Pool 14

Haven’t seen anybody posting about pool 14 in a long time so, thought I’d just throw this one out there.

I haven’t been able to get out much this spring due to work, family and lousy weather so, with clear skies, light winds and mild temperatures this morning, I figured there was only one thing to do. Hook up the boat and head to the river.

Only had a few hours to spend so, I decided to concentrate on just a couple of wing dams near the Camanche/Albany area. For two hours I threw everything I could think of. Cranks, jigs, ringworms, live bait, three ways. Above the dam, below the dam and on top of the dam. End result was a big fat zero.

With only a a bit better than an hour before it was time to go, I thought I’d try my “go to” presentation. Simply put, anchor about 20 yards above the dam, chuck a worm on a harness over the top of the dam, then work it up the back, across the top and down the front of the dam. By the time I had to go I had boated 6 eye’s, (4 short and 2 slot keepers), two cats and a sheephead.

It doesn’t sound like much but, when all else fails, this “presentation”, always seems to bring at least a few fish to my boat.

Anyone else having any luck on 14?

That report sounds pretty good to me for 1 hr of fishing. What kind of lead did you have on your harness? I like the worm harnesses with colorado spinner blades and I run a bass style bullet sinker above a swivel that then connects to the harness.

Yeah, not too bad for an hour. Must have hit them at the right time and place. Wish I had tried it earlier.

I ran a bullet sinker, (just heavy enough to keep the bait down but not dug into the rocks), with a swivel like you. Below the swivel I just ran about 4 feet of line and a couple of hooks in line to make the harness. Just hand tied with no spinners but, that probably wouldn’t have hurt. Just wanted to keep it simple.

Don’t know why but this setup always seems to work for me.

We call that the bare hook set up, sometimes it’s the hottest thing going when nothing else is working. I get caught up in a lot of flashy baits, sometimes going simple is what it takes. Last night we were pulling cranks and I switched over to a simple crawler harness with a small blade and that was the ticket. It was wiper city. Those things are the fastest fish in fresh water. I still think it is a close comparison with smallies for overall fight but they are definitely faster than any freshwater fish I have caught.

I;’ve been hitting the wings for a couple hours here and there on pool 14. The bite seems to be picking up. I’ve been picking up quite a few fish pitching 3/16 to 3/8 oz. jigs with a half a crawler, no plastic. Also get a quite a few fish on my “dead stick” rod, which is a crawler on a 8-18″ leader below a 3/8 to 1/2 oz egg sinker. I’ve had best luck using a phelps floater or a styrofoam float in front of a single hook. I’ve not had much success with multiple hook crawler harness’, but have done well with #4 or #5 spinners on a three way with a 5/8 or 3/4 oz jig for a dropper. I use a ring worm on the dropper jig, and have picked up several fish on this as well. I generally use the trolling motor and slip across the face of the dam with this rig.
I’ve been wanting to get a report up, but have been out alone most times and don’t have any good pics to post. In general, I’ve been averaging 2-3 fish an hour, with several fish over 20, and several 13-15″ fish, as well as a good many “keeper” size fish. Biggest so far was 26 1/2″ fat girl on a wing in the Clinton area. She was a real beauty, but my camera was in the truck.