7-27-2013

[Feathers and Fins]

Life in Rocky Branch is doing well. The morning was cloudy and a nice breeze just enough to make coffee on the water with the engine off drifting to take in the beauty mandatory.

Fishing was great this morning with the average bass weight at 3 to 4 pounds and a kicker 6 pounder. The bass were in 30fow suspended at 15 to 18 fow. Whites/hybrids/stripers were in the same zone hanging over 30 to 50fow suspending in 15 to 25 as the day and boat traffic went on they sunk to 40 fow and turned off. Most the whites were averaging 2 pounds and the hybrids were going 4 to 6 stripers were on the smallish side about 3 pound average.

Played with the camera some more today and just blows me away and the amount of large bass in the lake but they just don't bite often for some reason. They will follow baits and come up on them but then back off. When I say follow they would be on camera for over a minute to two minutes at times. I think there are more big bass in the depths of Beaver than people think.

[wc1063]

How about them gar?

[Feathers and Fins]

stupid gar would not cooperate.

[nathanhooper]

Thanks for the report. I did not get out like planned, nor am I today. But maybe tomorrow?

I heard, and it's just hearsay, but the word is that the majority of the stripers are at 5? Saw some good ones coming from there. Saw a good walleye from there too.

[Feathers and Fins]

Not surprised the striper boats kept heading that way, but there are definitely stripers in Rocky Branch along with whites and hybrids. This is the last weekend in July and they are still that far up lake in good numbers just has me excited because when the first few cold fronts come through they will start heading back up lake. Targeting them becomes much easier when they start heading that way.

I had water temp as low as 79 yesterday morning, it could be a great fall season

[kjackson]

Interesting that the fish are not where they are supposed to be. #2 Son and I fished the Dam Site area on Thursday, saw a few stripers, had one blow up on a frog (dull story there but had no other topwater baits with us), looked for crappies back in Indian Creek (didn't find them) and ended up catching a bunch of small spots. Saw fairly consistent topwater action until noon, which made me think it was worth another shot. Given the number of stripers (or whatever they were) we saw on top, I went out the next day; Boy had to work.

Got up at zero dark and hit the Dam Site launch just as it got light enough to run the lake. A striper guy was at the launch, pulling his boat out. Saw another back in the creek. Only three fish came up when I was back in the same area we were in the day before. Worked a Spook for a while as well as a Rapala clone and had nothing of interest happen. It started to sprinkle about then, so I picked up the frog (no cause-and-effect rationale), threw it and had a bass come up, and say hello but it was another drive by.

I gave up on those fish and headed out to the main lake to our spot spot only to have the buggers show no interest in topwater or spoons. The day before the dropshot did nothing, but a spoon lit up a school of decent-sized fish. This day the spots were not interested in anything. I decided to head for a timbered bluff bank and try the big spoon for whatever. As I ran by the park, I heard the first clap of thunder, so I put the boat on the trailer just in time to get it pressure-washed by the storm.

I was hoping by this time that the stripers and whites would be down in my end of the lake, but apparently they aren't yet. I do know the striper guys have been working this end a bit, but it sounds like a run further up lake would be a better idea. One of these days, I'm going to get with the program, and I hope it happens before Boy goes back to university in Wales.

[nathanhooper]

Yep. I think your right and they have not made it down. There are fish at our end, but not the numbers south of here.

Thanks for the report. Makes me wish I was fishing!