July 2, 2008…6:00am-1:30pm. What
a difference 2 days and no rain makes! When we started the temperature was 58 degrees, the
wind was N at 5 mph and the water temperature was 67.4 degrees. We made the run south to
Greenhurst Point and fished pilings and rock piles using a smoke color senko type bait.
The first fish was a 5 ¼ pound smallmouth. We caught 3 largemouth and another smallie
before the spot died out. Next we moved across the lake to Stoney Point and fished the
entire length of the shallow rocky shoal without a bite. At the end of the shoal we fished
a big dock and caught two more largemouth. With that success we decided to move in and
fish the docks along the inside of the shoal back to the north. We caught one more
largemouth. The next stop was Maple Bay, fishing the south shoreline where we caught
another largemouth. By this time the wind had switched to the SW at 7-10 mph so we moved
up the lake to Prendergast Point fishing the docks above and below the point. We caught 9
more largemouth and one more 4 pound smallmouth for a grand total of 19 for the day. All
of the bass were caught on the same bait, the smoke colored soft stickbait rigged Texas
style to keep it weedless. By the end of the trip the air temperature had risen to 79
degrees but the water temperature only increased to 69.2 degrees.
June
30, 2008…6:30am-1:30pm This trip was to film a TV show, WNY Sportsman Magazine.
The air temperature was 59 degrees with the wind from the S at 5-10 mph. Rain clouds were
all around us and at times we got a light sprinkle. The water temperature in depths of 12+
was 65-67 degrees which meant that it had dropped 8 degrees from last weeks 73 degrees.
The strange part was in the shallow (less than 5 ft) area where we started the temperature
was a very low 47 degrees. This was on the Victoria Point’s rocky shoal. We worked it
with a buzzbait, a white fluke and a Berkley Gulp 4” sinking minnow with no success.
We moved out to the weed edge and fished a 100 yd stretch using tube jigs, also with no
success. Next we moved to the outside of Warner’s Bar, again with nothing. Other
people fishing that area were having the same “no luck”. We moved to the Viking
and gave that area about 30 minutes and having the same results decided to move again. By
now we’re thinking all these fish are camera shy. It was time to change tactics so we
ran south Greenhurst Point and fished some submerged rock piles and pilings. Using a Venom
Salty Sling and a Berkley Gulp sinking minnow, fished weightless, FINALLY we put 2 small
largemouth in the boat. We next moved to Maple Bay and fished docks on the south
shoreline. We caught 2 more largemouth, one that was 2 ¾ pounds. There we heavy rain
clouds coming over the trees so we picked up and moved north to the docks above
Cheney’s Point. We were able to fish those for about 20 minutes and catch one small
largemouth before the rain drove us to the bridge where we waited out the heavy rain storm
fishing the pilings. The only luck we had there was that we stayed dry. Once the rain
stopped we moved over to Colburn and fished those docks. We caught 3 largemouth with the
biggest a 3 ½ pounder. All the fish caught on the docks were either in the boatlifts or 2
to 3 dock sections back. Everything was shallow, 3 ft or less. In most cases the water was
still pretty clear considering all the rain that we’ve had.
June
23, 2008…4:30pm-9:00pm We had to wait out a very bad T-storm in the parking lot
today before launching. Once it stopped we never had a drop of rain the rest of the time.
The water temperature at the start and finish of the trip was 70.4 degrees. The wind was
WSW at 5-10 mph and died to almost nothing by 8:30. The air temperature was 72
degrees.
Because
of the possible return of the storms we didn’t venture too far from the launch at the
start. We began at Victoria Point. We caught one 15” walleye and a 1 ½ pound
smallmouth. Both were caught on a melon tube in 12–13 ft. We moved up the lake to
Mission Meadows and caught 1 largemouth (2 pounds) and 2 more smallmouth (2 pounds each)
and missed a few fish. All that action came on the same melon tube and same depth. We
moved back down and across the lake to Prendergast Point and fished some of the shallow
docks using a Venom Salty Sling. Only one largemouth, but it was a good one at 3 ½
pounds. We tried a few docks south of the bridge but came up empty. We made one last move
back to Victoria and fished inside the buoys using a white Berkley Jerkshad, melon tube
and the Salty Sling. We caught one more smallmouth on the jerkshad and had a muskie take
the melon tube. He was only on for a short time before he broke off the 8 pound test line.
With
the cold temperatures through the early spring the weed growth is way behind. Places that
you are use to finding weeds at this time of year either have none or are very sparse.
May 29,
2008…6:00am-12:00pm. It was a very cool morning with air temperatures
starting at 49 degrees. The water temperature was 57.3 degrees. We started our morning at Victoria
Point using tubes and flukes. We caught 2 nice smallmouth on a white Berkley Power
Jerkshad. The fish were suspended in 14-15 feet of water just off the windy side of an
underwater point. Three other fish came up and missed the same bait. We gave that area
about an hour and then moved up the lake to the Dewitteville area. We fished the outside
weed edge in the same depth as we did at Victoria and caught 2 more smallmouth on a
5” Berkley Saltwater swim bait. The biggest was a 5.3 pounder. We moved to the
inside weed edge and found both smallmouth and largemouth still cruising in the scattered
weeds and rocks. We caught 2 more smallies and one largemouth. The smallies took the white
fluke and the largemouth was caught on an imitation crawfish. |
