Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass:
Despite heavy rain and wind most days, the good bite continues as the water slowly creeps towards 60 degrees. Largemouth and Smallmouth in the one to two pound size are making up the bulk of the catches with a few Largemouth pushing five pounds in the mix. The most productive depth zone has been ten to twenty feet deep on main lake points, shoals, and bluff walls. C3 Baits Shimmy’s in the Neptune Shad pattern fished on the Carolina rig continue to dominate, as most anglers are wise to it’s effectiveness. During the dark sky periods I had better fishing with the Oxblood color Shimmy on the dropshot rig. The water remains very clear so translucent colors are working best in the sun and the darker colors come into play when it’s cloudy or dark out. Some bigger fish are being caught on creature baits fished a little deeper on main lake structure. A few fish are being caught on wacky-rigged C3 Slim Pros and Senkos on bluff walls close to deep water. Small males are starting to show in the counts as well, marking the beginning of the pre-spawn period.
Striped Bass:
Still slow with very few angler interest at this point. A few incidental catches are being made by Bass fishermen here and there but not much to focus on as of yet. Warmer days should bring them shallower and easier to target.
Rainbow Trout:
The fish from the last stocking have pretty much been caught out or have dispersed, putting an end to the shoreline bite for now. There are still quite a few fish roaming the East shoreline of the Ski Arm and can be caught in water as shallow as two feet. They will hit just about anything including dropshot finesse plastics with abandon.
Lake Conditions:
Launching is at the West Ramp only
Surface Temp 55-59
Water Clarity 10′ to 20′
Zero Debris
Lake Level: Down 40′ from full pool
Lake Hours as of Monday 03/17:
Open @ 7:00 am
Off Water @ 6:30 pm
Park Closes @ 7:00 pm
Jim – www.661Fishing.com
