Robert Johnson – Here’s a good thumbs up for Johnny’s grandson, 7 year-old Blaze Dunn, who spent two days with Grandpa learning how to throw a big popper for stripers on Beaver. Probably helped a bit with Johnny being a guide, too. Johnny is Johnny Glantz of Big1’s Striper Guide out of Rogers. The deerslayer who had to drag a deer to the lake to get it out from under his boat in one of my reports year before last. Also the other boat I’m talking with when we’re both on the water.
Blaze, now he’s just like his Grandpa getting his first deer last year at 6 shooting a crossbow. Thumbs up Blaze. This week our water temp creeped up to about 75° on both lakes which has brought more stripers moving towards our end of the lake where the deeper water will be cooler through the summer.
Stripers are being caught from the Beaver Dam area all the way to Point 8 West of Rocky Branch Park. Most are still being caught from the surface down to 20 feet. After this warm weather we have coming this week, I do believe the weights will have to go back on to get below the thermoclime, which runs about 28 feet with surface feeding fish coming up but going back down pretty fast.
But that is then and this is now, so we’re still catching more on topwater lures and freelining shad, perch or brood shiners over 4 inches long.
Here at Holiday Island, the walleye are being caught off the flats at 12 – 18 ft. deep. Minnows and a jig worked slow off the bottom might find you some. As we warm, more a jig tipped with a nightcrawler can do better than the minnow.
A lot of spotted bass can be caught throwing topwater baits, crankbaits, swimbaits or just putting on a minnow under a slip float from 4 – 18 ft. deep, along with the crappie. Bigger perch are moving into the shoreline brush now for their spawn.
Save a minnow, use a worm and it should pretty easy to catch a few for dinner or to just keep a kid happy. Time to let you go again, enjoy the Ozarks and enjoy the summer, for here it comes.
Robert Johnson, fishofexcellence.com, (479) 253-2258