Post by 31Airborne on Feb 9, 2023 12:49:57 GMT -5
Boss owed me a day so I took it. And what a day it was. 70* in early FEB - whooda thunk it. Saw quite a few boats, more than I expected, but they were all fishermen. Everyone had their own little piece of the lake today.
I took a quick look at my notes from previous trips from this time of year, so my plan was to target main lake points and the first few sets of secondary points in the main feeder creeks. Started off slow, but about mid morning things picked up. I made a run above the 122 bridge to hit some favorite spots and hooked up almost immediately on a jig and then a jerk bait. The bites were no-doubters. I mean they killed it. And they were shallow. In fact, all of my bites today came in 8' of water or less. I didn't have a lot of bites, but all of them were good. Was able to replicate this pattern in a number of places as I worked my way back.
Observations: 1) WTs ranged from 46.1 at the state park at launch to 47.6 ~3 miles above the 122 bridge. Water is gin clear on the main lake and most of the creeks. Picks up a little stain back in the creeks, but you still have ~4' of viz. 2) Baitfish activity was sporadic. For the most part, I saw small pods deep in creek channels. I did see a couple places where the stripers had pushed the bait up into the shallows. Not a lot of feeding activity associated with this. A couple of hits and then it died. 3) Smaller profile jerkbaits were better than full sized. Steady cadence was better than long pauses. 4) Heavier jigs were better than lighter jigs. They wanted a fast fall. All of my bites were on the fall. 5) Points with rocks were best. Points with rocks on channel swings were money. Main lake and secondary points all produced. Just had to cover some water. 6) The wind was an enabler today. No wind, no bites. Wind blowing across structure was better than wind blowing in on it. 7) Fish appeared to be hanging on breaks. Sharp breaks. Isolated boulders and rock piles count as areas w/ sharp breaks.
Was really good to get out. Had been a few weeks and I was Jonesin'. Getting some fish stink on me was a bonus. Headed to Kerr next week for our first FoM event of the year. Can't wait. Back on SML early APR. Will get in a few more scouting trips in advance of that trip.
peace,
B
I took a quick look at my notes from previous trips from this time of year, so my plan was to target main lake points and the first few sets of secondary points in the main feeder creeks. Started off slow, but about mid morning things picked up. I made a run above the 122 bridge to hit some favorite spots and hooked up almost immediately on a jig and then a jerk bait. The bites were no-doubters. I mean they killed it. And they were shallow. In fact, all of my bites today came in 8' of water or less. I didn't have a lot of bites, but all of them were good. Was able to replicate this pattern in a number of places as I worked my way back.
Observations: 1) WTs ranged from 46.1 at the state park at launch to 47.6 ~3 miles above the 122 bridge. Water is gin clear on the main lake and most of the creeks. Picks up a little stain back in the creeks, but you still have ~4' of viz. 2) Baitfish activity was sporadic. For the most part, I saw small pods deep in creek channels. I did see a couple places where the stripers had pushed the bait up into the shallows. Not a lot of feeding activity associated with this. A couple of hits and then it died. 3) Smaller profile jerkbaits were better than full sized. Steady cadence was better than long pauses. 4) Heavier jigs were better than lighter jigs. They wanted a fast fall. All of my bites were on the fall. 5) Points with rocks were best. Points with rocks on channel swings were money. Main lake and secondary points all produced. Just had to cover some water. 6) The wind was an enabler today. No wind, no bites. Wind blowing across structure was better than wind blowing in on it. 7) Fish appeared to be hanging on breaks. Sharp breaks. Isolated boulders and rock piles count as areas w/ sharp breaks.
Was really good to get out. Had been a few weeks and I was Jonesin'. Getting some fish stink on me was a bonus. Headed to Kerr next week for our first FoM event of the year. Can't wait. Back on SML early APR. Will get in a few more scouting trips in advance of that trip.
peace,
B
