A recent algae bloom has dirtied up the water, which is a plus as you can fish closer to the boat, and the fish are less spooky.
There are fish just about anywhere you want to look, but the two best patterns have been relatively shallow rock reefs and the main lake humps. For the shallow reefs like the Bena bar and the fence, transition lines are key, with a few fish scattered on top of the rocks and the majority of schooling fish running the sand to rock transitions in 10-14ft. These fish will take bobbers with leeches or casted crankbaits. For the cranks, a cast and wind retrieve with occasional pause has been good when using Rapala Shad Raps, but when they get a little shy, try using a Rapala Shadow Rap, which suspends and can be paused for longer after imparting a jerk, jerk, jerk pause action like you would fish a jerk bait. There’s lots of bait up here right now, so these fish tend to be more drawn to minnow profiles but will take a leech on a bobber, especially on a windy day.
Pulling spinners has been good for the main lake structures along mud sand transition in 18-25ft; again, these transition lines are like magnets and hold fish tightly in summer. Run your spinners at around 1mph on either 1.5oz bottom bouncers or 3/16-1/8oz bullet weights when up on the shallow side. The ticket has been using X Tackle Spin Beads in 6mm sizes. These beads are great because they don’t sink fast and dont require faster speeds like traditional spinners. They also don’t twist your line or gunk up like smile blades. You can run single or multiple spin beads and change up color to mimic forage. Use a gold, Orange, and green bead simultaneously, for example, to closely mimic a perch color pattern.
One thing you might notice is that the fish are very bite window particular. When they go, it’s on, but you can go a few hours on a pod of fish without getting bit. Luckily, there are many fish and spots available in the system, and it’s easy enough to just go find another school.
Report from Colt Anderson of Hang Loose Outdoors
