20181009- Hitting the Major.Major with Summer like Temps the day after the New Moon FAL (Fish Activity Level) @94%

What a great combination of good weather and good FAL! I was excited to get on the water. The combination of conditions was perfect except for the downed water levels at my favorite trophy Reservoir. Current water levels were down 4 to 6 feet for Dam repair this could work for me or against me. Concentrating fish seems to be a good thing so we'll see.

Once at the boat launch I did a careful review for safe launching conditions. The concrete slabs for the launch were out of alignment and there were 8 to 10 in drops from the top of the concrete slab to the lake bottom at the end of the slab. A bad scenario for trailer axles! One corner of the launch offered the safest entry into the water. It required a slight offset in the angle of launch of the boat for the safest entry.

Once the boat was launched I noticed another Angler setting up for and checking out the launch.

Striking up a conversation I pointed out the safest launch entry point and direction for him to Launch. By further discussion, he disclosed he was fishing for and targeting walleyes. He stated this was a lake he rarely fished but has done well in the past on walleyes and smallmouth bass. He continued talking while checking his phone that he was here to fish the major period and had only a couple hours to fish… my jaw was dropping a bit… then he stated he surprises many of his fishing buddies with his large quantities of walleye fishing the periods midday in the middle of summer… yep then the jaw hit the ground.

Literally hundreds of discussions thru the years with fishermen on the water and at the launch sites… including ice fishing…. Fishermen that just don’t get it don’t believe in it or ignore solunar strategy all together. Then there are some that believe there is a relationship with the full moon and fishing/hunting success/failure but may also be a coincidence in their experience. I have never met another fisherman that “got it”… fishing the intra-day solunar major and minor periods.

Once on the water and on my way to my first waypoint checking map depths to actual sonar readings revealed a drawdown in water level between 4 and five foot on avg. the water surface temp sitting at low 60’s.

My Rod bundle for the day included 3 long-cast micro jigging rods and 2 slip/float/spring cricket/waxie setups. I’ve been really excited about my spring cricket fly and jig pattern… lately it’s been causing some real excitement with the Lepomis including a Certificate fish the past month.

An Intra-Month New Moon Period @ 94% and timing the Major.Period Intraday becomes a Major.Major, an awesome timeframe to be in for fishing success.

Once settled onto the flat which was one time sitting steadily at 9-0’ and now 5-0’ I noticed the fish were slow in bite thinking they now have become widely scattered due to the reduced water levels.

I started some controlled drifts with wind and trolling motor and picked up the pace on the bite a bit. Most of the bites were long-casting/micro jigs/waxies… my go to method.

The fishing was still at a slower pace than normal for the period consideration.

I noticed some potential weather coming in with thunder in the far distance. Checking Accucast weather I noted a t’storm small in size and started working my way towards the bridge for some temporary cover.

The life of the t’storm was about 35 mins so I continued fishing under the bridge using the slip/float/spring cricket/waxie method putting some nice casts tight to the concrete.

In a short time frame I connected with a great fish along with a great fight on the Ultra light setup… right away I knew it was a good LMB by the battle and played it carefully with pressure keeping it away from the bottom rubble. I netted and visually sized it up I thought immediately it was a certificate fish… I quickly took a few snaps and stretched the massive LMB on the scale… at best I stretched the fish to 21.75 but it averaged 21.5… @ 21.75 my Personal Best! I quickly released the HAWG back into the water. WOW!!!

On my way back to the launch the walleye angler I spoke to earlier stopped me to show me his limit of walleyes and a nice N.Pike!

Another great day on the water folks!

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20181008-Tuesday drops down only to a 94% FAL… still, like fishing the 3 days of the new or full moon… hopefully, I’ll be feeling better tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be summer-like with air temps in the low 80s’… I want to be a part of that even if someone has to duct tape me to the boat seat.

The last outing I recorded water temps in the mid to upper 50’s… 10 degs cooler for this time of year. With air temps at 80degs should put us back to near 60 or just over for water temps.

I’m still favoring the tougher lake and conditions… reservoir with a 4-6 ft drawdown for dam repair. My favorite 10’ flats will be around 5’ deep if the fish are still there they should be easier to tag. The decision on which lake will probably be decided at the end of the driveway… lol

20181003-Putting Family and Friends on the Trophies

The day started out with Drizzle low clouds and showers... With the original booking canceling because of the weather Lucas and Maverick stepped up and filled the gap. Checking Accucast there were periodic showers lasting just minutes for the next 2 hours so we decided to push forward.

I headed to the lake early to launch the boat and pre-fish some of my favorite waypoints on the lake before they arrived.

The first and favorite waypoint for the lake produced 0 fish with five minutes of casting… could not procure a bite or spot a fish on the sonar or side Scan Imaging.

At a 27% FAL (Fish Activity Level) is a near low for the month… pessimistically we were looking at a poor outing with a negative fish activity level. The optimistic outlook is that it is a good lake I have confidence in. The weather wasn't helping but there was Improvement in the early afternoon forecast with warming temperatures with rain ending.

After skunking on my first waypoint I decided to do a side scan of the deep break at 10 feet. The side Scan Imaging and the down scan Imaging showed fish hanging on the deep edge at that break. As I continued scanning I found schools of baitfish compacted into balls and large schools of bluegills and crappies surrounding.

I anchored the boat near one of the schools and started making casts. Within a couple cast I hooked up with a good fish it ended up stretching the board at 13.25”.  My Outlook for the rest of the trip was looking up. As I was taking snaps of the fish I noticed headlights at the boat launch pulled up anchor and picked up Lucas and Maveric.

Wasting no time we loaded up their gear and headed back to the Waypoint of success.

Lucas is hooked on 1/32 ounce jigs tipped with 2 inch Class gulp minnows in the silver and black pattern as bait. He has success with Bass and B.Crappie with this setup long casting with a five and a half foot Wild series Shakespeare rod and Shimano Sienna spinning reel loaded with 6 pound Nano. He bought this setup at my suggestion and has been thrilled with his success using it.

We immediately started tagging fish with a flurry of action that would last an hour. The Solunar table showed we were on a downslope of the major and as soon as a Lull.Period set in action slowed down considerably to a snail pace.

During the Lull.Period the weather dramatically improved rain ending and the sun showing turning damp fall into warm summer-like conditions.

Lucas decided to extend the trip to the 4 p.m. mark on a Minor.Period upslope. Approaching the Minor.Period activity started picking up to the point where Lucas tagged a trophy 14in on the mark black crappie! Minutes later he tagged a 9-inch class pumpkin seed hybrid at the 9-inch mark... Nice lunker!

I was finding success with quality fish long casting the 1/64 Oz spring Cricket jig tip with a pink or chartreuse waxie. Slip /float /fly /waxie produced very little activity. The fish were approaching the flats from the first deep break.

The schools of fish were comprised of a mix of bluegill and crappy with quality and quantity.

I was really impressed with the successful results casting the micro spring cricket / waxie. With a smaller jig size from 1/32 to the downsized 1/64, Oz produced a nice slow descent and gliding presentation. The panfish showed positive interest in the presentation bluegill and crappie alike.

The trip ended at 4 p.m. with some very good and dramatic results as well. With two trophies in the boat for the afternoon was a great accomplishment for Lucas... Tough to do! Congratulations Lucas!

Total numbers of the day we're over seventy-five fish in the boat including two trophies what a trip!

• 9:45 On the lake
• 9:54 Major.Period Ends begin the downslide to 11:30
• 10:11 tagged a 95% Master Angler Rated B.Crappie
• 11:30 Lull.Period Starts
• 11:45 fishing activity greatly slows
• 14:45 the pace starts picking up
• 15:00 Minor.Period Upturn begins
• 15:10 Lucas tags a 14” Trophy Crappie
• 15:37 Minor.Period begins
• 16:04 Last cast Lucas tags a trophy P.Seed Hybrid
• 16:10 end trip

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20180925~ “The Harvest Moon” 96% FAL (Fish Activity level)

20180925~ “The Harvest Moon” 96% FAL (Fish Activity level)

One of the highest FAL days of the month and I needed to be on the Lake!… Foul weather did not spoil yesterday’s trip… I ended up with some quality fish and a nice battle from a lunker C.Cat! with summer-like weather for the day numbers and quality were up including a Master Angler certificate B.Gill!

I was on my first Waypoint with first fish in hand at 12:02 p.m. just before the Major.Period for the day which started at 12:40 p.m. I was well prepared for the day’s bite with three micro jigging rods and two slip float rig in my rod bundle.

As the Major.Period approached I was not impressed with the number of bluegills being caught I needed to move to a new position or Waypoint.  The bluegills just weren’t there in numbers… I decided to drift with the light winds across a few waypoints marked on my Sonar. 20 minutes into the Major-Phase I tagged a nice longer pumpkin seed on the micro jig long casting. Things were starting to pick up… Tags were becoming more frequent.

As the winds died down I introduced the slip float into the program. Fishing the 9-foot Flats I set the slip float fly waxie at a 4-foot depth. Hits were becoming so frequent on the slip float rig that I laid down the micro jig rig set up for a while and concentrated on the slip/float/fly/waxie method.

The fly attached at the end of the system was new to my arsenal and my own tie.  I just recently ran out of commercial dry flies and needed a quick replacement so I tied up a chenille bodied rubber legged fly to offer as a cheap replacement that I came up with during the offseason. 

I used the flies earlier in the season with some good success. The flys caused some excitement with the gills yesterday and seemed to continue thru this trip. Eventually as the Major.Period settled in It was one fish after another when the big one hit… carefully netting the large gill I took a few snaps and a few at the measuring board… 9 15/16 good enough for a certificate at the nearest eighth inch. WOW!!

I continued fishing till near dusk with continued explosive Lepomis activity…  Easily exceeding the 100 fish mark for the day.  The folder count for pictures was in the mid one twenties.  What a trip!

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20180924-Full Moon Eve… proved to be a good Day for Quality!

I plan my trips carefully when it comes to the full and new moon periods… fish activity levels are at their highest for the month. Fish respond well at those times my history proves. Fishing at the right place at the right time using the right bait!... very simple formula to follow.

So historically this time of year during the full moon or new moon periods on my favorite waypoints with my proven bait of choice has spelled success for me once again.

After enjoying summer like weather just the day previous… today was going to be difficult. Cold front conditions with cloudy skies, strong sustained winds and periodic drizzle. When your casting micro light jigs the wind throws the game off a bit.

The bite was there with quality but numbers were down… I’ll still gladly take that!

When dealing with the wind I position the boat upwind of my waypoint and cast with the wind.

I scored well with a Master Angler B.Gill on the LCD jig method! I then tagged a near Master Angle Channel Cat using the same technique shortly after!

because of the stiff winds the slip/float systems stayed on the bench for the trips entirety.

With weather coming in in the form of downpours and t storms I called the trip short and headed home… with a wide grin!

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20180923-Fishing the Home Lake during repair draw down and new fly tie.

The dam is under repair on the home-base lake so I took the trip to see the effect of the fishing on 2-3 ft lowered levels on my favorite waypoints located on the 9’ flats… the trip was interesting and productive.

The current weather pattern was like summer with temps reaching the upper 70’s, hot sun and calm winds.

I loaded up the van with my favorite rod bundle including three micro jig setups as well as 2 slip float set-ups.

I had difficulty launching the boat with reduced water levels.

Once out on the flats, I notice the weeds forming an umbrella on the surface.  Long casting the micro jigs proved difficult even along the edges.

Hitting the major period I noticed very productive fish activity levels.  Once located the bluegills responded to the slip float presentation readily as well as the Micro-Jig Method.

I was elated to find the bluegills responded well to my new fly tie.  The first bluegill caught on the fly was a beautiful 9-inch class bull bluegill.  I only tied two flies for the trip on two different size hooks.  The bluegills responded better with the smaller fly tied on a small hook #12 in size.

The best fishes of the day were tagged on the new fly under the float at 9-inch class in size as well as a 10” class beast just missing the mark on the Micro-Jig/Waxie method.

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20180918~ what a fantastic day on the water!!!

The weather has been stable with above normal temps and calm or light winds throughout most of late august and mid September. Fish love the consistency in a weather pattern as well as the above normal temps. Nothing wrong with extending the growing season of the fishes.

I loaded up my common rod bundle comprised of two slip float rods as well as three micro jig setups into the van and headed for my home lake.

I love this time a year the boat launch was empty the weather was a a bit warm with abundant sunshine and calm winds…  The forecast was calling for a bank the clouds coming in and showers later in the night.  Just enough time to fish the major intraday before sunset.

In the 20 minute ride to my first waypoint I just noticed a couple pontoon boats and Bass boats through the stretch. Very little traffic or fishing presure.

Studying my sonar on my way to the waypoint i noticed very few fish at the deep breaks.  I always take this as a signal that the fish are shallow in the flats.  I’m usually right.

I was still excited about the catches from the recent trips … a 10” B.Gill master Angler and two Lunker 10” class B.Gills caught back to back just missing the mark

As I approached the first waypoint on the 9 foot flat I noticed schools of fish along the weed edges. They were identified as B.Crappie after tagging a few from the 10 to 12” mark on the Least Common Denominator Jig (1/64 oz jig tipped with a Gulp Waxie in Chartreuse or Pink)and a 2” swim jig 1/32 oz in size.

 The bluegills were close to the surface picking flies from a hatch. I also tagged quite a few at the surface near floating weed mats. The floating weed debris was everywhere on the surface causing havoc with my long casts. Fouled baits were the norm on nearly every cast.

I set the hook hard with a quick snap into a very good fish… this fish was easily identified right away with its unique fighting style as a large Channel Cat. I pressured the fish into submission with the lightest rod in my arsenal. The fish measured just under 28” with a 92% Master Angler Rating. What a beast!

Darkness was quickly approaching with the grey bank of clouds coming in. I don’t know about anyone else … it is hard for me to leave a hot bite. The phone alarm went off signaling for me to start heading back to the launch. I told myself “just one more cast” a few times before the trophy gill took the bite. After a nice battle I quickly netted the fish noticing it was 10” class. Putting the fish to the board identified the fish as a certificate… a few quick snaps she was quickly released back to the gene pool… wow!

Two trophy B.Gills in just over a weeks time including a nice bonus Cat… What a trip!

Last year at this time I tagged two certificate B.Gills with the same presentation and similar structure on the same lake.

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