Rick_Shoup
Senior Member
Surface Temp: 45-48
Clarity: Mostly stained
Lake Level: -13.48ft below pool
Been out with a few clients/friends/family over the past week and the fish have been biting good.
As of today (1/20) the lake is still stained from the mouth of Stamp Creek north. Clearer water can be found from the dam to Iron Hill.
Crappie: Getting good!
Catching several fish trolling Big Bite jigs with curl tail grubs. Black 1/8 oz. jighead w/Chartreuse curl tail seems to be working best for us. Fish are still deep (25-35ft) main lake points and mouths of creeks, but look for the fish to get half way back in the creeks soon.
White Bass: Good!
Early morning you can load the boat!
This week we've had bright sunny days and the bait is drawn to the warmer surface temps. Look for bait surfacing in creeks with stained water and troll jigs or small crankbaits. Many times you will find white bass and crappie mixed together.
Spotted Bass: Very good!
Strike King KVD 1.5 and 2.5 sexy shad crankbaits are catching shallow bass all over the lake. Focus on points and fish slow. Jigging spoons & drop shots in clear water fished 20-40ft deep over brush piles are boating lots of #'s, but our bigger fish are being caught on 3/8 oz. and 1/2 oz. Strike King Tour Grade green pumpkin/purple flake jigs w/craw trailer in stained water. Just a side note...Now is a great time to really hone in on the jigging spoon bite. If you stick with it you will catch fish!
Striper/Hybrid: Good!
Early morning fish points and the mouths of creeks in the 50-100ft depth range with trout down-lined 25-35ft. Just keep an eye on your electronics and adjust the depth of your down-line baits to depth of the fish. Today, the free-line bite out produced the down-line bite from morning til noon. Later we caught fish 40-50ft deep over 80-100ft of water. One thing Louie B. constantly emphasizes to me...is the importance of having a good mapping system when fishing for hybrids or stripers. My LakeMaster map is one of the most valuable pieces of equipment on my boat. Pay attention to the under water points and humps on your graph. When you catch a fish try to find other areas with similar features. This will eliminate fishing a lot of dead water.
See you on the water!
Rick
Clarity: Mostly stained
Lake Level: -13.48ft below pool
Been out with a few clients/friends/family over the past week and the fish have been biting good.
As of today (1/20) the lake is still stained from the mouth of Stamp Creek north. Clearer water can be found from the dam to Iron Hill.
Crappie: Getting good!
Catching several fish trolling Big Bite jigs with curl tail grubs. Black 1/8 oz. jighead w/Chartreuse curl tail seems to be working best for us. Fish are still deep (25-35ft) main lake points and mouths of creeks, but look for the fish to get half way back in the creeks soon.
White Bass: Good!
Early morning you can load the boat!
This week we've had bright sunny days and the bait is drawn to the warmer surface temps. Look for bait surfacing in creeks with stained water and troll jigs or small crankbaits. Many times you will find white bass and crappie mixed together.
Spotted Bass: Very good!
Strike King KVD 1.5 and 2.5 sexy shad crankbaits are catching shallow bass all over the lake. Focus on points and fish slow. Jigging spoons & drop shots in clear water fished 20-40ft deep over brush piles are boating lots of #'s, but our bigger fish are being caught on 3/8 oz. and 1/2 oz. Strike King Tour Grade green pumpkin/purple flake jigs w/craw trailer in stained water. Just a side note...Now is a great time to really hone in on the jigging spoon bite. If you stick with it you will catch fish!
Striper/Hybrid: Good!
Early morning fish points and the mouths of creeks in the 50-100ft depth range with trout down-lined 25-35ft. Just keep an eye on your electronics and adjust the depth of your down-line baits to depth of the fish. Today, the free-line bite out produced the down-line bite from morning til noon. Later we caught fish 40-50ft deep over 80-100ft of water. One thing Louie B. constantly emphasizes to me...is the importance of having a good mapping system when fishing for hybrids or stripers. My LakeMaster map is one of the most valuable pieces of equipment on my boat. Pay attention to the under water points and humps on your graph. When you catch a fish try to find other areas with similar features. This will eliminate fishing a lot of dead water.
See you on the water!
Rick
