Fish Catching Travel
Can’t wait to try KVD’s new Tournament Buzzbait.
Weather + Solunar Times – Not a clue today, to tired to look it up this morning, we just went fishing!
The best balsa baits on the market.
Alabama Rig Heaven
As I said yesterday, hope springs eternal. Well today it was not a matter of hope, it was making the right decisions at the right time. The wind was supposed to blow 10 -15 out of the SE, and it got started right away and never really got below 15. It was still cool, and the water temp has now dropped to around 50, approximately a 5 -7 degree drop since we got here. The result of that is the fish have backed off somewhat from the springtime pre-spawn, and it has made it a little tougher than it might be. But today worked out just fine.
Nice chunky largemouth today. Things are looking up! The Alabama Rig is the ticket.
With the bite still being in the afternoon I made a decision that we should go back to Float Creek for the day. There is a bank in there that Shoedog’s daughter caught a good one off so we hit it, and put a couple in the boat. From there we kept hunting and pecking and around noon Shoedog had 6 or 7 in the boat and I think I had one. Over the 20 years I guided here Float was one of the major creeks I knew every inch of, and as it warmed up I called on the years of experience. So we went to do what I knew we should do, where we should do it, and it worked like a charm.
A nice hybrid and one of a bunch of good white bass. Great fighters.
In the early spring on these highland lakes the fish and the shad all head to the warmest water, which is usually the back end of flat creeks. And to catch those early pre-spawn largemouth and post spawn whites, hybrids, and stripers go to the flattest banks with sun on them. We pulled up on the first point and it was game on. For the next 5 hours we fished the Alabama rigs in water from a couple of feet deep out to about 10 feet. And excuse my French, but they were knocking the shit out of it.
A small striper (notice no broken lines), one of 4 or 5 I caught today. We just keep whackin’ em.
Reeling them at moderate speed they just kept coming. Often 2 or 3 bites at a time, it was just plain awesome. We did notice that the A Rig with the added blades was a little better than the plain wire. And after catching all the above the bass started. In one stretch we caught 7 or 8. I caught whites, stripers, hybrids, largemouth, smallmouth, and Kentuckies, to almost complete a major Norfork slam. Shoedog did not catch a Kentucky, but all the rest and a nice crappie. It was just a fish catching travel good time.
Broken lines tell you it is a hybrid and not a striper. Shoedog with a smallmouth.
It is impossible to say how many we caught, but it was easily in the 30’s, most really nice solid fish. Spring time in the Ozarks is such a good time to fish. The weather plays a big role, but with a little thought and adaptation you can put fish in the boat. The bass here are ready to hit the beds, a warming trend and this next moon and they will be hot at it. The Bassmasters will be here in April and I promise you it will be a killing.
And this trip is a perfect example of why when we go we try to stay at least 4 days, and a week if possible. I know everyone can not do that, but this trip we have had a tough day, then killed them, then tough, and then whacked them. Staying as long as possible keeps you from being screwed by the weather.
I am starting to feel it now. My hands are trashed, my back is tired, face wind burned, all the hazards of being outdoors in early spring weather. And I could not be happier. Tomorrow it may rain by early afternoon so we will try to get out real early in case. So keep stopping in, we are not done yet, and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
