Big Blue

So here is what is going on for me on the big blue.  The weather has been stable for the last few days and is predicted to remain that way.  Air temps are rising into the low 90s in the afternoon and minimal cloud cover.  Winds have been gusty out of the SE just about every day approaching 10 to 15 sustained with maybe 20 mph gusts.  Water temps are holding pretty steady where I have been fishing in the mid 70s and of course it is about as clear as you could ever expect.  What I have been trying to do is find the deepest grass I can which is way up river in 30 to 35 ft of water and also in proximity of creek channel intersections, pretty textbook huh.  Boat control is a bit tough with gusty winds but marker buoys help for points of reference.  It is kind of go grind it out on main lake spots hoping a fraction of your casts make it into the strike zone.  The fish are there and they are eating bluegill imitation Omega 1oz promega jigs with a swimbait trailer, senko style and plum ol monster worms.  It is pretty hard to detect the strikes sometimes that deep in the wind but swimming the jig and kinda stroking it when it loads up with grass is somewhat easier, reaction strike I suppose.  The big girls are still kinda absent, best fish this trip would be a pair of 6s and an 8 and that is pretty weak for Amistad but I really have nothing to compare it to as this is my first visit.  On we go, event starts tomorrow and well, I am headed to the water.  

Practice

I have been at Amistad for a couple of days now and am yet to get on a decent dependable pattern.  Conditions are mainly sunny during the day with low clouds haze early and an occasional pop up thunderstorm late in the day.  Winds are always from the SE and howling, 20+ sustained and gusts much higher.  The landscape is so flat around here for the most part it is hard to get out of the wind and really I prefer to fish in the wind but this is ridiculous.  Water temps are in the high 70s to low 80s and gin clear.  If it were not for the wave action I would guess you could see 15 to 20 ft easy.  Early in the day I have been able to pitch senkos and jigs to cover in 6-8 ft of water and catch small fish here and there up to maybe 4lb.  As the day progresses I have been drifting with the wind where it is manageable and dragging a senko with decent numbers but still not the size I am looking for, maybe up to 5lb.  I am really searching for an area with trees in about 12 to 15 ft of water so I can wing my swimbait looking for a kicker fish or two.  I need to make this happen as a 3- 5 lb average will NOT cut it on game day.  I have fished some huge hydrilla flats in Evans and San Pedro up to 30+ ft.  Lots and lots of grass out deep starting a 12 going to 30+.  Today I am going to Tule and Zorro looking for huisache trees and drains cutting in and out of spawning flats.  I think I am going to have to fish much deeper than I am used to to find the big bite.  On we go... 

onward

Wheeler presented an opportunity to me to finally have a decent finish and I failed to capitalize on it.  I had a consistent pattern going all through practice, even though there was a post spawn 'funk' going on there were fish in the bushes and pads.  Black/red tubes and creatures flipped to what water remained under the bushes as well as some top water and swimmers through the pads produced fish for me and my colleagues all week.  I realized that the amount of boat traffic through my areas required me to expand my playing field for day two to some more expansive areas and less pressured areas.  This was not really a game day decision, I knew I needed to do this right after the weigh in day one and well I could not make it happen.  I ran to Limestone creek and fished the first main cut on the right and well my coangler smoked me in there, we then ran to the first point of Flint creek but those fish were NOT present at all then back to my Foxy area to fill my limit of short fish and we finished the day behind Decatur flats fishing tubes through the pads but could not cull up any.  I feel like my strategy was sound even though the water conditions changed a bit, I just could not get it done.  My roomie Dustin Evans from Memphis did though finishing 7th overall and I am really happy for him.  I will state this again, Wheeler is an under rated jewel in north Alabama offering a very diverse fishery just over an hour from Nashville.  If you get the chance to check it out I highly recommend it.  

So I am off to Amistad tomorrow.  Another storied lake I have never been to only read about.  With a little help from Troy and Mike (they bent over backwards, in the rain, at night, in a friggin parking lot) with some custom bream tilapia skirt jobs I hope to find some spawning or schooling gills to go and imitate to fool the big girls.  I have high expectations for this last event of the spring season even though I have never been on this water.  I feel something coming together here and lets hope I am right.

The search is on

I have really come to like Wheeler lake.  It offers a lot of different scenarios in a fairly compact size, if the wind does not blow hard.  Though I personally have not found the big bite I know there are nice fish here both green and brown.  My shallow bite has stayed very consistent through the week and this am we had some rain and that can only help to put a bit more color shallow and maybe and inch or two of depth back in the bushes.  Many areas of the lake are holding fish shallow but the size seems to max out at approx 2 lbs maybe a couple oz over if you stay with it and feel like culling Oz's.  I truly believe that these fish  are residents and simply have no need to move after the spawn.  Mild water temps and an abundance of cover and bait keep them there until the pads unfurl and they are getting bigger by the day.  Only question is,  where are the bigger bass???  For the last three days I have dedicated at least half the day to searching her out and well I have not been successful.  Someone has found them or will find a couple of them two days in a row and maybe that will be me or maybe not, all i can do is go searching again after I put 5 rats in the box.  A couple three to four lb bass will go a long way come end of day Thursday, I estimate the difference between 10 to 11 lbs and 13 to 14 lbs will be like 20 or more places on the leader board so.....the search goes on.......

Wheeler Practice

So fishing on Wheeler for the last few days has been great up to now.  Today I really struggled.  Fished down lake from the Elk river to the dam including first and second creeks, spring creek and a bunch of little main lake cuts along the main channel.  I caught one keeper all day, actually that was the only fish I caught all day.  William caught three keepers all day and a few very short fish but he wasn't really trying to catch the big girls.  Prior to today limits have been no issue but adding up to 11 or 12 lbs isn't going to cut it on game day so I really need to find a few kicker fish and well CATCH them.  Tomorrow's plan is to re check my shallow dealio and make sure the fish are still active but for this to work the water cannot drop out of the bottom of the bushes.  Always a worry on this lake.  A bit of rain would help my confidence level with that bite.  If the lake drops I will be kinda screwed but I'm sort of used to that lol.  Tomorrow is another day and I hope my confidence stays high.  

Wheeler

So Mercury finally did the right thing and sent me a powerhead and I just finished breaking it in.  I hope it stays together.  Put a fury prop on it and well that prop is pretty good to say the least.  Great hole shot, gained a few on the top end and handling is better across the whole powerband.  I will mess with the jackplate a bit and try and get some better numbers out of it but I would not doubt seeing 78 to 80 mph.  

Wheeler practice starts for me on Wed.  I have lived in TN for almost 3 yrs now and I still have not fished it.  I have heard that the majority of the spawn is done, that it is yet to come,  that there is no grass in the entire lake and also that that will make no difference.  What it comes down to is I just have to go and look for myself.  I cannot wait.

unexpected time off

The previously mentioned Mercury issues have kept me out of the PAA event on Neely Henry.  I am a bit peeved about that but I guess it is better than going down there just to have more issues and throwing 1500 away.  Two more cracks were found in the passenger side cylinder head and I think that is what finally changed the mind of Mercury's customer support, they are sending me a new undressed power head.  This news is good of course but I still have reservations about this.  I simply do not think that any mechanical assembly is causing the constant coil failures, a dressed power head may have been the best decision but what do I know, I am just a stupid fisherman, I have not gone to Mercury school.  

William Underwood took me out this last Sunday on Old Hickory in preparation for his upcoming fishers of men event this upcoming Saturday.  I was just happy to wet a line.  A lot of recent rain have turned the channel into pure mud but in the very very backs of creeks we did find some stained water.  Early in the day we saw low to mid 50s water temps and high skies and few bites but still some on crankbaits only, dirt shallow, later in the day we saw clouds and high winds but the bite improved.  We probably caught 18 pounds or so finding mid to high 50s for water and mid 70s for air with a cold front due to come in in the evening.  Fish ate both reaction bait and presentation baits, they were not picky and the closer we came to the fronts arrival the better the bite got.  Pretty much a textbook spring type deal.  Not sure what will happen to those fish come Saturday but they won't be far from where they were.  No signs of spawn yet, still little in the belly but growing goose eggs.  I predict 18 to 20 lbs for a single day event.  

Boat should be done by mid week then it's off to Alabama to see what the deal is on Wheeler.  I CANNOT WAIT TO HAVE A BOAT AGAIN>>>