Watch the wind chill and keep a dry pair of gloves handy. Well, we went from cold to hot fast so leave the jacket at home and grab the sunscreen.
Caught some good fish this week but they had to rush off before we got a pic so threw in this one from the ‘90s of me on a cold winter day.
Well, a lot has changed this week with the warm weather. Water temps went from 78° to 83° both here at Holiday Island and on Beaver Lake. Last week the thermocline did not matter. This week it does.
Last week we caught stripers from the surface without weights and below with weights, and shad did great even on top. From now till September, add the weight. Get the bait down in cooler water or they will die.
Stripers are still being caught on topwater lures close to sunrise and sunset on top water lures and shad, brood shiners and perch, early and late in the day 18 – 30 ft. deep from the dam to Rocky Branch. As the water warms more the more they will move into the cooler water near the dam.
Here at Holiday Island we still have some big schools of white bass between Beaver and Houseman in the river. A lot of our warm water fish will go deeper here to cool off, but a lot of bait and fish know cooler water is also up river. Go up till the temp starts dropping into the 70s. You will know you’re there when you see bait on top, and hear on the shoreline along with the cows, hint, Cows Creek.
Here closer to the Island we still have walleye off the flats being caught 10 – 20 ft. deep on jigs tipped with a minnow or worm, 1oz. spoons and trolling deeper diving crankbaits. Crappie and bass have moved closer to the 10 – 15 ft. department close to the trees and sunken brush.
If you’re fishing off the shoreline you can now get bigger perch near brush and rocks on worms, crickets and grubs, or go for some trout from Houseman to the dam.
Lake Leatherwood is also a good place to go now if you want to try for some crappie, catfish, bass or perch. They can point you in the right direction and also rent you a canoe, kayak or rowboat close to the cost of when I was a kid, and that was a ways back.
Well that’s it for this week, fish the cooler hours and stay cool.
Robert Johnson, fishofexcellence.com, (479) 253-2258