The lake level is now 553.64 and it has come up about another inch in the last few hours with no generation. It rained hard and we received about 0.8 inches this afternoon and it is still sprinkling. We do not need anymore rain for a month. The creeks are running but not hard. There is no dreaded brown water in the backs of the creeks in this area. I tried jerk bait, spoon and jig and only caught two fish. No picture fish. It was about as bad as it gets. The spring rains are here now that February is over and the lake will continue to rise if they do not let any water out. I had 45 degree water on one locator and 45.9 on the other and they did not vary much no matter where i went. There just does not seem to be hardly any fish on the main lake except right next to the bank where the schools of shad have blown into on the south facing ones. Go part way back in the bigger creeks and look for shad. I caught no crappie and the bass were barely keepers. It takes a long time to figure this lake out and people that are new here and are here from up north usually get discouraged but the longer they are here and listen and ask a lot of questions the more fish they will catch. NORTHERN SHALLOW WATER FISHING TECHNIQUES DO NOT WORK HERE. When people come in to the dock and say they threw everything in the tacklebox at them and they still won't bite I know they will not catch anything. These old southern boys know what they are doing and it is best to listen to them. The shad will keep dying for several weeks and the jerk bait will get better and better until it warms up. March usually brings a couple of cold fronts a week and can be the most difficult month to fish. After the 15th it usually starts to get better but you cannot count on that. Pound those banks with those jerk baits for a while. It is your best chance. Practice honing your techniques rather than changing lures. Bass, walleye and crappie will all be there sooner than later.
