Hit the lake at about 6pm and my buddy discovered motor problems so we just stayed close to the launch and used the electric. NO success on various presentations in shaded shore areas but if you stayed in the sun and along rocky shorelines, the gills and crappies (small ones) were biting on small jigs and smallies were on a tear for Mr. Twisters. Once the sun went down, the bites we found disappeared as well. Biggest fish was about 13″.
9/11
Saw how gorgeous today was and decided to get the inflatable out again around noon. Found that a worm and hook off the side of the craft, only 2′-3′ down, was turning me onto some of the biggest gills I’ve seen in that lake in years! I’d dangle a long shank #8 hook and let the fish hook themselves while I hunted for a bass bite. Many were bigger than my hand, which is HUGE for this “stunted” gill water! In my hunt for the bass, I finally found them willing to go ape over a little generic stick bait made by Galyans, with an orange back and white sides and underbelly, 1/16 oz. and 1 1/2″ long. It only dives about a foot maximum but has a real erratic motion at a slow retrieve and when I’d find one, I’d usually find 3-5 more within the same area. Most were smallies ranging 10-14″ with one 15″ kicker on the day. Only one largemouth but it was a runt…………….about 8″!
Also found a couple perch on this lure……….one at 8″ and one at 9″! I think I could’ve pulled some more but boat wakes came crashing into the hole I’d found and ALL bites in that area went bye-bye. Again, once the mid-afternoon turned to early evening, the bite became more finnicky and sunlight seemed to play a role in the activity areas………………I guess cuz the baitfish schools were moving to any place they could stay in it.
I didn’t keep any exact counts today but I’d feel safe saying that 8 of about 15 gills were AWESOME, 1 11″ crappie, 2 decent perch (for this lake), and 25 or so bass. Also, the best bite found was between 1pm and 4pm. Things got tougher from there but I can say I had a busy day!
Anyone else getting out there? Somewhere? Seems to me my “go to” techniques aren’t what’s producing but there’s a whale of a bite to be found with a little trial and error. Hoping to report more soon!