Having To Work At It This Year

[rps]

I really do not expect any year to be llike the one before. However, this year has not matched any I have experienced here. To put that in context, I am fishing my 11th full time summer on TR.

By this time of year we usually have a hard thermocline in the 20 to 22 feet range. Not this year. I am not sure there is a thermocline and if there is, it sure isn't a firm one. The surface temp is usually 80 to 81. Not this year. When I got off the lake the temp was 85.

I fished starting at 5:15 this morning and worked at it until 11. I caught small spots, I caught bluegills, I caught white bass, and I found large shad schools supended between 7 and 20 feet deep over 28 to 35 feet of water.

I found one barely legal walleye.

If it helps anyone, the fish I caught and the fish I marked but did not catch were near the bottom in 22 to 29 feet of water, but only if there was a sudden depth change to deeper near by.

[Bill Babler]

Seems to be kind of the deal. Fin and Feather asked the other day about the Thermocline and I did not have a good answer for him. Like you I don't think there is a firm one right now. Yes, there is stradification, but soft zones, and no hard breaks.

Surface temps at the dam this afternoon were at 87, but the water was really not cool, but cold just below your feet. There are not numbers of fish in most locations, just a fish or three. Also the topwater deal is just about as scrawney of fish as I have ever caught here. To tell you the truth, I don't believe we have caught over 4 or 5 keepers this year on top. Best fish have came on the Swimmer or a Crank.

This is by far a different year. It was also the warmest surface temps thru the Winter I can remember. Water never really cooled down much. I think that for sure has contributed to the lime-green color. Very different.

Makes you kind of have to think outside the box and just scrape and scrounge. Might be a good think as we are having to adapt and learn some new locations and new tactics.

Good Luck

[Champ188]

In my experience, a warm winter like we had this year is rarely followed by really good spring/summer fishing. Hard winters may be tough to weather but I prefer them greatly over little or no winter at all.

[powerdive]

I saw no indication of a themocline in the upper layers today at Baxter. Thought there might be a soft one forming at 80 feet, but that has no bearing on the fishing for now. We were trolling cranks for walleye, and couldn't keep the bass away. Lost count on those, but it was well over 50...lotta small ones, with only 6 or 7 of what you bass guys call keepers and then throw back. (We followed suit, of course.) Ended up with only two keeper walleyes. 26 feet.

[dtrs5kprs]

In my experience, a warm winter like we had this year is rarely followed by really good spring/summer fishing. Hard winters may be tough to weather but I prefer them greatly over little or no winter at all.

I'm with you on that. Never hurts to have a good winter shad kill.