Upper End in the Heat

[rps]

Fished this morning, for the first time in over two weeks. Did not even try the top water bite so I put in at 6:15. I pulled out at 11:00.

Not counting bass and bluegill, I had four good bites and managed to net two keepers. I fished a nightcrawler harness between 25 and 30 feet deep at 1.2 mph and focused on edges of inside bend flats.

[Biglerma]

Nice work!

[Sore Thumbs]

Lunch!

[merc1997 Bo]

very interesting of some fish being that deep given the amount of water going through the lake. could be that the O2 level is good enough at any depth. therefore, fish and forage can be at whatever level they are wanting to be just as they do in the winter.

bo

[merc1997 Bo]

by the way, are you marking many bait ball that deep?? i went for a bit last night and before dark, i did not see any shad deeper than 10 ft.

bo

[rps]

I saw bait balls that extended from near the surface to below 25 feet. The smaller balls were 15 to 18 feet deep.

[BleacherBum28]

Without giving up specific spots, how do you determine which water to fish? When I look at the maps provided on this site, there are tons of bends as the lake is essentially a river. I fish Viola when I get down there and pick up the occasional eye, but seem to spend tons of time fishing unproductive water. What makes you pick on bend over another? Most bends I fish are typically flats and if I find trees, all the better. Are the drop offs only a few feet or are they severe (10 ft or more) going into the main channel?

[Bill Babler]

Without giving up specific spots, how do you determine which water to fish? When I look at the maps provided on this site, there are tons of bends as the lake is essentially a river. I fish Viola when I get down there and pick up the occasional eye, but seem to spend tons of time fishing unproductive water. What makes you pick on bend over another? Most bends I fish are typically flats and if I find trees, all the better. Are the drop offs only a few feet or are they severe (10 ft or more) going into the main channel?

He has been at it a while. The process of elimination is how you find these locations, spending hours and hours on the water in specific areas.

[Bill Babler]

by the way, are you marking many bait ball that deep?? i went for a bit last night and before dark, i did not see any shad deeper than 10 ft.

bo

There were huge balls of bait today as deep as 65' Mostly in the guts between the flats. The bait was not so much suspended, but completely thru the water column. Lots and lots of it today 22' to 45'.

[Bill Babler]

Kind of a funny story today. We were fishing a roll-off early up the white and along comes a power pole boat. The point right next to us was covered with surfacing gar and Gizzards. I mean it was alive.

The guy slams on the brakes and he and his buddy jump on the bow and start throwing a spook. I can hear them as plain as day and they are saying this is the most bass they have ever seen surfacing in their life. They worked the spooks for about 10 minutes and then the middle box lid came open and the switching was on. They were running thru topwater after topwater and you could just hear the frustration mounting, wondering why these bass just would not hit.

They were still working them hard when we vacated. I should have told them maybe a piece of nylon ski rope would have worked a bit better. Regardless, they were having a blast and I just could not spoil their fun. And on top of that, You just never know.

Good Luck