Good Friday on the NFOW

[Bill Butts]

John and I left Springfield on Friday morning amidst a snow storm with a very windy 32* temp, headed for the lower NFOW at Tecumseh.

It would have seemed at bit insane for White Bass and Hybrid fishing since this past week's weather has definitely put the action in most fisheries on temporary hold. However, a local who fishes there every evening advised me that the previous cold night he had done very well on Whites and had a bonus 8# Hybrid. There is the clue to our insanity.

When we waded in, the water temp was 55* and the wind was about 20-25 mph before many gusts up over 30. Six hours in the brutal and bitter wind produced nothing until the final hour of light.

With direct sunlight off of our favorite stretch of water, we finally began catching some Whites, but not many. Visions of hooking some nice Hybrids lingered but quickly faded as our hands became intolerably cold in the steady wind and now falling temp.

Positive thoughts.

The dogwoods and redbuds were absolutely magnificent on the drive down Hwy 5 and across 160. I can't recall ever seeing so many blooming dogwoods blanketing the wooded hillsides.

Also, when a significant cold front actually lowers the water temps (therein the reason you've seen so many posts of mine that discuss water temp---you must know the temps to make good decisions on where to fish this time of year) like it has this past week, you will almost always find more stable water on tailwater fisheries below a Dam. The water is released off the bottom of the Dam, so it is unlikely to have been affected by the weather change. There are not a lot of them, but a few include Keystone and Kaw in OK (Stripers), Oologah in OK (Hybrids), Powersite Dam in MO (everything that swims in Bull Shoals), and Truman and Bagnell Dams (everything that swims in the fisheries below them). Don't ignore the warmwater discharge lakes, either.

It will be great to see the springtime temps return this coming week.

Great fishing to everyone,

Bill