HangnMoss
Well-known member
It was a tough day, but I'm proud to say all our fish came off two of my old 'standby spots'. I just didn't catch them. Eight fish boated, only one by me, but my single fish filled our limit. I did manage to attract a few gar throughout the day. I got one gar in the boat (accidentally), but then couldn't get hold of the slimy thing to get it back out of the boat.
First keeper caught on topwater over grass next to a small dredged channel within sight of launchpoint (old standby spot #1) around 5:30. Had at least half a dozen other blowups without hookups. Second keeper caught off a grassy point & saddle (old standby spot #2) around 6:30 on topwater. Now we fast-forward through three short fish and six and a half hours of boredom & baking in the sun. Last three keepers came in the last 30 minutes of fishing. Third keeper came from the second pass of old standby spot #2 around the saddle, fourth keeper (6.33 lb) came from the longest side of point at old standby spot #2, and fifth keeper (mine, finally) came from same area as the big'un. Morning fish caught on poppers, rest of fish caught on 10 inch worms off grass in 5-8 feet of water. Not just any grass, though. It had to be grass with underlying structure - areas that would hold fish even in a lake with no grass.
During our slump we tried grass transitions, humps with grass, dropoffs with grass, wood, docks, and even more grass. We threw crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Carolina rigged plastics, Texas-pegged plastics, jigs, and weightless senkos - wait that was just me. FishinTenn just threw Texas-pegged plastics and jigs. The fish just weren't where we expected them to be, or they weren't biting. I suggested it was my turn to pick the next patch of dead water and chose to return to standby spot #2. We must've hit it at the right time because we filled our limit in the last 30 minutes with 15 minutes to spare.
I could make excuses for myself and say I didn't boat much because I was fishing from the back of the boat, but I spent as much time flipping from the front deck as I did casting from the back deck. I could say I had nothing but problems all day, starting with my very first cast (gee, who put that light pole there), but FishinTenn was kind enough to help me retrieve my lure, so I'll confess. I was on the trolling motor when FishinTenn caught his big'un. He had gone to the back to swap out sandles for shoes so his feet wouldn't blister. He made a couple casts from back there and hooked up. I can take half the credit, though. While he was swapping his footwear, I took us to an area of standby spot #2 FishinTenn had no intentions of fishing emoLaugh
Oh yeah, did I mention I had to cut the same crankbait out of my shorts leg three times? I was apparently having a clumsy day.
First keeper caught on topwater over grass next to a small dredged channel within sight of launchpoint (old standby spot #1) around 5:30. Had at least half a dozen other blowups without hookups. Second keeper caught off a grassy point & saddle (old standby spot #2) around 6:30 on topwater. Now we fast-forward through three short fish and six and a half hours of boredom & baking in the sun. Last three keepers came in the last 30 minutes of fishing. Third keeper came from the second pass of old standby spot #2 around the saddle, fourth keeper (6.33 lb) came from the longest side of point at old standby spot #2, and fifth keeper (mine, finally) came from same area as the big'un. Morning fish caught on poppers, rest of fish caught on 10 inch worms off grass in 5-8 feet of water. Not just any grass, though. It had to be grass with underlying structure - areas that would hold fish even in a lake with no grass.
During our slump we tried grass transitions, humps with grass, dropoffs with grass, wood, docks, and even more grass. We threw crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Carolina rigged plastics, Texas-pegged plastics, jigs, and weightless senkos - wait that was just me. FishinTenn just threw Texas-pegged plastics and jigs. The fish just weren't where we expected them to be, or they weren't biting. I suggested it was my turn to pick the next patch of dead water and chose to return to standby spot #2. We must've hit it at the right time because we filled our limit in the last 30 minutes with 15 minutes to spare.
I could make excuses for myself and say I didn't boat much because I was fishing from the back of the boat, but I spent as much time flipping from the front deck as I did casting from the back deck. I could say I had nothing but problems all day, starting with my very first cast (gee, who put that light pole there), but FishinTenn was kind enough to help me retrieve my lure, so I'll confess. I was on the trolling motor when FishinTenn caught his big'un. He had gone to the back to swap out sandles for shoes so his feet wouldn't blister. He made a couple casts from back there and hooked up. I can take half the credit, though. While he was swapping his footwear, I took us to an area of standby spot #2 FishinTenn had no intentions of fishing emoLaugh
Oh yeah, did I mention I had to cut the same crankbait out of my shorts leg three times? I was apparently having a clumsy day.
