On the Water: 4:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Air Temperature: 81 - 73
Water Temperature: 82 - 79
Water Clarity: Clear/ 6+ Ft
Skies: Clear with Occasional Clouds
Wind: 3 - 13 Mph SW, WSW, W Sustained, Gusts to 23 Mph
Barometric Pressure: 29.52 - 29.58"
I chose this lake for several reasons. First, my brother Josh, has been spending a lot of time on this lake recently, and putting up some quality numbers, second, the average fish in this lake is around 2-2.5 lbs, and third, this lake does NOT play to my strengths. What better way to get stronger, than starting with your weak points?
When I got on the lake, the wind was whipping, so I figured I would paddle out to the center and just let the wind push me along until I found some bait. I drifted up to a point and quickly got a nice bass on an Albino Shad Zoom Super Fluke, but couldn't get anything else off this area. I paddled out to a hump a little ways off the point, and was able to get one more. Again, I let the wind drift me and I marked a few fish, and was able to get another bass. I kept drifting along, and noticed that I was in 8 ft of water in the middle of the lake. So I started paddling around and dropping marker buoys, and came to the conclusion that there is either a very large boulder, or a sunken island. It is 30+ feet on all sides, and one side comes up drastically, the other 3 are a little more gradual. This seemed like a sure bet to get a few fish, so I started with a Strike King 5XD in the Sexy Blue Back Herring color. I was only able to manage 2 fish on the crankbait, and one more on the super fluke. But I was excited to catch something on my new Abu Garcia Veritas crankbait rod, so I had that going for me at least. It was starting to get dark, so I began making my way back towards the launch, I came up on a hump out in the middle of the lake, and grabbed one more bass on a fluke. So, at the end of day 1, I ended up with 7 bass, one in the 3 pound range, the other 6 between 2-2.5. Not a terrible outing, but I was certainly not encouraged going into day 2. Best 5 for the day was 11-12 lbs. All fish came in open water, with schools of alewife in the area.
Day 2 7/30/14
On the Water: 9:30 am - 1:15 pm
Air Temperature: 72-73
Water Temperature: 77-80
Water Clarity: Clear/ 6+ Ft
Skies: Mostly Clear
Wind: 0 - 9Mph W, WSW, S
Barometric Pressure: 30.03 - 30.02"
My plan for day 2 was to get out and try to locate baitfish. Pretty much, the same thing as day 1. I paddled out to a small hump that usually holds some fish, and I caught 2 right off the bat on an Albino Shad Super Fluke. The first one was 2.5 the second 1.5. I saw some fish busting maybe 50 yards away, so I paddled over to the area and began casting frantically, but couldn't get anything to happen. I moved back to the hump and pulled out one more fish, this one around 3 lbs. After having some technical difficulties (line twist issues) I drifted down and moved right on top of a large school of alewife, and only managed one more bass. Another 1.5lb fish. I stayed on the school for 30 minutes, but couldn't get the fish to hit. It was about 1230 at this point, so I moved up closer to the launch fishing along the way. I get up to the launch area, with about 15 minutes left to fish, and my gut told me to take a few casts shallow. I threw the fluke on the edge of some lily pads, next to deep water, and it got crushed by a 3 pounder that I wound up quick releasing.
Now that I got a bite near the pads, I wanted to see if there was anything else in the area. I didn't really have anything weedless tied on other than a Texas rigged Culprit Fat Max, so with limited time, I said "What the heck, I'll give it a shot". So I cast it out and swam it up to the pads, and dragged it over top, and just as it was about to drop back in the water a bass comes flying out of the water at it, and I hooked him. Another one in the 3 pound range. I immediately tied on a frog, and had a couple HUGE explosions, including a 3 pounder that launched himself 4 feet out of the water, knocking my frog airborne, but I couldn't hook up with anything. Unfortunately, I had to leave to get to work. I hate leaving biting fish, but you do what you have to do. I really wasn't expecting to see fish shallow here, but I think under the conditions (blue bird skies, increasing temperature) the fish were looking for shade and/or oxygen. What better place than lily pads adjacent to deep water (18 ft in this location) approximately 6 feet out from the pads. I have a little bit more confidence now having found that little bite at the end of the day, maybe it will be something I can duplicate on day 3, as opposed to chasing bait all day. I only ended up with 6 fish, but I am happy to see an actual pattern based on a constant (structure and cover) as opposed to a variable (bait). Best 5 for day two 12-13 lbs.
This fish was only hooked in the tongue, thus the blood. The bleeding did stop during the revival process, and she took off like a rocket.
Day 3 8/3/14:
On the Water: 5:20 am - 12:00 pm
Air Temperature:72 - 64
Water Temperature: - 76
Water Clarity: Clear/ 6 + ft
Skies: Overcast / On and off rain
Wind: 0-5 mph S,SE,SSE
Barometric Pressure: 30.07 - 30.09"
I had been watching the weather closely leading up to day 3. The 10 -15 degree drop in temperature was my main concern. I was hoping to go right in, and find my grass pattern that I just picked up on at the end of day 2, but given the change of conditions, I did not expect it to hold up. Unfortunately, I was correct. After dedicating the first hour or so to shallow lily pad edges adjacent to deep water, and not getting a bite, it was back to chasing fish again. I found several small schools of alewife, with what seemed like only a couple bass around them. Occasionally I'd see a fish bust on the surface. But no matter what I tried I couldn't get these fish to go after any presentation. It wasn't until the wind started to pick up around 9:30 - 10:00 that I got my first fish. I wound up with 9 total bass and one random brown trout. All fish were caught on an Albino Shad Zoom Super Fluke, and my best 5 was probably in the 12lb range. Pretty much par for the course here. These fish were hitting so light, I couldn't even feel it, I would just notice my line jump or start swimming off. I also lost a couple that jumped and spit the hook, which prompted me to sharpen my hook, and I had no more issues after that. I didn't take any pictures, as I was trying to stay on the schools, which seemed to be moving faster than usual.
My Lake Rating:
After 3 days on this lake, I'm sure of one thing, the alewife dictate the majority of the fish behavior and movement. You find the school of alewife, and there is sure to be a few bass hanging close by. However, this is not really my style of fishing. I would prefer a more methodical approach, based on structure or cover. However, at this time of year, that kind of bite seems to be non-existent here. This lake shows some serious potential in the size department, as the average bass seems to be 2-2.5lbs, with many 3+ pound fish worked in as well, and an occasional 5+. I'm excited to fish this lake in the spring, when the bass will be in their more predictable prespawn pattern, and then the true giants come out to play. I will give it a 4/5, it was close to a 5, but again, the lack of predictability is what turns me off about it.
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