Rough Start

[dtrs5kprs]

That is what I found also, afternoon-evening bite was better than morning. Also better find a little wind on a bank or point or its going to be a lot of jerking with no happy ending.

Walk away, just walk away...

[moguy1973]

What area were you fishing? We are coming down to fish Friday and Saturday this week and were wondering.

Might have to stay away from that area if the bite is rough there

[wdberkley]

It's Monday, and we're back to work. To summarize last week:

Six guys, three boats fished from Sunday April 7th to Friday April 12.

Got down Sunday and launched around 2:00pm. Caught a couple shorts. Fished mainly in the greater dam area, main lake points and pockets with everything from an Arig to a tube to a Jerkbait to a fluke to a jig. Fished till around 7:00pm just poking around, nothing serious. Water clarity 20+ feet up around the dam. Found water temps in the mid 50's.

Monday we headed out with BB and fished something we've never ever seen before. Caught a handful of fish, and as usual, learned a few new tricks. Monday afternoon we found fish south of the 86 bridge on 45 degree banks - ledgy shore with chunk mixed in and Timber using 1/2oz Football Jigs. Picked up a couple in the 2.5 to 3.5 range, and kinda thought we were onto a pattern.

The two bigguns in my original post came on something a little more vertical on the same run, in a matter of 3 casts. After my dad hooked the first fish (which I guessed to be 7lbs) I suggested we throw 'er in the well just so we could show it off. 2 casts later, his rod loaded. I was sure he was snagged (there was quite a bit of timber where we were fishing) and then I saw his rod tip start dancing and I knew he had another tank. Anyone fishing between Long Creek Marina and the 86 Bridge musta heard me screaming like a banshee once we boated the second fish. I went full Ike. Turns out taking the first for a little ride was a good choice - we were able to snap a few pictures of him holding 'em both, get 'em on a scale, and let 'em swim off in tandem a few minutes later. The first went 6-7 and the second went 7-4. The old man caught his personal best, and then broke it a few casts later. That's why we drive down from Chicago every Spring - MEMORIES. Water temps again, mid to upper 50's.

Tuesday we tried to recreate what we had done Monday with little results. Managed a lot of 14" K's with fat bellies, but nothing of any size. Also did manage to pickup 3 sort K's on a Spook when we spotted 'em bustin' shad off a main lake point in 60 FOW just north of the ARK/MO Border. Thought it was going to be ON, but it lasted as long as it took to materialize - about 5 minutes. Of the three boats in our group, we had maybe a dozen keeps. Did find water temps 60+ in a pocket down near the state line, but didn't catch anything in water that warm.

Wednesday the majority of us got a late start after watching the weather reports the evening before and staying up too late enjoying some adult beverages. Two from our group did get up early and headed toward Kimberling City (Point 5 to Long Creek), where they found a decent Jerkbait bite on main lake & secondary points getting wind. By the time the rest of us got up and moving (9:30am) I decided to poach a spot BB showed us, and we were able to catch some keeps swimming a grub or a paddle tail fluke. Caught a few random fish here and there heading back toward the resort, but no consistency. Again, decent numbers, no size, maybe a dozen keeps. Fished mainly from Indian Point to Long Creek Marina. Water temps were mid/low 50's. Did get a nice supper at White River Lodge that evening - thanks again Bill!

Thursday we all loaded up all three rigs and trailered over to Baxter on a tip from a certain guide we know. This was our best day numbers wise. We launched at H and started up near Black Oak and found a lot of fish, mainly on a shaky head, throwing at shore with the boat in 20 FOW. My boat had 30+ fish for the day using this technique, but only 8 keeps. We did lose two quality fish at the boat. Both other boats in our group caught good numbers as well, on anything from a Jerk to Jig to a Paddle Tail Fluke. Warmest water we found was 54.

Friday was our final day on the water, and it was a rough one. My boat managed 3 fish in 12 hours - no pattern was consistent. 2 from our group made the run by water to Baxter and caught fish. 2 others found 'em here and there from Point 5 to ARK/MO on a 3/4oz jig and managed one that went 3.5 lbs. Outside of that, it was a really tough day. At one point I made the comment that the spot we were on looked too good and we shouldn't bother fishing it. It seemed any time we got on a spot that had wind, timber, chunk rock, we didn't catch anything. Tried pea gravel, ledges, even transitions and bluffs. Again, water temps in the morning were around 52, highs in the afternoon 54-56. (Did get to see Terry Scroggins, Gerald Swindle, and Gary Klien fishing our bay as part of the Toyota/Quantum media shoot they were down there working on. Only saw KVD running, didn't see where he was fishin'.)

In the five years we've been making this trip, this year was the most inconsistent - both fishing and weather wise. But one positive we did take out of it, aside from the two big bites we had, was the sheer number of 14" fish swimming in TRL. In 3-4 years there's going to be a lot of really solid fish in the lake. We'll be back again next spring to chase 'em.

[Quillback]

Thanks for the report, it's always interesting to hear what's working.

[Champ188]

Really nice report and greatly appreciated.

[abkeenan]

Fantastic report WdBerkley. Awesome that your Dad caught some nice ones and broke his personal best in the same day. Too cool. Thanks for the solid report.

[dtrs5kprs]

Well done and much appreciated.

[buckcreekmike]

That is what I found also, afternoon-evening bite was better than morning. Also better find a little wind on a bank or point or its going to be a lot of jerking with no happy ending.

[buckcreekmike]

Ha ha, I like that metaphor.

[wdberkley]

A wise man once told me PICTURES are great backup to your reports, so I added a few to the original post.