Fishing Report And Information - Upper End

[rps]

Started trolling for walleye this morning at 8:00. Started at 17 feet deep as that was the most shallow I've caught fish in the last three weeks. Started catching bass, including a couple of keepers.

The large mouth bass were suspended at or near roll offs. Basically 17 over 25 to 35 feet. When I switched to tree top pulling I found spots. Total of 8 bass, one keeper crappie, and three non legal walleye for the morning.

Every fish, except the largemouth, hit the back hook of the bait. I had several (4? 5?) strikes that did not hook up. I marked all kinds of fish in the 15 to 19 foot range and virtually nothing else until bottom in 30 plus. I tried a variety of depths greater than 17, including plowing bottom at 30, with no success.

If anyone can put a successful pattern or explanation together from that information, please tell me. My best guess is we are seeing the thermocline begin to form and the fish are sorting themselves out.

[Stump bumper]

Yesterday I went out at about 4:30pm until dark out of houseman's access and fished down to Holiday Island. Found a lot of trout on top in the cold water, backseater caught and released a 16in rainbow on a white spoon.

Went down almost to the town of Beaver and found 72 degree water and started catching bass one good keeper a lot of shorts thowing 4in worms and split tail grubs against the shore.

Motored downed to HI and found 84 degrees and my backseater hit a 18in KY right on shore, boat was in 30ft of water. Together we probally had 15 short fish to include a 17in walleye that hit a 7in purple worm in 12ft of water.

Went back to 54 degree water and hit a 16in KY that was as fat as long with some shorts with him, boat was in 4ft of water and we were casting into the rocks.

Would not have made a tournament sack, but was a nice cool trip and almost constant action. We were throwing the worms on a drop shot and draging and using the grubs on a 1/8 oz jig head.

[Champ188]

Good job and good reports, guys. I think this very well tells the tale that we're at the time of year on TR where bass anglers have two choices. You either locate the thermocline and fish for suspended fish as rps did, or you go far enough upriver to find the cooler and less-stratified water that allows the fish to roam around wherever they wish.

[T-RockJaws]

Good reports guys, thanks! I have been hearing about fish starting to school up way up in the creeks, but have not gone looking for myself yet. We are still catching a few quality fish outside of the thermocline, but they are fewer and farther between than what they have been for the past couple of weeks. Either way, I think you are going to have to locate cooler water to have much success!

[Megabucks461]

Fished a point across from the dam from dark unil after 1 am. Put 7 fish in with 2 fish in the 17 inch range. Boat was in 31 feet throwing back to about 14 most of the the fish came from around 20 feet. Most of the fish came on a jig with a few coming off a brush hog. Fish were only in a area about 50 yards long. No fish and only a few short strikes outside this small area.

It was a good night for my first night trip on TR. Can't wait to go look at the area today and start looking for another area for to night. Going to change my line to fluorocarbon to night to much stretch in the mono. I wasn't getting good hook sets with that much line in the water.