Monday was tough due to high winds and cold, murky waters.  The area has received a lot of rain lately, a good thing long term (there is actually water going over the spillway!), but not so great short term.  We caught five bass and one giant crappie in about 3 hours of fishing before the wind drove us off the lake.

Tuesday was slow early, but as the sun warmed the waters the bite gradually picked up.  We ended up catching 15 bass, losing another 10, and had to leave with the fish still biting.  I had on a good fish near the dam that wrapped itself around a stob & broke free, looked around 5 lbs.

Anyhow, we harvested a total of 16 bass under 15 inches and one crappie.  It’s nice to fish areas that have been inaccessible due to hyacinths for years, and I expect fishing to only get better as the water warms & clears.

Patti, the owner, told me that she will put in brushpiles to give small fish a place to hide.  I have mixed feelings since I am an ultralight fisherman and wood mixes poorly with light line.  Still, I am sure this will improve the fishery, particularly now that the hyacinths are not around to provide shelter—just about their only good point.

PS I tried nanofil line for the first time & absolutely loved it.  Very thin diameter, great strength, and no stretch meant I could cast a LONG way and feel everything. True, there are drawbacks:  Nanofil isn’t for baitcasting reels, it is far more expensive than mono, and the lack of stretch means you need a rod with some give in it and a bit looser drag than usual.  But having fished with it, I really don’t want to go back to plain old mono (4 lb Trilene XL mono: 8/1000 line diameter; 6 lb Nanofil: 5/1000.)