock rookie, so take it for what it is worth. Put in at Campbell at about 5:30 and headed up the lake. I started out by fishing what I would call a main lake point, about 20' of water with the wind blowing straight at the point. If you look at Bill B's map that is marked with fishing spots for the Campbell Area, I fished the point labled TW on the north side of the lake at Basin Hollow. I guess that is a main lake point? Anyway, no luck there on top with the redfin. I headed straight across to main lake point marked TW at the Mill Creek Cove. No luck there, still on top. Moved east across the cove to that point and broke the ice with a 14" crappie on a salt and pepper Zoom fat albert. I also picked up a short kentucky on the grub casting out towards the main lake. While at this location, I did see three other boats fishing the mouth of the Basin Hollow cove much farther out than I was. Made me wonder what was out there, but there were guys there when I decided to move on.

From Mill Creek Cove I headed back towards Cambell along the small bluff on the south side of the lake to the point at the east end of the bluff. Right at the end of that bluff the water went from about 6 feet to 80 feet in a very short distance. I did the best in this location. I parked the boat right at the end of the point and cast parallel to the drop off right into the wind. I caught four shorts in that spot on the grub.

I also took RPS's advice and tried the point at the end of campbell bluff and had the best topwater luck albeit not much luck. My buddy managed one on a spook and I had a couple that I momentarily hooked with the redfin. I also tried the flat he refered to and caught one keeper on a finesse worm on a shakey head. I didn't have a scale, but I would say somewhere between two to three pounds. There were fish surfacing here a little as well. I had some takers, but I couldn't hook any.

That was my morning. I fished a couple other gravel points to no avail. Overall though I was pleased. I do have a couple of questions to add. I have always heard not to set the hook on a topwater bite until you have actually felt the fish so that is how what I tried to do with the redfin. Is that correct? I completely missed most and had a couple on for a couple seconds, but they all got off. Also, I tried the Zoom fat albert grub in a smoke salt and pepper color on some flat, gravel main lake points to no avail. Any help there? Are these fished fast, slow, stop & go, steady, on the bottom? I guessing all of the above, but I just haven't figured it out yet.

Well, I'll be headed back for the full upcoming weekend. Looking forward to seeing other reports until then to help me out.

Thanks Guys

Cody

Try to think of the grub like slow rolling a blade. Some days they will be suspended, usually around bait, & want it swimming, others they will want it scrubbing along the bottom. That zoom bait is a good grub to throw any time you are winding it back vs vertical fishing.

Points are good, so are little places with some water and some pole timber for the fin. Kind of looking for the first place fish can stop, suspend, and eat after they pull off the beds. Brown fish will sometimes get in the middles of the cove mouths (hope that description makes sense) with some depth under them and run bait there after the spawn. Just a couple other places to look.