Tuesday, Big M

[Champ188]

Sounds like the bite IS slowing down up there too with all of the rain.

The bite is changing. Water in the bushes in May means bass in the bushes, on Table Rock and on Beaver.

[J-Doc]

They weren't last weekend. Nothing was in the bushes, not even bait.

All suspended over deeper water. They would move up and some up to 8ft, then go back deep again. I didn't throw enough variety at them to figure them out but I've got a few ideas for the next trip that should rack up some weight. After trying 6 topwater plugs and only one would produce strikes during a topwater feed, it clued me in to a very picky bite. Super noisy or reaction bites only.

Tried drop shot and they pulled 3 worms off my hook in 10mins by short striking. Tried a different worm and not even a nibble. They wanted that one scented worm.

They might move up by this weekend. Weather is slowly stabilizing. Sort of.

[jtram]

The bite is changing. Water in the bushes in May means bass in the bushes, on Table Rock and on Beaver.

I fished Monday thru Wednesday Big M caught most fish on bluff ends and deep docks, but spent most of my time throwing into flooded brush. Just couldn't make it work shallow.

[dtrs5kprs]

Have to think the fish know that water won't be up in the bushes long. With the info Phil posted from COE about current pool management, it may be a long time before we really see a good old bush bite. Looks like they do not intend to leave it over 917 for any length of time.

I also wouldn't be out graphing around looking for them. They should be in that good old 15'-25' on flats and points, especially if you can figure out what the current is doing. No good reason for them to be deep yet. Will test that theory Monday, weather permitting.

[J-Doc]

What you said makes sense and reflects what I found last weekend. I purposely went shallow and floated over brush with greenery. Rather odd. Seeing green bushes under water as clear as it could be. Not even a small perch or any bait. Deathly quiet. Not sitting on a big dock nearby either. Went around the dock and didn't see anything. Come back around the dock on the deepest side and there were a few fish. Them the dock owners started coming down the trail to their dock. Talking, yelling, kids running on the dock, big weekend fun and festivities.

Oddly enough, that noise turned on the fish. A topwater bite flipped like a light switch. The noise must have made the bait nervous. Only thing I can think of. But the bite was over 25-35ft over a flat in front of the dock. I had a bass slap at my spook 5 times. Missed it all 5 times. That's why I tried 5-6 other plugs. Not a bite. Tied on the big one again and bam. Another strike.

[jtram]

I will say my biggest of the trip (19") came under a walkway in about 5 ft of water on a shakey craw. If quill runs a phoenix then he was pulling up down from me when it happened Tuesday.

[J-Doc]

There's no doubt fish can be caught shallow. That's all year long. They are just not in as many numbers until a shallow bite is key. At least that's how I've seen it over the years.

[dtrs5kprs]

What you said makes sense and reflects what I found last weekend. I purposely went shallow and floated over brush with greenery. Rather odd. Seeing green bushes under water as clear as it could be. Not even a small perch or any bait. Deathly quiet. Not sitting on a big dock nearby either. Went around the dock and didn't see anything. Come back around the dock on the deepest side and there were a few fish. Them the dock owners started coming down the trail to their dock. Talking, yelling, kids running on the dock, big weekend fun and festivities.

Oddly enough, that noise turned on the fish. A topwater bite flipped like a light switch. The noise must have made the bait nervous. Only thing I can think of. But the bite was over 25-35ft over a flat in front of the dock. I had a bass slap at my spook 5 times. Missed it all 5 times. That's why I tried 5-6 other plugs. Not a bite. Tied on the big one again and bam. Another strike.

Little K's? I run into a lot of little spots that chase TW on the out ends of the deeper docks. Lot of them aren't even big enough to pull a spook or fin under.

If the water would go up in the bushes at TR and stay there for a week it would be a different game entirely. Would think at Beaver there might be some up just because it has been higher for a decent stretch of time. Flat points or flats with bushes, out close to the main lake. Not so much in the creeks.

[J-Doc]

Mixed bag. Some fat K's, small ones, and largemouth mix. The blind fool that missed mine looked to be about 13-15" and healthy.

I side scanned and trolled the area just before leaving (catching one of the buggers was mandatory). Mix of kentuckies. Some good sized marks too. All wolf packed together about 1/4-1/2 down in the water column.

[J-Doc]

A friend went out last night on Beaver and said it was super slow for him but he watched a guy cull in very short order after starting a local jackpot.

If my bud wasn't catching them, it was super tough. He can catch em good. Some guys.....well they just produce no matter what which is why the guy was culling is my guess. Why I don't fish Everett. There are some guys that will always be in top 20 no matter what. Me? I'd be dancing like a fool and talking some big time smack if I could make it into the top 20!! Lol!! Because it would only happen once and sheer luck. :-)