the lake is really fishing tiny right now

[merc1997 Bo]

i fished monday afternoon, all day yesterday with a tourney angler that wanted me to go with him to hunt fish, and fished this afternoon.  much of the lake is in the process of turning over, and that makes the lake fish oh so tiny.  monday afternoon we caught several small bass and some whites 20 to 25 feet deep.  tuesday, i was just riding basically.  this afternoon based on the previous two trips of observation did some adjusting and settled in on a very small area and just circled like a vulcher.  with these conditions, you take what little you can find and be happy.  we caught several small bass and some really nice whites, but we did end up with 6 really nice lmg's.  two were around 3 1/2, and the other 4 were good chunks.  found one little area where the channel butted up to a flat.  the edge of the flat dumped off right at 20 ft.  the fish had the shad pushed up onto the channel edge and had them pinned.

the reason to search these types of areas right now is finding those that have turned and further out in the channel the water is still turning.  that will push the food base and the bass into these very small seams of better water.  zinc spoons in powder chrome, big wobbler in a shad color, and 1 oz. Elite tandem spin with gold willows did the catching.  when i said circle like a vulchar, that is what i meant.  we caught some of the bass by sitting in shallow and working back up the hill.

you kind of have two options right now.  one is to burn down your troller batteries and make a zillions casts or burn up lots of gas and do a lot of looking with the electronics to slip up on the one little area that has better water, bait, and a few fish with the bait.

things should improve a lot in about 4 weeks.

bo

 

 

[Bill Babler]

With the cloud cover and the wind this morning I believe it will be better, but am not in any way guaranteeing that.  I had 6 bites yesterday, all keepers and just about as strange as it gets.  That topwater bite may last a little longer this morning and it is a largemouth bite.

A slow rolled blade on some of these secondary chunk/shelf banks with deep cuts and timber may get you bit, outside of the small jig.

It is a complete zoo out my front window with at least 2 dozen boats in sight. as I write this.   The day will completely dictate the catch, what you did yesterday in a condition will mean about as much as nothing everyday now, for a spell until they get where their going.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Bill Babler said:

With the cloud cover and the wind this morning I believe it will be better, but am not in any way guaranteeing that.  I had 6 bites yesterday, all keepers and just about as strange as it gets.  That topwater bite may last a little longer this morning and it is a largemouth bite.

A slow rolled blade on some of these secondary chunk/shelf banks with deep cuts and timber may get you bit, outside of the small jig.

It is a complete zoo out my front window with at least 2 dozen boats in sight. as I write this.   The day will completely dictate the catch, what you did yesterday in a condition will mean about as much as nothing everyday now, for a spell until they get where their going.

you are so right.  there is really not a need one to go practice for a tournament because you just have to go find to some to catch everyday.  no such thing as driving up to some.  with all the boats on the water is will be hard to fish something that has not already been thrashed.

bo

[Champ188]

The key to these fall turnover fish is to cover tons of water --- BUT you have to be as stealthy as possible. Babler is right about that blade. I throw one that is quite a bit different than others do and I work my tail off for half a dozen bites. The thing is, they are 95% LM keepers. If I get lucky and get a big bite, great. If not, 10 pounds a day is a guaranteed check this time of year. 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Champ188 said:

The key to these fall turnover fish is to cover tons of water --- BUT you have to be as stealthy as possible. Babler is right about that blade. I throw one that is quite a bit different than others do and I work my tail off for half a dozen bites. The thing is, they are 95% LM keepers. If I get lucky and get a big bite, great. If not, 10 pounds a day is a guaranteed check this time of year. 

yep, 10 lbs. per day is going to get you in the paycheck line.  earning your keep is an understatement with the current lake conditions.

bo

[Sore Thumbs]

11 hours ago, Champ188 said:

The key to these fall turnover fish is to cover tons of water --- BUT you have to be as stealthy as possible. Babler is right about that blade. I throw one that is quite a bit different than others do and I work my tail off for half a dozen bites. The thing is, they are 95% LM keepers. If I get lucky and get a big bite, great. If not, 10 pounds a day is a guaranteed check this time of year. 

I didn’t know you liked spinnerbaits. 😁

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Sore Thumbs said:

I didn’t know you liked spinnerbaits. 😁

didn't you know that champ's middle name is blade?

bo

[Sore Thumbs]

I believe it.