Dam Area 2nd Hand Report 2-23-21

[Bill Babler]

Good buddy fished the dam area for 5 hrs this morning with pretty sorry results. Surface temp at 35 degrees at launch and 37 at 2pm. 

He fished an A-rig and a jerk bait and never got a sniff. Said he saw a couple of shad but not many on the surface. Few gulls diving around the Long Creek bridge. 

Said he also looked for some deep fish and really saw very few. Did see some shad balls in the 80' range and tried them  but never saw a fish near them and did not get a bite. 

Looking out the window here at the Lodge and the lake is really busy. Lots of boats on the bank in Clevenger and lots running back and forth.  Not all bass boats, I have seen several spitoons and a few pleasure boats. 77 degree here as I type this. 

Somebody go find some. Big derby this weekend. We'll see how they do

[Ham]

I try not to fish for Bass when water is < 40 degrees. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, Ham said:

I try not to fish for Bass when water is < 40 degrees. 

I did a few times.  Cabin fever got the better of me.  No joy.  

[Ham]

1 hour ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I did a few times.  Cabin fever got the better of me.  No joy.  

My Dad taught me so much about fishing. One lesson he taught me was to fish for what's biting. Don't fish for stuff out of season. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

11 hours ago, Ham said:

My Dad taught me so much about fishing. One lesson he taught me was to fish for what's biting. Don't fish for stuff out of season. 

I agree but sometimes you just have to get out and go with what's doable at the time.  

[Quillback]

25 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I agree but sometimes you just have to get out and go with what's doable at the time.  

Yep, assuming I can find a ramp to launch from, I'll be going Saturday which looks to be a fairly nice day.  

[Bill Babler]

Totally agree with Ham. I have pretty much had zero success on the Rock when surface temps are below 42/44 degree. 
Seems like at 45 degree a total new world emerges, especially if the sun comes out and the water starts to warm further. 
I’ll wait patiently 

[snagged in outlet 3]

11 minutes ago, Quillback said:

Yep, assuming I can find a ramp to launch from, I'll be going Saturday which looks to be a fairly nice day.  

Good luck!  I'm going Saturday and Sunday. 

[MarkG52]

25 minutes ago, Quillback said:

Yep, assuming I can find a ramp to launch from, I'll be going Saturday which looks to be a fairly nice day.  

My and a buddy are planning to launch out of Big M Saturday morning, if ice is gone. Maybe we can meet up? My boat is white Vexus. If we take his truck it'll be a white Ford diesel crew cab, if in mine, Orange Tundra crew cab(can't miss it!).

[Dock-in-it]

Yesterday morning I had 3 keeper LM and about 3 more bumps on the A-rig. My graph showed scattered shad and very few bass. Fished around cedars. Seen 2 dying shad. The few bass I seen would rise off the bottom and go back down.

This morning, I had 1 keeper K and a few bumps on the A-Rig. I missed two on an underspin. The fish I found were very active from 15 to 40ft but could not get them to bite. Seen about 5 dying shad. 

If I had live scope around stubborn suspended/active fish, I would cast A-rig to 35 FOW around open spots in the cedars and let the bait go to the bottom. I seen fish all morning rise off the bottom and they kept swimming up. Fish were on my graph every few minutes until 8:30.

WT 40-42 yesterday and 41-43 today