Caught fishing with Bink's Guide Service. That is one nice smallmouth. One of my favorite fish.
The lake level is 552.96 and has dropped 2-inches in the last 24-hours with generation most of the time. They just dropped offf to one generator. It will be interesting to see what they do on April 15th when the operating rules change. They drop the generating right when the spring rains usually come but are letting out a lot of water now. The water temperature was 51 yesterday on the main lake and the water was still stained green but clearing more near the shore. That will change again when the wind picks back up before the next low pressure and then the next cold front which are both on the way. The nights are very cool and the water temperature has been in the low 50's for weeks with cold fronts coming through one after another. Red Buds are starting to bloom and it is about time to mow the grass for the first time. Bass continue to bite off steep banks near deep water and can be caught vertical jigging the spoon or creature baits on a jig head. I am catching nothing off the bank at this time but there are some male crappie scattered on wood just off the bank. Most females are still schooled and roaming wanting to spawn. Some brush piles are holding fish and some are not. You just have to check them out. It may look like nothing is on them but some bass are right in them on the bottom and hard to see so drop the lure down touching bottom. I see some bass feeding near the surface but they are small. There is not a real top-water bite yet but there will be when it finally warms up. It may go from winter directly to summer but the weather patterns will have to change first. The crappie will spawn soon no matter what the weather does followed by bass. We just need a stable water level for a few weeks now for the spawn. Big fluctuations are not good. The lake is at a good level now and I wish it would stay right where it is. People are catching fish but are working for them. Pigeon creek is a good place to look for crappie near docks. It looks to be a good spring for fishing so far but is slow coming. It will get better when march is over. It is a long, cold, windy month.
