The last week of fishing has been kinda funny between "pop-up" storms, fronts, and high winds fishing has been solid but size has been up and down. We started off the week after returning from Center Hill expecting the fishing to be good and it was. My trips this week have seen some awesome numbers and as the week grew on the size got better as well. Most of the best numbers are being seen still in pockets and in the shallow waters. Our best baits for the solid 15-18 pound bags have been Lake Fork Green Pumpkin Lizards and Jackall 6.8 Flick Shake worms in any color you want to use.
During the week I moved alot looking for the bigger bite and by the end of the week I found it. While the Shad Spawn is only days from kicking off, the ledge bite is getting hot. One key is finding green grass in 8-12 feet of water near shell beds. I got the chance to do some searching and found some grass on this pattern working well with Jackall Muscle 10+ crankbaits(shad colors) and two types of swimbaits. Both the Jackall Swimming Ninja(hitch) and Lake Fork Live Magic Shad(shad) are boating some great fish but the bite is slow as the day wears on.
The Jig bite is also picking up for us on the ledges and mouths of creek channels. I first position my boat on the down river side of the structure and work the bait with the current. After the bite seems to slow down(about a bite every 30-45 min.) I re-position the boat and fish the area again working into the mouth of the channel and dropping off into deeper water. This is also working with swimbaits but the jig seems to get the less aggressive fish.
As far as an outlook for the up coming week the weather will play a factor in the fishing. Brad Huffins of WAAY 31 says the weather will be nothing short of awesome this coming week with lows in the mid 60's and highs in the 80's all week. This should do nothing but more fish moving to the ledge and the topwater bite could get stronger as the week wears on. Ledges are going to be better all week as well as the creek channels where they meet the main river channel. With the big rains up north the TVA "should" be running water hard so finding stumps on the ledges will also be important, as this give some of those tired big fish a place to hide from heavy currents as they feed throughout the day to re-gain some mojo from the spawn.
Also hit the ledges first thing in the morning as well as open water humps looking for shad. I would suggest throwing a spinnerbait with the boat positioned in deeper water and throwing into the shallows. White seems to be the color that has worked best in years past. If you see shad following your bait your in the right area. After working the area solid and catching a few fish switch it up and use a swimbait and then a crankbait to catch a few more. Once the shad spawn starts fishing will be crazy every morning on this pattern for atleast 2 weeks. Once the sun gets up(around 8-9 am) that bite dies and the fish seem to shut down. Even though you should have 20+ pounds by this time you can still work the areas with the jig, spoon, or craw baits and get a few more bites.
Hope this report helps you guys/gals out in the following trips and you get out and enjoy this great weather and resource we have. Please remember to get a few pictures and get those fish back in the water so another angler can have the chance to catch the fsih of a lifetime. Thank you to everyone for thier continued support and please remember to support our sponsors. If it wasnt for them we couldnt be living this awesome dream. ROCK ON!!!
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment