James Soltysiac With Some Nice Fish
The lake level is 559+ and the surface temperature was 58.4 last evening. They need to do more to drop the lake. It is much too high for December. There has not been a fall bite where the open water fish move to the bank to feed after dark but they are still on the long flats suspended in 30-60 feet of water but feeding more heavily. The high water has allowed the shad to spawn several times this year and their population is back up. The fish do not have to move to the bank at night to feed but just stay on the shad and feed all the time. If you have a good locator and know where to start you can catch fish. They will feed heavily until the water temperature drops and they become more lethargic and move to the old river channel by the bridges and Bidwell where they will be more difficult to catch. Find the shad, note their depth, drop your spoon to the botton and reel it up two feet per turn for a baitcaster and one foot per turn for a spinning reel and snap your line up about six feet and allow to drop on slack line into the shad. Some times it is good to drop the spoon to the bottom and reel up fast through the shad. Bink and I usually catch the biggest fish of the year during the full moon in November on a stick bait but not this year. I am spooning brush in 28-32 feet of water and catching some good smallmouth, largemouth and crappie . That is what I am after. There have not been many changes except the open water fish on the flats that have been there for several weeks are feeding more heavily and the water is still rising. Walleye are getting a little more difficult to catch. Several crappie are being caught off the dock but only about 11 inches. The big ones are near the bank at dark on a grub but not very many. Not many big stripers are being brought in only in the 5-8 pound range but a lot of white bass and some hybrids in the 3-5 pound range.