Supposed to be a mineral lick and not a toilet!

Whew!!! After reading the subject, and the poster, I was afraid to open in fear of seeing a picture of John sun bathing on his front deck. Luckily I got to keep my breakfast in me.

Maybe as your lure is heading towards them, the fish are thinking.. “Oh no… there’s John…. again!”

So on a serious note, do you think it has to do with there mood has to do with their digestive behavior? I had always heard that in very early spring (after ice out up here) that a fish has a transition period between winter and spring. They are cold blooded so they didn’t move much in winter, or eat much, so there stomach adapted to very little food. Now that it’s warming up, they can’t just start off feedign like crazy, and they “ease” their way in to it. So they are eating few times, and small things right now to get their stomach going again. The fact they they are up “sunning” would seem to indicate they are “warming” up and there metabolism should kick into high gear soon. As opposed to the same situation in the fall when they have been feeding heavily and are moving up to warmer water to feed.

Dunno, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

By the way, let me know exactly where they are and I can go “test” out my theory and let you know.

me too………

that was not an accident on the crappie jig, that was a FLOAT AND FLY BASS. and now is the time for it. because that’s what they will eat.

we caught a limit on Upper and lower Nahbobin about 30 years ago, just doing that. using a crappie jig and pork rind ,and letting the bobber drift down a weed edge or across a sand point. two different places but it was a double limit of bass when no one else in the Okauchee club caught any that day.

late in the day, I caught a couple on a jerk bait, back then it was a Bagleys minnow bait. but a Rouge would do the same today.

What the matter Chuck…don’t want to see a beluga sunning on the frond deck of a Ranger.
My experience with immediate ice out fishing contradicts the small meal theory. At 40 degrees they will wolf down a full size jig n pig or have a ½ oz spinnerbait out of sight. My experience is this a one or two day phenomena.
Old Rat… shhhhh
I could just post the GPS coordinates for everyone!

John

John, I saw what you described yesterday afternoon. I didnt notice until I really started paying attention (New Solar Bats are awesome).

The fish were hanging out on the tops of the lay downs among the smaller branches, just under the surface. They would usually take off once you got too close though. I dont think there was much on their mind except for warming up.

I started with a big jig, like I normally do in the spring, but with the bit of turnover coming off the bottom in the area and seeing these fish suspended, I switched to a senko (not an easy task for 40 MPH wind). Id throw it into anywhere that the sun was shining let it sit for about 20 seconds then lift and repeat. Numbers were there, just not the size.

Good girl foxxy, but I told you to stay in the trunk last time we were over there!

Joel