Water Temp

WT 56.3 degrees last night.

Spring is Here

Trolling motor is out, have ordered parts from Minn Kota. Went today, no trolling motor, just to run the big motor. Got lucky caught a 4 lb largemouth, suspended over 55 ft of water. Remember catch and release, have included some pics.

Use of maps

The site below is a good site to mark your fish so at a later date you can go back and see where you caught fish, what you caught them on, when you caught them, and how deep they were.
When you name your icon, I use 3dec 2sp wrm 58f, 3 dec being the date, 2sp being 2 spotted bass, wrn being I caught the fish on a worm, and 58f being how deep the fish were. You save that map to my maps and next year or this year you can see where you caught fish in that month. I catch fish in the same places year after year with the same type of bait. This way you can establish a milk run, so you can hit all of the places, one after the other to see which sites the fish are feeding on. Remember just because the fish are not feeding on a spot when you check it, does not mean, that they will not move up on the spot or start feeding in that spot later in the day. I hope this helps, remember catch and release. The icons and how you mark your maps is located in the bottom left under fun tools. Click on fun tools and it will walk you through the steps. One drawback is you can only make one mark on that map. I use just the arrow where I can use the point of the arrow to be specific on where I mark, with the point of the arrow. This map is of my lake but all you do is put your zip or location in the top left and your lake will come up.
Go to maptech.com click on online maps, then click on maptech mapserver enter you location and get your map.

3 Dec 2007

Caught 7 fish, 2 largemouth and 5 spotted bass, most were small with only two fish going over 2 lbs. Six of the fish wewe caught in from 50-60 feet of water. One of the larger fish was caught suspended over 80 feet of water. All the other fish were on structure, point, creek channel or hump, on the bottom. Fished from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. No pics today, I deleted them by mistake uploading them.

1 Dec 2007

Caught four small fish Sat, Dec 1, 2007. I fished from noon until 4 pm and have included pics of the best two. WT 62, AT 60, clear, wind 5-9 MPH. All four fish were caught in 45 ft of water are better, with the deepest at 58 ft. Their were a lot of boats on the lake, to be fishing in the middle of the creek channel. I will post later what I look for in eliminating water, that I believe does not hold fish.

Eyes Open

One day in 2003 my son and I were fishing and I was telling him stories about fishing with my father, his grandfather. I had told him several crappie fishing stories and something I said in one of the stories open my eyes, and changed my fishing, for life. I was telling my son Jason how my mother always came out of the house and ask my father "Well did you catch anything". My father would answer more times as not " No they wasn't biten ". When I told my son that, all of a sudden something hit me. My father lied to my mother every time he told her that. What he should have said to her was " No honey, we were not fishing in the right place, with the right bait". Fish eat all the time, less in water 60 degrees and below, but they still eat. Some days they eat more than others, but in water 65 degrees and above they have no choice but to eat, it is a matter of life and death to them. So from now on, don't blame the fish, it is your fault and your fault alone, if you don't catch fish, so admit it, don't lie. If you just like to ride around the lake at 60-65 MPH burning $3.00 a gallon gas and looking at the wildlife on the bank, more power to you, but if you want to catch fish, you will have to work at it. I see people put their boat in at a landing race 12-15 miles up the lake at the speed of sound before they ever drop a line in the water. I would love to know how many fish they ran by to get to that spot. I catch 90 percent of my fish within 2 miles of my dock. In that 2 miles I have 2 foot water and 80 foot water all I need to catch fish 365 days a year. I do understand that fish migrate, but just as far as they need to so they can find the two things that they need in life. Those two things are, the most comfortable water temperature and food. If you have from 0-80 feet of water and shad, you have fish that are catchable year around. But not on the bank. I firmly believe in the saying that 90 percent of the fish, at any season, are in 10 percent of the water. You just have to find the 10 percent.

More on depth finders

Links for more info on depth finders and how to use them. Here is something you might want to think about. People tell me all the time that " I see fish, throw out a marker come back around and fish the marker, but I can't see the fish". Remember if you are using a transducer that shoots a 20 degree cone angle, as most do, and you are in 60 ft of water, that picture that you are looking at covers 20 feet of the bottom (3 1/2 times the depth). If the fish is in the outside of the cone and on the right side of the boat when you go over it, and you throw the marker on the left side of the boat that fish could be 10-14 ft from the marker . When you go back to your marker just use it for a reference, remember too, that fish move, they don't stay in one place long. Use baits that get down fast, when fishing deep water, this puts you on the fish quicker before they move. Sometimes, when trolling and I see fish, I take my boat out of gear, put it in reverse for a few seconds, have the rod in my hand, drop the bait and if I catch a fish, then I throw out a marker and shut the big motor off. This has worked many times to pick up a single fish or find a school. I have more times than I can remember seen one fish on the screen, stop and catch 1-16 fish in a spot as big as a bathtub. I am a firm believer in catch and release, but do not put a fish back until you have determined that he is the only fish, in that spot, that is feeding/biting at this time. Spooked fish, put back in a spot will not help your numbers. They might even, because of their impaired swimming ability, after being pulled from 60-70 feet of water, lead the school off that spot. Deep fishing in water 30-75 feet takes some practice on using your electronics, but is well worth the time invested. You are fishing for fish, that get one tenth the pressure, that fish get on visible cover and structure. I have never had anyone show me anything about a depth/fish finder, the internet and time on the water have put several hundred fish, out of deep water, in my boat. I will post more info later. Read all the info below several times and get out on the water and spend some time, and you will be able to do more than pound the bank. Remember always practice catch and release.

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fishfinders.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/depthfinders.html

http://www.daybreakfishing.com/SONAR.html

http://www.lowrance.com/Support/Tips-and-Tutorials/Sonar-Tutorial/

Fish After Dark/ 27 Nov 2007

Caught one spotted bass about 5:40 tonight, weight 1 1/2 lbs. Fish was on the bottom in 65 feet of water in
creek channel. Sorry I was in such a hurry when I left the house with only about 30 min of daylight left I forgot
the camera. When I brought the fish up out of 65 feet of water his swim bladder expanded so it was important to get him back in the water as quick as possible so that he could go back down to equalize the pressure. WT 62, air temp 56, wind calm.

How to use Fish Finders by Lowrance Electronics

You may see fish arches while trolling with the unit in a 0 - 60 foot scale, however it it much easier to see the arches when using the zoom feature. This enlarges all echoes on the screen. Turning the zoom feature on gives you a screen similar to the one at left. The range is 8 - 38 feet, a 30-foot zoom. As you can see, all targets have been enlarged, including the bottom signal. Fish arches (A & B) are much easier to detect, and important structure (C) near the bottom is magnified. This also shows small fish hanging just beneath the surface clutter (D). The above steps are all that's required to manually adjust your sonar unit for optimum fish finding capability. After you've become more familiar with your unit, you'll be able to adjust the sensitivity properly without having to look for a second echo. This picture came from the Lowrance Electronics site and is the property of that site.

Look at this link it is from Lowrance but will work for most other, fish arch finders. Follow these steps on setting up your electronics and spend time looking for fish. Get some markers, see what you think are fish, throw them out, come back around and fish the spot. Don't get discourged, not all fish are feeding, when you see them. I have included a pic from this info. http://www.fishfindercity.com/fitiandin.html . I will include some actual pics in later posts.

Fishing Partner

He does not tell any spots, or what we used to catch them on.

Fish from the 25th of November 2007, 60 ft of water

Water Temp 62.4 degrees, AT 44 degrees, learn to use a depth finder, these fish were at least a 100 yds from the bank. In 65 ft of water. Largemouth in 65 ft of water thats right.

Winter fish

Here are a few pics from 24 November 2007. Fish all caught in from 55 to 68 feet of water. If you can't find fish with a depth finder you need to spend more time on the lake learning to use your depth finder, instead of pounding the bank. If you continue to throw at visible cover after the water temp drops, that just leaves more fish for the ones, that can fish more than a cast from the bank. WT 63 degrees air temp 46 degrees, front coming in.

2006 This year the Goal is 600 Bass

I have had a good year so far, catching 86 fish, I am including some pictures. WT 56 degrees, was in the sixties but a lot of clouds and cooler weather have brought it down. Fish in from 4 to 23 ft of water. Larger fish moving up to spawn, smaller still in deep water.

End of 2005

I ended up catching 416 Bass in 2005.

Sunday,Thursday, Friday

Caught 8 fish in three trips one Sunday, 3 Thursday, 4 Friday. The time has changed and I don't get to fish every day in the evening these fish would average 2 lbs. Caught on Ratl Trap (Red Craw) shallow water in the back of a cove. The shad in an earlier post are what they are chasing. I have caught 410 bass since 27 Mar 2005. PRACTICE CATCH AND RELEASE.

Fished about 4 hours

Caught 7 fish average 2 lbs on ratl trap in 45 feet of water on a submerged island. I have caught 402 bass since 27 Mar 2005. Practice catch and release.

Full Day

Caught 10 bass, had a good day all on Ratl Trap have included a few pictures. I have caught 395 bass since 27 Mar 05. Practice catch and release.

Another Trip

Caught 2 fish both small. WT 69 degrees/ fish caught in shallow water.

Not much time

Caught 2 fish on Ratl Trap both about 1 1/2 lbs. WT 72 degrees.

Windy

Fished about three hours this afternoon. Caught 3 fish, one on a CT, one on a crankbait, and one on a Ratl Trap all about 1 to 1 1/2 lb. Could not pattern the fish, as most of the time I was just holding on. Wind out of the NW about thirty mph , waves 2 to 3 feet. Small craft advisory. No pictures, I did not want to take the camera, getting to much spray in the boat. WT 73 degrees. Practice catch and release. I have caught 381 bass since 27 Mar 05.

Cold Temps and Fish

WT 73 degrees Caught 2 bass, One fish about 1 lb, one fish 2 1/2 lb on a ratl trap (red craw). Practice catch and release. I have caught 378 bass since 27 Mar 2005.

No Fish/ Just Pictures

Two shots below bottom are 30 min. apart from different directions. See how the water has warmed up in 30 min.

Quick Trip

Fished about 45 Min caught 3 fish one 2 1/2 lb , two about a pound. All on a Trap. I have caught 376 fish since 27 Mar 05

17 OCT Full Moon

Fished about an hour caught 2 bass one 1 3/4 one about a pound. Caught one fish on Ratl Trap one on GY 5" CT. Sorry no pictures, forgot camera. I have caught 373 fish since 27 Mar 05

Fishing with a friend

Took a friend fishing today. Left the dock around 2:00 fished until about 7:00. Caught 5 fish on Ratl Trap all spotted bass between 1 1/2 lbs and three pounds. I caught 3 fish, he caught 2 fish, all fish caught in open water. Three schooling, two casting. I have caught 371 bass since 27 Mar 05.

Saturday

I caught one fish this morning on a Ratl Trap (red Craw) fish weighed 1 lb.. I have caught 369 fish since 27 Mar 05.

Ratl Trap

Fished for about an one and a half hours. Caught 1 bass 2 1/4 lb on a Ratl Trap in 15 inches of water, schooling. This fish was hooked deep and was out of the water a long time. I did not take a picture because I wanted to get it back in the water as quick as I could. Time is my biggest enemy by the time I get home from work it is 5:50 pm, if I eat a bite and get to a descent place to fish it is 6:15 to 6:30. At 6:30 you have 40 min. to fish before sunset. Not a lot of time to pattern and catch, to many fish. Practice catch and release. I have caught 368 bass since 27 Mar 05 ,my goal is 500 by Dec 31, wish me luck.

Another Day

Left the dock about 4:30 fish about a mile from the house caught 2 fish, 1 fish 2 1/4 lb, 1 fish 1 1/2. Sorry about the picture my wife does not care about the quality of my fish pictures. WT 78 degrees, five days before the full moon. Practice catch and release. I have caught 367 bass since 27 Mar 05.

Schooling

I left the dock about 6:30. As I was pulling out of the dock and a school started feeding 50 ft from the dock. I stopped threw into the school and caught a 2 lb spot. Moved up the lake about a mile saw another school feeding ran the boat over to them, threw in the school caught another 2 lb spot. Threw into the same spot and caught another 1 lb. spot. Three cast later caught a 2 3/4 lb spot. All of this took place in the first ten minutes of the fishing trip. Fished another hour no more bites. This proves what we all know , you have got to be on the lake and in the right place for everything to work out. Four in 10 minutes. Remenber practice catch and release (take a picture) WT 79 degrees, 6 days before the full moon. I have caught 365 bass since 27 Mar 2005.