Clearwater To Mill Spring Report 7/3 -7/6

[jibro]

When i woke up Thursday morning i thought i had slept through til Spring. We got to the river at 7:00 on the water at 7:30 temp was 63 freakin degrees. River was high and moving. fished from 7:30 to 12:00. Had very little to show for it. 2 keeper spots and 1 drum that went 9 lbs.. Both the bass were really fat. One had a 5 inch shad down its throat. Evening 4-8 more of the same and we fished hard only to come up with 1 keeper spot that was 14 inches and anther large drum. Again the spot spit up a large shad. Went back to house had dinner and beers and discussed tomorrows strategy. Next morning was chilly again. Fog was so thick you couldn't see the other side of the river. Hit the water again around 7:00. We through everything known to man in different shapes, colors, sizes and just very few fish. Maybe 2-3 keepers that morning. Saw another few guys fishing and they ahd come up empty well by 10:30 one of our crew hooked himself deep with a treble hook so back to the house for some quick surgery. We got to drinkin most of the afternoon and didnt get back out til 5:00 - 9:00 but it made little difference 1 keeper and 1 drum. At this point all of the bass we have caught are coughing up large shad 5-7 inches. Everything we are throwing is not a shad imitation thin fins, rattle traps, crank baits and they are just not taking it. Back to the house to lick our wounds. Sat morning again the fog, again we wait til 7:00. Still not discouraged we venture off again. Finally something good happened that i was waiting for all weekend. Got down to a nice deep hole, lots of concrete, lots of current. We have been know to pull walleye from here in the past. After 30-45 minutes of throwing a crank bait through it something good struck. After a battle through the rough water I landed a 19 inch eye. Caught 2 more keeper bass, and fished till 11. Back to the house as the rest of family was showing up. Rest of the weekend was spent fishing off the deck and around the house. That produced a 16 inch smallie and 181/2 inch walleye. Overall awesome weekend to be at the river. You could not have asked for better weather REALLY!!! Fishing could have been better. You really had to work hard to get some fish. The walleye (as usual) were the highlight for me. I don't fish for them so when i do get one or two its a real treat and 2 that size was awesome. I honestly think the bass had so much to eat by the time we had started fishing that they couldn't handle anymore. The shad were many and huge. Hope everyone had a great 4th.