Fall is definitely in the air these days as I headed to the lake the air temperature was a balmy 42 degrees. There was no wind to speak of and at this time of year the boat landing was very quiet with only one trailer there at 7:30 in the morning.
After launching the boat I checked the water temperature and current readings are in the mid to upper 60’s all ready. The temps are dropping fast as it wasn’t long ago that we were in the upper 70’s, but fall is definitely in the air and here and this will start to trigger the fish into their fall feeding frenzy.
This particular lake I always start out in the middle as there is an underwater island that has a sharp break off the opposite side. Fished all over the deeper break side with a jig and Carolina rigged plastics bait and couldn’t find or get a bite what so ever.
Since the wind still hadn’t started up yet, decided to go and fish the way that the lake seems to produce some fish on a regular basis, topwater frog action. There is a good portion of the lake that has numerous lily pad fields along its shorelines. Didn’t take long and the waters were exploding around my frog but they were missing the bait and I was missing them. A couple of them were some very decent looking sized fish.
As I progressed to a back corner, I finally connected with a 14 inch largemouth bass and it gave up a good fight. At this point the winds were starting to pick up a little and it was enough that any bite that I had going, virtually disappeared. Went around a good portion of the lake and could only muster up one more explosion and missed that one as well.
Switched gears on baits at this point and started throwing a spinnerbait, 4 inch plastic worm and a jig into shoreline grass and wood. Wasn’t able to entice any bites that way either. Decided before heading home to go back to the middle of the lake and fish the deep break side of the sunken island with a dropshot.
Milled around the area for quite some time and watching the electronics very closely and seen fish on the screen but either they were panfish or non-aggressive bass. Even though there wasn’t much for fish caught, is was a beautiful September morning to be out on the lake and look forward to the next few outings as the fishing will start to pick up as the nights get cooler.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Fishing September 2-5 2011
Labor Day weekend for some means that summer is over and with school starting, summer activities are done and fall things are on one’s mind. But for the angler, fall brings new life for fishing as the fish are going to start feeding for the long winter ahead.
Being this was a camping weekend, wasn’t able to bring the boat along and fishing was contained to fishing out of the kayaks. Conditions this weekend weren’t too bad for kayak fishing as we had fairly calm winds but considerable heat and humidity. Waters are definitely starting to cool down but retained some heat for the majority of this weekend.
Since fishing out of kayaks limits you to what you can bring along, I generally fish the jig/pig through different types of cover. The weather was so nice that the main lake was very busy so fishing out of a kayak is kind of hazardous to say the least. So this contained me to the cove that the campground is on.
So the majority of this cove is roughly 8 feet deep and there are patches of weeds with clear areas around them. By working the jig through and around these weeds, I am putting the bait in front of the fish and this seems to work very well in a couple of particular areas.
Seems like the last few times out there, I am catching fish always in the same general areas so whatever they are attracted to there, it is consistently holding fish. I lost more fish than was caught but the ones caught were in the 2 pound range. Didn’t find any monsters but for the short time out there, was a productive trip.
Being this was a camping weekend, wasn’t able to bring the boat along and fishing was contained to fishing out of the kayaks. Conditions this weekend weren’t too bad for kayak fishing as we had fairly calm winds but considerable heat and humidity. Waters are definitely starting to cool down but retained some heat for the majority of this weekend.
Since fishing out of kayaks limits you to what you can bring along, I generally fish the jig/pig through different types of cover. The weather was so nice that the main lake was very busy so fishing out of a kayak is kind of hazardous to say the least. So this contained me to the cove that the campground is on.
So the majority of this cove is roughly 8 feet deep and there are patches of weeds with clear areas around them. By working the jig through and around these weeds, I am putting the bait in front of the fish and this seems to work very well in a couple of particular areas.
Seems like the last few times out there, I am catching fish always in the same general areas so whatever they are attracted to there, it is consistently holding fish. I lost more fish than was caught but the ones caught were in the 2 pound range. Didn’t find any monsters but for the short time out there, was a productive trip.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Fishing Report August 27 2011
With the big news of Hurricane Irene going to hit New England later this weekend, I made a run up to New Hampshire to do a little pre storm fishing. Weather was beautiful, the calm before the storm, no wind, very hot and humid conditions.
There were a number of anglers out on the water but one nice thing was that the pleasure boaters were in the process of pulling their boats so the anglers had the lake to themselves. The morning started very nicely as my son and I was fishing and he was catching sunfish and my jig pattern was picking up right where it left off.
After a while of fishing he wanted to go do something else so dropped him off at the dock and I headed out to deeper water. There was panfish surfacing all over the lake and the fishing was getting better as the morning was going along.
Seemed that no matter where I stopped to fish, the fish were there and ready to bite and they were hitting basically anything that you threw out there. I was only able to fish a few areas as the fish that were there kept me there wanting to catch more.
They were biting on crankbaits, jigs, Carolina rigged plastics and small plastic worms. Did try some topwater but couldn’t seem to get any fish to go after that so didn’t pursue that too long. Had one location that was producing numbers of fish before I had to leave. This was a main lake point and was fishing in 15-20 feet of water and there was some good weed growth there as well.
Went out for a little while in the afternoon and the wind was starting to pick up a little but the fishing definitely was dying off as well. Did catch the largest fish of the day just before leaving and was fishing a jig in the weeds in 10 feet of water out in the middle of a cove. This was one of those days that you wish that you could stay out there and capitalize on, but with a major storm brewing, it was time to head home.
There were a number of anglers out on the water but one nice thing was that the pleasure boaters were in the process of pulling their boats so the anglers had the lake to themselves. The morning started very nicely as my son and I was fishing and he was catching sunfish and my jig pattern was picking up right where it left off.
After a while of fishing he wanted to go do something else so dropped him off at the dock and I headed out to deeper water. There was panfish surfacing all over the lake and the fishing was getting better as the morning was going along.
Seemed that no matter where I stopped to fish, the fish were there and ready to bite and they were hitting basically anything that you threw out there. I was only able to fish a few areas as the fish that were there kept me there wanting to catch more.
They were biting on crankbaits, jigs, Carolina rigged plastics and small plastic worms. Did try some topwater but couldn’t seem to get any fish to go after that so didn’t pursue that too long. Had one location that was producing numbers of fish before I had to leave. This was a main lake point and was fishing in 15-20 feet of water and there was some good weed growth there as well.
Went out for a little while in the afternoon and the wind was starting to pick up a little but the fishing definitely was dying off as well. Did catch the largest fish of the day just before leaving and was fishing a jig in the weeds in 10 feet of water out in the middle of a cove. This was one of those days that you wish that you could stay out there and capitalize on, but with a major storm brewing, it was time to head home.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Fishing Report August 24 2011
I usually never get out fishing during the week but a fellow coworker has been fishing a local pond and been catching some nice fish so we made a plan to hit the water after work. Upon arriving at the lake, the water quality is very apparent as it is crystal clear and clean looking.
This is an either paddle or electric motor only lake and makes for a body of water that doesn’t receive high pressure as easy accessed lakes do. There was only one boat out this afternoon but the winds were blowing very hard so hugging the shorelines and back coves was the plan for not getting blown all over the lake.
We went right for the first island and worked our way around it and wasn’t 10 minutes I felt the tap on the jig I was fishing and the first fish of the trip was on. This 3.5 pound largemouth gave a great fight and was caught away from the island in 4-5 feet of water. Now that our excitement had been peaked, we were pumped for the rest of our trip.
As we were going along we were fishing different looking shorelines and I was switching between the jig and a plastic worm. We went over a submerged tree and I could see a huge bass lying underneath it in the clear water but when the corner of the boat came to close it disappeared. I was able to get an average sized bass out of the weeds on the plastic worm.
We get to the back corner of this cove and it was a perfect scenario, timber, pads, weeds and shade and you couldn’t find a better looking place. My partner said that this spot usually gives up a good fish and on that cast I had set into a bass almost as big as my first fish. Two good fish and now I am really pumped and want more.
The wind is starting to blow a lot harder and it is swirling all around no matter where you are fishing and boat control was a little tough. We worked our way all the way to the end of the lake and I picked up another small fish off of a log sticking out of the water on the plastic worm.
We wanted to go to the other side of the lake but when we tried the wind had another story for us so we turned back from where we came from and worked everything again. So on this trip back through the same areas, my plan was to fish the jig but instead of fishing the shoreline I made all of my casts out into deeper water and see if I could find any cruising deep water fish.
This had paid off as I was able to pick up two more fish with another that was a little less than 2 pounds. As the evening was winding down, my partner had a rough outing as he wasn’t able to connect with any fish but we definitely had a great time out there. I am already looking forward to making another trip out there soon and see if we can find some bigger fish.
There are a number of these town ponds that they allow you to put cartop boats into and the fish that swim in these waters are generally unpressured and grow to some very nice sizes. So if you have some of the waters around you, if the town allows it, try fishing them and you may be pleasantly surprised.
This is an either paddle or electric motor only lake and makes for a body of water that doesn’t receive high pressure as easy accessed lakes do. There was only one boat out this afternoon but the winds were blowing very hard so hugging the shorelines and back coves was the plan for not getting blown all over the lake.
We went right for the first island and worked our way around it and wasn’t 10 minutes I felt the tap on the jig I was fishing and the first fish of the trip was on. This 3.5 pound largemouth gave a great fight and was caught away from the island in 4-5 feet of water. Now that our excitement had been peaked, we were pumped for the rest of our trip.
As we were going along we were fishing different looking shorelines and I was switching between the jig and a plastic worm. We went over a submerged tree and I could see a huge bass lying underneath it in the clear water but when the corner of the boat came to close it disappeared. I was able to get an average sized bass out of the weeds on the plastic worm.
We get to the back corner of this cove and it was a perfect scenario, timber, pads, weeds and shade and you couldn’t find a better looking place. My partner said that this spot usually gives up a good fish and on that cast I had set into a bass almost as big as my first fish. Two good fish and now I am really pumped and want more.
The wind is starting to blow a lot harder and it is swirling all around no matter where you are fishing and boat control was a little tough. We worked our way all the way to the end of the lake and I picked up another small fish off of a log sticking out of the water on the plastic worm.
We wanted to go to the other side of the lake but when we tried the wind had another story for us so we turned back from where we came from and worked everything again. So on this trip back through the same areas, my plan was to fish the jig but instead of fishing the shoreline I made all of my casts out into deeper water and see if I could find any cruising deep water fish.
This had paid off as I was able to pick up two more fish with another that was a little less than 2 pounds. As the evening was winding down, my partner had a rough outing as he wasn’t able to connect with any fish but we definitely had a great time out there. I am already looking forward to making another trip out there soon and see if we can find some bigger fish.
There are a number of these town ponds that they allow you to put cartop boats into and the fish that swim in these waters are generally unpressured and grow to some very nice sizes. So if you have some of the waters around you, if the town allows it, try fishing them and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Fishing Report August 21 2011
This summer it has been tough finding time to get out fishing and this will have to definitely change once the ice season comes this winter. Went to a lake that I fish regularly and this was the first time out there this year. Normally numbers are not the catch but there is usually always a good fish or two in the fish caught for the day.
The lake has been getting a lot of pressure this summer from a number of bass clubs fishing their tournaments out there. This weekend for a change didn’t have any and the lake was fairly quiet when I had arrived. Calm conditions, cloudy with breaks of sun, cool when the sun wasn’t out but hot when it did come out. Water temps were in the mid 70’s and water color is pea green at the present time.
Normally I like fishing the milfoil patches but looks like there is a more stringy grass growing in the lake this year. I started in a creek mouth that has a large flat out in front and after working around from the weed edge to up on top, only was able to catch a very small lagermouth bass.
I went to another cove and fan casted the crankbait around in some deeper water but wasn’t able to locate any fish there either. I did pull a decent largemouth, biggest of the day, off of a point in the weeds on a Carolina rig. I moved to a back shallow cove with lily pads and fan casted a topwater frog and the waters there looked very good but came up empty handed.
The wind was picking up at this point and I had followed a shoreline casting a crankbait only to catch a couple of small bass. At this point I was seeing that the shallow bite was not going to come around and found a deep sunken island in the middle of the lake but got the same results.
At this point I figured that I might as well call it a day and headed off the lake by noon time. It was very nice to get out on the lake once again and wet a line after so long. Was hoping to get into a couple of decent fish but just couldn’t locate them on this trip. Wednesday I will be heading out onto a local reservoir with a fellow from work that has been catching some very nice largemouth this summer. Weekend coming will be heading to New Hampshire for a day or so and hopefully the coming hurricane allows for a full day of fishing.
The lake has been getting a lot of pressure this summer from a number of bass clubs fishing their tournaments out there. This weekend for a change didn’t have any and the lake was fairly quiet when I had arrived. Calm conditions, cloudy with breaks of sun, cool when the sun wasn’t out but hot when it did come out. Water temps were in the mid 70’s and water color is pea green at the present time.
Normally I like fishing the milfoil patches but looks like there is a more stringy grass growing in the lake this year. I started in a creek mouth that has a large flat out in front and after working around from the weed edge to up on top, only was able to catch a very small lagermouth bass.
I went to another cove and fan casted the crankbait around in some deeper water but wasn’t able to locate any fish there either. I did pull a decent largemouth, biggest of the day, off of a point in the weeds on a Carolina rig. I moved to a back shallow cove with lily pads and fan casted a topwater frog and the waters there looked very good but came up empty handed.
The wind was picking up at this point and I had followed a shoreline casting a crankbait only to catch a couple of small bass. At this point I was seeing that the shallow bite was not going to come around and found a deep sunken island in the middle of the lake but got the same results.
At this point I figured that I might as well call it a day and headed off the lake by noon time. It was very nice to get out on the lake once again and wet a line after so long. Was hoping to get into a couple of decent fish but just couldn’t locate them on this trip. Wednesday I will be heading out onto a local reservoir with a fellow from work that has been catching some very nice largemouth this summer. Weekend coming will be heading to New Hampshire for a day or so and hopefully the coming hurricane allows for a full day of fishing.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Fishing Report July 20 2011
Summer time brings on vacation time and BWS and family headed west for the first time for most of the family. Renting a home in the Rocky Mountains near the town of Canon City, put us in some gorgeous scenery as well as close enough to fish a well known trout river, the Arkansas River.
The Arkansas River is primarily a brown trout fishery but there are some rainbow trout mixed in certain locations and when caught is a nice bonus. Since spring time we had been watching the water flows for this river as CO had a high snowfall this past winter and that is dumping a lot of water this late into the season into the river. By now the water flow should be at summer rate but it was still flowing at almost spring rate yet.
The conditions are getting better as each day passes but another week or two and that would have setup for a prime time to be fishing this river. As with any family vacation, fishing will come second hand to the sightseeing and family activities that are planned. Went out one night in Canon City and tried a few locations but was unable to find any slack or slow water compared to the ripping flow. These trout hang where fast water meets slow water, seam area, but in Canon City there wasn't any of these seam areas.
My son wanted to try his hand at trout fishing, as he has never fished for them before, so I had decided to take a drive and go on the other side of the Royal Gorge. We found a boat landing area that had an island in the middle of the river and the main flow was on the backside and there was a small shoot on the near side that created exactly what we were looking for.
Didn't take long casting the Egger's Spinners at this seam area and I had caught a 19 inch Brown Trout that was a real fighter and didn't want to come in. I lost a couple of smaller Brown Trout as they took to the air and threw the lure right after getting a good look at them. My son yelled that he had a fish on and after his battle he had caught a nice 15 inch Rainbow Trout and his excitement was unbelievable. He had lost 1 or 2 other Brown Trout as well and for the short time we were there, it was a very fun trip.
I had driven back to this location one other night and lost 2 small Brown Trout to their acrobatics after setting the hook. All in all it was a productive trip out West, just wished the flows were lower and that would have offered a much better scenario for this fishing trip but it was great to be back in the state of CO and definitely going to have to make the trip back once again.
The Arkansas River is primarily a brown trout fishery but there are some rainbow trout mixed in certain locations and when caught is a nice bonus. Since spring time we had been watching the water flows for this river as CO had a high snowfall this past winter and that is dumping a lot of water this late into the season into the river. By now the water flow should be at summer rate but it was still flowing at almost spring rate yet.
The conditions are getting better as each day passes but another week or two and that would have setup for a prime time to be fishing this river. As with any family vacation, fishing will come second hand to the sightseeing and family activities that are planned. Went out one night in Canon City and tried a few locations but was unable to find any slack or slow water compared to the ripping flow. These trout hang where fast water meets slow water, seam area, but in Canon City there wasn't any of these seam areas.
My son wanted to try his hand at trout fishing, as he has never fished for them before, so I had decided to take a drive and go on the other side of the Royal Gorge. We found a boat landing area that had an island in the middle of the river and the main flow was on the backside and there was a small shoot on the near side that created exactly what we were looking for.
Didn't take long casting the Egger's Spinners at this seam area and I had caught a 19 inch Brown Trout that was a real fighter and didn't want to come in. I lost a couple of smaller Brown Trout as they took to the air and threw the lure right after getting a good look at them. My son yelled that he had a fish on and after his battle he had caught a nice 15 inch Rainbow Trout and his excitement was unbelievable. He had lost 1 or 2 other Brown Trout as well and for the short time we were there, it was a very fun trip.
I had driven back to this location one other night and lost 2 small Brown Trout to their acrobatics after setting the hook. All in all it was a productive trip out West, just wished the flows were lower and that would have offered a much better scenario for this fishing trip but it was great to be back in the state of CO and definitely going to have to make the trip back once again.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
July 2 2011 Report
Holidays are a great time of year as this gives you that extra time to enjoy fishing and camping at the same time. We spent the long weekend in New Hampshire and even without the big boat, brought the kayaks along to be able to get out on the water.
I started the day searching for some of the smallmouth that live in these waters and fished deep points as well as shallow rock shoals. I tried one deeper point that had numerous large boulders but just couldn’t seem to find the smallmouth. So change of gears was made and started fishing shallower water looking for largemouth instead.
I fished a main back cove that has a lot of different types of structure from rocks, mud, sand, gravel to weeds as well. As the morning went along more and more pleasure boaters were coming out and fishing off of the main lake was getting very difficult. So a move was made back to the arm that the campground is located in as this area is a no wake zone so the waters aren’t so rough.
The water depths in this area are all about the same from 5-8 feet deep and have a fairly dense weed base as well. Decided to stick with a jig and pig and work this bait through the weeds in search of fish. Didn’t take long and the first fish was hooked and was a nice 2 pound largemouth. Continued to move around and fan cast and work the jig through the weeds and all in all had a pretty good success doing that.
The technique was making long casts and slowly work the jig back through the weeds and if it got hung up in there, give the rod a quick and fast jerk to break it free. By doing this I was able to catch 6 largemouth throughout this area with the biggest pushing 3 pounds. Never had a lot of confidence in the jig/pig but by forcing myself to fish with it, I will be throwing this bait a lot more in the future.
I started the day searching for some of the smallmouth that live in these waters and fished deep points as well as shallow rock shoals. I tried one deeper point that had numerous large boulders but just couldn’t seem to find the smallmouth. So change of gears was made and started fishing shallower water looking for largemouth instead.
I fished a main back cove that has a lot of different types of structure from rocks, mud, sand, gravel to weeds as well. As the morning went along more and more pleasure boaters were coming out and fishing off of the main lake was getting very difficult. So a move was made back to the arm that the campground is located in as this area is a no wake zone so the waters aren’t so rough.
The water depths in this area are all about the same from 5-8 feet deep and have a fairly dense weed base as well. Decided to stick with a jig and pig and work this bait through the weeds in search of fish. Didn’t take long and the first fish was hooked and was a nice 2 pound largemouth. Continued to move around and fan cast and work the jig through the weeds and all in all had a pretty good success doing that.
The technique was making long casts and slowly work the jig back through the weeds and if it got hung up in there, give the rod a quick and fast jerk to break it free. By doing this I was able to catch 6 largemouth throughout this area with the biggest pushing 3 pounds. Never had a lot of confidence in the jig/pig but by forcing myself to fish with it, I will be throwing this bait a lot more in the future.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Fishing Report June 19 2011
Father’s day is meant for fishing and that is where you found us, exploring our favorite lake in New Hampshire. Haven’t been up there fishing yet this year and always look forward to the time that is spent searching these waters for large and smallmouth bass.
Arrived early and the lake was fairly quiet with little wind, high sunny skies and a number of boats already out fishing. Went to the back lake to start the day and fished the main flat with a Carolina rigged plastic bait. Second cast yielded the nicest bass of the day working the bait through the weedbeds that frequent this area.
It didn’t take long and the winds really kicked up and made fishing very tough on this lake as they were coming straight down the lake with nowhere to get out of it. With the winds so strong this didn’t allow fishing specific targets and areas and I had to do more of a junk fishing type day. By junk fishing I mean that being you can’t sit on a spot, you just go with the wind and fish fast with fast baits that cover areas quickly.
Went along a variety of shorelines and cover and mainly fished a crankbait, weedless frog, and when you would get out of the wind a little throw the Carolina rig. There was a handful of fish caught this way but the sizes were on the smaller side as opposed to being able to work specific targets or area for the larger fish.
Water temps are starting to rise as a majority of the lake was at the 69-70 degree range which at this time of year is still way behind. Three different baits were used that caught fish and they were a medium diving crankbait, the Carolina rigged plastic bait and also a fish imitating swimbait caught a fish.
After being pounded on the water for most of the morning, I was out of there around noon time with 5 largemouth bass caught. Not a bad outing but feel that if the winds weren’t so high that targeting certain areas a little more thoroughly, more fish and bigger fish could have been caught.
Arrived early and the lake was fairly quiet with little wind, high sunny skies and a number of boats already out fishing. Went to the back lake to start the day and fished the main flat with a Carolina rigged plastic bait. Second cast yielded the nicest bass of the day working the bait through the weedbeds that frequent this area.
It didn’t take long and the winds really kicked up and made fishing very tough on this lake as they were coming straight down the lake with nowhere to get out of it. With the winds so strong this didn’t allow fishing specific targets and areas and I had to do more of a junk fishing type day. By junk fishing I mean that being you can’t sit on a spot, you just go with the wind and fish fast with fast baits that cover areas quickly.
Went along a variety of shorelines and cover and mainly fished a crankbait, weedless frog, and when you would get out of the wind a little throw the Carolina rig. There was a handful of fish caught this way but the sizes were on the smaller side as opposed to being able to work specific targets or area for the larger fish.
Water temps are starting to rise as a majority of the lake was at the 69-70 degree range which at this time of year is still way behind. Three different baits were used that caught fish and they were a medium diving crankbait, the Carolina rigged plastic bait and also a fish imitating swimbait caught a fish.
After being pounded on the water for most of the morning, I was out of there around noon time with 5 largemouth bass caught. Not a bad outing but feel that if the winds weren’t so high that targeting certain areas a little more thoroughly, more fish and bigger fish could have been caught.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
May 22 2011 Report
This has to be one of the coldest, wettest and slowest starts to a spring in a long time and making for some tough fishing as well. The fish should be into the spawning mode by now and they are definitely quite a ways behind the times.
Lakes are still fairly quiet as anglers are still waiting for the warmer weather to come along and make their experience a little more enjoyable. This makes it a little easier for us getting onto the landings and of course this day was not anything different with cool 48 degree air temps and 15 mph winds blowing.
Water temps have actually dropped a little from the last trip out with 55 degrees being the average from what we were finding. Not knowing what the fish’s mood was going to be, we started out with casting crankbaits to cover water and look for the aggressive fish. That bite never really materialized and a game plan change had to take effect.
Figuring now that the fish were sluggish, changed up to fishing a jig and cruise the shoreline looking for any fish that may be getting ready to spawn. Didn’t take long and a fish took the jig right along the shoreline and after a few reels of the handle came unbuttoned. This was a good sign showing that slowing down was what they were looking for as well and they are utilizing shallow water even if it is still cool.
Moved out of that cove and went to a point and there is a dock coming right off of the point and the end is in about 4-5 feet of water. One hop of the jig and a fish picked it up and felt good as the fight ensued; with the help of my netting partner we were able to get the 3 pound largemouth into the boat. It was nice to finally get that first fish out of the way for the beginning of a new open water season.
We moved around the point and down the back side without finding another bite. Out off of this point there is a gravel underwater hump that comes to 2 feet deep on top with weeds around the outer edge. I through the jig up on top and the second cast a 1 pound bass nailed the jig and felt like there is a pattern coming together at this point.
My son was fishing the hump with a small crankbait and he was having good luck as well as he had caught a small pickerel and a crappie. We worked all around this island and wasn’t able to find anymore bites. We wanted to try one more location before calling it a day.
He wanted to go to the area that we fished during the ice season and see if we could muster up a fish. Unfortunately this area was being blasted by the winds and the water was a little cooler in this location and we were not able to find any fish. The wind and cold temps had taken its toll on us and we decided to head in.
It was nice to finally get him out on the open water once again and after watching him fishing today, he is going to be having a great season. With the holiday weekend coming up, never know what our fishing adventures are going to bring us and really looking forward to it.
Lakes are still fairly quiet as anglers are still waiting for the warmer weather to come along and make their experience a little more enjoyable. This makes it a little easier for us getting onto the landings and of course this day was not anything different with cool 48 degree air temps and 15 mph winds blowing.
Water temps have actually dropped a little from the last trip out with 55 degrees being the average from what we were finding. Not knowing what the fish’s mood was going to be, we started out with casting crankbaits to cover water and look for the aggressive fish. That bite never really materialized and a game plan change had to take effect.
Figuring now that the fish were sluggish, changed up to fishing a jig and cruise the shoreline looking for any fish that may be getting ready to spawn. Didn’t take long and a fish took the jig right along the shoreline and after a few reels of the handle came unbuttoned. This was a good sign showing that slowing down was what they were looking for as well and they are utilizing shallow water even if it is still cool.
Moved out of that cove and went to a point and there is a dock coming right off of the point and the end is in about 4-5 feet of water. One hop of the jig and a fish picked it up and felt good as the fight ensued; with the help of my netting partner we were able to get the 3 pound largemouth into the boat. It was nice to finally get that first fish out of the way for the beginning of a new open water season.
We moved around the point and down the back side without finding another bite. Out off of this point there is a gravel underwater hump that comes to 2 feet deep on top with weeds around the outer edge. I through the jig up on top and the second cast a 1 pound bass nailed the jig and felt like there is a pattern coming together at this point.
My son was fishing the hump with a small crankbait and he was having good luck as well as he had caught a small pickerel and a crappie. We worked all around this island and wasn’t able to find anymore bites. We wanted to try one more location before calling it a day.
He wanted to go to the area that we fished during the ice season and see if we could muster up a fish. Unfortunately this area was being blasted by the winds and the water was a little cooler in this location and we were not able to find any fish. The wind and cold temps had taken its toll on us and we decided to head in.
It was nice to finally get him out on the open water once again and after watching him fishing today, he is going to be having a great season. With the holiday weekend coming up, never know what our fishing adventures are going to bring us and really looking forward to it.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Fishing May 1 2011
It was nice to be able to get out onto the open water once again and cast a full sized fishing rod as opposed to fishing the short stick. Lakes are fairly quiet these days yet as with the cool temperatures the pleasure boaters and lakeshore owners have not come out to play yet.
Water temps were in the mid 50’s the morning started very calm but didn’t take long as the winds picked up making for a cold day on the water. Since it is early spring decided to fish with a suspending jerkbait, and hopefully find some largemouth bass.
Fished primarily some back coves on the north to northwest side of the lake and first thing in the morning seemed to be the most productive. Once the winds started blowing quite a bit any bite that was had would totally disappear for the rest of the day.
Casting primarily to the shallow shoreline the pickerel were fairly active as they were the primary fish that were willing to show themselves. After the first hour the winds picked up and after trying many different places on the lake without a bite, decided to call it a day.
Was nice to be able to get out on the open water once again and enjoy some spring fishing again.
Water temps were in the mid 50’s the morning started very calm but didn’t take long as the winds picked up making for a cold day on the water. Since it is early spring decided to fish with a suspending jerkbait, and hopefully find some largemouth bass.
Fished primarily some back coves on the north to northwest side of the lake and first thing in the morning seemed to be the most productive. Once the winds started blowing quite a bit any bite that was had would totally disappear for the rest of the day.
Casting primarily to the shallow shoreline the pickerel were fairly active as they were the primary fish that were willing to show themselves. After the first hour the winds picked up and after trying many different places on the lake without a bite, decided to call it a day.
Was nice to be able to get out on the open water once again and enjoy some spring fishing again.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Fishing February 12 2011
We fished primarily before noon until the sunset with temps in the low 30’s with a fairly stiff breeze blowing most of the time. This particular lake had a number of anglers grouped up in different areas that allowed everyone to have room on the ice to themselves.
After all of the snow storms that we have been experiencing was pleasantly surprised to find the walking conditions very favorable. There is a good layer of compacted snow with 2 separate layers of slush pockets underneath until you hit the 6-8 inches of clean ice. Power augers are the way to go as the anglers that were hand drilling were having a tough time with the slush pockets.
Have fished this lake numerous times during the open water seasons but have never ventured out onto the ice. This lake has a variety of fish species as that is what we were looking for as we weren’t to concerned about which ones but as long as one of them was going to bite, that was going to make our day.
The primary area that we fished was a point that came out with shallow coves that went back behind on each side. The front of the point would drop off into deep water fairly fast and we were working all the different aspects of the shallow areas into the deeper waters.
The shallower waters would have small pickerel on that were caught on tipups and for jigging there were only small perch caught. For the deep water areas we were fishing out to 20 feet deep and the tipups weren’t doing anything but jigging produced many crappies and sunfish.
Working the deeper waters with electronics proved very successful and allowed you to see if you were fishing a productive hole or not as many holes had no activity in them. The jigs of choice were T.H.E. Jig from CKOutdoors and also the “Slug Bug” from Northland Tackles “Bro’s Bug Collection”.
All in all it was a good day to be out on the ice and enjoying some time with my son again as he has been coming a long ways year after year. With the warming trends coming shortly, trips need to be made to the ice as our ice season doesn’t last long once the sun starts getting much warmer.
After all of the snow storms that we have been experiencing was pleasantly surprised to find the walking conditions very favorable. There is a good layer of compacted snow with 2 separate layers of slush pockets underneath until you hit the 6-8 inches of clean ice. Power augers are the way to go as the anglers that were hand drilling were having a tough time with the slush pockets.
Have fished this lake numerous times during the open water seasons but have never ventured out onto the ice. This lake has a variety of fish species as that is what we were looking for as we weren’t to concerned about which ones but as long as one of them was going to bite, that was going to make our day.
The primary area that we fished was a point that came out with shallow coves that went back behind on each side. The front of the point would drop off into deep water fairly fast and we were working all the different aspects of the shallow areas into the deeper waters.
The shallower waters would have small pickerel on that were caught on tipups and for jigging there were only small perch caught. For the deep water areas we were fishing out to 20 feet deep and the tipups weren’t doing anything but jigging produced many crappies and sunfish.
Working the deeper waters with electronics proved very successful and allowed you to see if you were fishing a productive hole or not as many holes had no activity in them. The jigs of choice were T.H.E. Jig from CKOutdoors and also the “Slug Bug” from Northland Tackles “Bro’s Bug Collection”.
All in all it was a good day to be out on the ice and enjoying some time with my son again as he has been coming a long ways year after year. With the warming trends coming shortly, trips need to be made to the ice as our ice season doesn’t last long once the sun starts getting much warmer.
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