Gosh it was hard for me today

[Bill Babler]

Got a last minute cancel on Taney for today so I hit the big pond. Wish I wouldn’t have got canceled 

Second cast of the day on a huge Shad spawn and Wham a 4 pounder hammered the white 3/4 oz. jackhammer. There were Shad spawning as far as I could see down the bank so you just know I was thinking, going to be one of those special days. 
 

That was at 0600. Next bite was at 0830 on a flutter spoon off a bluffend and then the dreaded drop shot. Caught some suspended and some on the bottom, both pre and post spawn. 35 friggin feet deep, that’s just not right for this time of year. 
 

Fished out of Baxter and it was crowded. Surface temps bounced from 59 to 62 on the main lake. Nights are really keeping the pond cold. 
 

Spoke to some guys pitching and fishing shallow along with a plethora of guides and we all stunk it up. Shallow guys had not had a bite. With the lake plummeting that shallow bite is tough, as was every bite for me

Spoke to P. Stone he said all he could find was a deep swim bait bite in that 30’ to 40’ suspended range over depth. It’s hard to count that Swimmer to 30 before you start reeling it, but today you had too. 
 

Total was 1 on a Jackhammer 2 on a Dixie Jet. 2 on a swim bait and 5 on a Morning Dawn 3.5 inch drop shot worm. 
 

I fished for about 6 hrs.  Maybe not fished but had a line in the water part of the time.
Beck would have asked if I was fishing or just throwing it out and winding it in. I think probably the latter.

Good Luck

[merc1997 Bo]

37 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

Got a last minute cancel on Taney for today so I hit the big pond. Wish I wouldn’t have got canceled 

Second cast of the day on a huge Shad spawn and Wham a 4 pounder hammered the white 3/4 oz. jackhammer. There were Shad spawning as far as I could see down the bank so you just know I was thinking, going to be one of those special days. 
 

That was at 0600. Next bite was at 0830 on a flutter spoon off a bluffend and then the dreaded drop shot. Caught some suspended and some on the bottom, both pre and post spawn. 35 friggin feet deep, that’s just not right for this time of year. 
 

Fished out of Baxter and it was crowded. Surface temps bounced from 59 to 62 on the main lake. Nights are really keeping the pond cold. 
 

Spoke to some guys pitching and fishing shallow along with a plethora of guides and we all stunk it up. Shallow guys had not had a bite. With the lake plummeting that shallow bite is tough, as was every bite for me

Spoke to P. Stone he said all he could find was a deep swim bait bite in that 30’ to 40’ suspended range over depth. It’s hard to count that Swimmer to 30 before you start reeling it, but today you had too. 
 

Total was 1 on a Jackhammer 2 on a Dixie Jet. 2 on a swim bait and 5 on a Morning Dawn 3.5 inch drop shot worm. 
 

I fished for about 6 hrs.  Maybe not fished but had a line in the water part of the time.
Beck would have asked if I was fishing or just throwing it out and winding it in. I think probably the latter.

Good Luck

yep bill, i think they all drowned.  after the tourney that i fished, the weather turned cold, some cold rain. no sun.  it certainly moved the bass out into the lake.  at least, that is my story and i am sticking to it.  now the water level is falling, which will sure enough make many of them go out and suspend.  if i had a chartreuse hand grenade, i would not know where to throw it.  i think what few fish are up are finicky about what you are putting in front of them.  happens every year around spawn.  i too have seen some signs that some have spawned.  with the weather water and so forth, i still do not believe the big wave has ever got here.  just mho.

 

bo

[Jerry Rapp]

60 degree surface temp in mid May is not normal.

[Fish24/7]

The opposite is happening with rising waters on Bull.

has bass so shallow their backs are almost dry. 😄I pulled up to a point at the mouth of a cove middle of the day bright sun,clear water, and they were everywhere cruising in and out of the bushes in shin deep water. All of them  keeper largemouth.  Hundreds of baby bite sized gills they were herding. When they got them pushed up near the bank in 6" of water they would kill em. I was fishing for bluegill, so they didn't get caught. i have a samll boat so I could actually get to these fish behind  all and in all the bushes. Saw 3 males on beds on that point too. They were locked on.

 

[dtrs5kprs]

22 hours ago, merc1997 Bo said:

yep bill, i think they all drowned.  after the tourney that i fished, the weather turned cold, some cold rain. no sun.  it certainly moved the bass out into the lake.  at least, that is my story and i am sticking to it.  now the water level is falling, which will sure enough make many of them go out and suspend.  if i had a chartreuse hand grenade, i would not know where to throw it.  i think what few fish are up are finicky about what you are putting in front of them.  happens every year around spawn.  i too have seen some signs that some have spawned.  with the weather water and so forth, i still do not believe the big wave has ever got here.  just mho.

 

bo

Looked like the fish that had come in were all broken up to me. A piecemeal spawn. And I'm with you Bo, it just never seemed like big numbers were up yet.

Guess it's possible they won't come in, and they'll dump or reabsorb the eggs.

[Fish24/7]

14 minutes ago, dtrs5kprs said:

Looked like the fish that had come in were all broken up to me. A piecemeal spawn. And I'm with you Bo, it just never seemed like big numbers were up yet.

Guess it's possible they won't come in, and they'll dump or reabsorb the eggs.

There's an old saying , by the time you see bass on beds near the bank, the majority have already done their thing and left.  The spawn starts way earlier than we imagine.

Look at the reports I did this spring. Those big bass I was catching on worms were on beds many weeks ago. 

 

[fishinwrench]

You guys should be able to run to an area of the lake that has some gradual sloping banks.....and kill'em dragging a C-rig.  

[Fish24/7]

24 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

You guys should be able to run to an area of the lake that has some gradual sloping banks.....and kill'em dragging a C-rig.  

Great idea .

Channel swing/ inside turn adjacent to that type bank. Catch them coming and going pre and post

[dtrs5kprs]

6 hours ago, Fish24/7 said:

There's an old saying , by the time you see bass on beds near the bank, the majority have already done their thing and left.  The spawn starts way earlier than we imagine.

Look at the reports I did this spring. Those big bass I was catching on worms were on beds many weeks ago. 

 

I never look for them. Not much good at that anyway. I base it on how they look, where they're set up, and to some extent what they are doing, although that can fool you.

Our brown fish generally look like they were dragged behind a truck when they get good and done. Just didn't see it. 

Started catching some that had a stripped look the day of the Water Patrol derby, but still not roughed up. And was still catching fish that pretty clearly hadn't been near the beds, on the same places. 

Some of the last fish to see the inside of the barge, on Monday...kind of that mix.  And none looked rough.

 

[merc1997 Bo]

9 hours ago, dtrs5kprs said:

Looked like the fish that had come in were all broken up to me. A piecemeal spawn. And I'm with you Bo, it just never seemed like big numbers were up yet.

Guess it's possible they won't come in, and they'll dump or reabsorb the eggs.

surface temps might be right, but the water not far down is still cold.  at least the feel of my lure coming out of the water feels cold.  guess time will tell.  bass just have the survival instinct to wait until conditions are stable.

bo