Post by striperjunkie on Apr 30, 2019 22:40:42 GMT -5
A little delayed here, but better late than never:
Friday, April 26, 11AM - 3PM
Weather: Passing bands of rain and wind, lightning at 3:00 that sent us off the water
AT: 67 - 69
WT: 66.5 - 66 (dropping temp)
Focused on primary points off the main channel, figured the overcast skies might provide for some decent daytime action. Threw 1/4 - 3/8oz jighead flukes and paddletails in 7 - 15 feet of water. Had one take - I thought it felt more like a LMB, but I clean whiffed on the hookset so I'll never really know. No other action.
9PM - 1:30AM
Weather cleared in the evening for a really nice night when we set out. Fished a couple points and humps just upriver of the S curves. We heard a good number of shad/alewives flipping around, and heard the occasional striper blowing up. We tried throwing weightless flukes, a 7" CC Red Fin, a Super Spook, and a 5" Ripplin Red Fin. Got one big take on the 7" Smokey Joe, but my buddy missed the hookset.
Saturday April 27, 12PM - 6PM
Weather: Sunny, breezy
AT: 66 - 72
WT: 65.5 (steady)
Hopped from cove to cove, looking for any interested bass. Didn't fish very hard, and didn't have anything to show for it. Couldn't complain with such beautiful weather.
10PM - 1AM
Fished a series of points on Craddock Creek, an area we'd scouted during the daylight hours. First three points had minimal action as far as the alewives were concerned. Fourth point was by far the biggest, and the ales were flipping all over. Every couple of minutes the alewives were interrupted by a tell tale "splash-smack." We threw everything we had - all the same stuff from last night plus some 5" CC Red Fins, 1/4oz jighead flukes, 1/4oz jigheads with paddletails, and a classic Zara Spook. I finally connected with one dink (~15" or so) on a weightless fluke just as my buddy was ready to call it a night.
All in all, it was a great trip. The weekend weather turned out beautiful after a nasty start on Friday. Looking back on it, I think the biggest thing we could have done differently would have been to start fishing around 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening. Even still, it was a bit of a frustrating experience to have fish breaking the surface all around us and not connect. My best explanation to myself was that the water temp took a bit of a dip over the course of the weekend, and the barometric pressure was on a roller coaster ride. Even still, the fish were eating, and we weren't connecting.
Any tips or advice would be great appreciated. SML is a beautiful body of water, and I'm looking forward to my next trip out that way.
Friday, April 26, 11AM - 3PM
Weather: Passing bands of rain and wind, lightning at 3:00 that sent us off the water
AT: 67 - 69
WT: 66.5 - 66 (dropping temp)
Focused on primary points off the main channel, figured the overcast skies might provide for some decent daytime action. Threw 1/4 - 3/8oz jighead flukes and paddletails in 7 - 15 feet of water. Had one take - I thought it felt more like a LMB, but I clean whiffed on the hookset so I'll never really know. No other action.
9PM - 1:30AM
Weather cleared in the evening for a really nice night when we set out. Fished a couple points and humps just upriver of the S curves. We heard a good number of shad/alewives flipping around, and heard the occasional striper blowing up. We tried throwing weightless flukes, a 7" CC Red Fin, a Super Spook, and a 5" Ripplin Red Fin. Got one big take on the 7" Smokey Joe, but my buddy missed the hookset.
Saturday April 27, 12PM - 6PM
Weather: Sunny, breezy
AT: 66 - 72
WT: 65.5 (steady)
Hopped from cove to cove, looking for any interested bass. Didn't fish very hard, and didn't have anything to show for it. Couldn't complain with such beautiful weather.
10PM - 1AM
Fished a series of points on Craddock Creek, an area we'd scouted during the daylight hours. First three points had minimal action as far as the alewives were concerned. Fourth point was by far the biggest, and the ales were flipping all over. Every couple of minutes the alewives were interrupted by a tell tale "splash-smack." We threw everything we had - all the same stuff from last night plus some 5" CC Red Fins, 1/4oz jighead flukes, 1/4oz jigheads with paddletails, and a classic Zara Spook. I finally connected with one dink (~15" or so) on a weightless fluke just as my buddy was ready to call it a night.
All in all, it was a great trip. The weekend weather turned out beautiful after a nasty start on Friday. Looking back on it, I think the biggest thing we could have done differently would have been to start fishing around 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening. Even still, it was a bit of a frustrating experience to have fish breaking the surface all around us and not connect. My best explanation to myself was that the water temp took a bit of a dip over the course of the weekend, and the barometric pressure was on a roller coaster ride. Even still, the fish were eating, and we weren't connecting.
Any tips or advice would be great appreciated. SML is a beautiful body of water, and I'm looking forward to my next trip out that way.