Lake Conditions

[straw hat]

Started out today to fish a section of rip rap I had never fished before. Got there and found someone already was fishing there so I set off to another rip rap. Crap!!! Somebody already there too!! So I just sort of buzzed around. CC has cleared a lot. nearly 2' visibility. The green matt of duckweed is still floating around everywhere and a lot of tree limbs floating around. Water still over the ramp and water temp was 77.

Also swung by Ruark. That water has lost its green coloration. I would say 2 to 3 foot of visibilty. The water looked real good. Water temp was 83.

[blue79]

Thanks for the report straw hat.I was worried the water was gonna still be nasty lookin.One more day of work and i can come home tomorrow.Hopefully all the fish will be willing to jump right in the boat for me friday,sat and sunday.

[Dutch]

Was that you fishing the rip rap on the east side of the Y hwy bridge in the late morning?

[straw hat]

I gave that a try for a while Dutch. Never did any good there from the rip rap and it was no different this time but I will say one thing...sooooo many small bass. Say 4" or so. Little buggers were so thick. The bad thing was they were tearing the minnows off the hook. Had to move on so I didn't run out of bait. Looks like a good recruitment year for bass though.

[straw hat]

WOW Just noticed that the Corp has really increased the rate of water discharge from the lake. At this rate they should be dropping it at about 2 to 3' per week!!

[Fishing preacher]

Heading to Stockton tomorrow afternoon to try for some crappie. Anyone have a thought on whether I should troll some bandit crank baits or vertical fish minnows over brush? Or, should I wait till lake drops more?

[straw hat]

I would suggest trolling. I use slip bobbers myself and lately very little on brush or standing timber. Most of what I have been catching is at 14 to 18' over deep water (25 to 40 ft). Good luck.

[nxs]

We went up yesterday to Ruark. Finally got tired of the little bass and came home early. .Water color is good and lots of it. Water temp was running 79* mostly. Saw lots of shad from 2" up to about 8", all those bass should have something to eat this winter.

We did see some small whites working the shad later in the morning.

[brynostackle]

Hey everyone I have invented a crappie measure that will leave you speechless. You can measure the fish and unhook it without ever touching it. You can mount it to your boat or hold it in your hand. For details like my Facebook page "Bryno's Tackle" and visit my website www.brynostackle.com It may seem a little expensive but you have to keep in mind that it is made out of light carbon steel so therefore it will never break nor blow out of your boat. It allows you to measure your fish without touching it or taking it off of the hook. There is a slot down the side of it where the mouth of the crappie goes that allows for the line to slide though and there is a rectangle cut out where you can pull the crappie jig through and then unhook the fish.

Thanks!!

[brynostackle]