This week the weather has been inconsistent, from cool dark and windy with a day high of 74 degrees, to clear sunny afternoons. The water has dropped in temperature to about 75 degrees and the lake level is slowly receding to winter levels. The change in weather would normally shut the fishing down for a few days until the weather stabilizes but, this week the fish ate bait through the changes. On Wednesday my good friend Cody McGarry and I went out in the blowing wind and cold. We had a very successful day including 7 Striped Bass all around 24 inches and 6 Catfish, 3 of those Cats were over 10 pounds and 2 of them were pushing 12-15 pounds. All of our fish that day were caught on Anchovies, Mackerel, and Sardines.

Striped Bass are still boiling in the mornings from 6:30 am – 8:00am then its more isolated blow ups in to the afternoon. Depending on the day sometimes the Stripes will also boil in the afternoon and evenings. When looking where to fish for Stripers always keep in mind that Striper Bass like to feed in shallow water or on the surface but will retreat back in to deeper water once they have fed. Big points, drop off‘s, and shelf ledges are great places to find Stripes. They also like being suspended in the deeper water at the edge of shadows, trees, big rocks, and Hills will cast a large shadow on or across the lake.

Catfish are still hitting strong all around the lake. The narrows has been a super-hot spot for cats including Henry Hetchy, the south end, and West beach. Big Catfish are starting to fatten up for winter, so they are eating everything in sight. I like to pick a nice spot with deep water and toss Chovies at em’ but, I only stay in a spot for 30 minutes top unless I start catching fish. The cats hunt with their nose so if they are in the area that your fishing then it should not take more than 15 minutes for them to find the bait. Don’t wait around all day for the fish to find you, even though there is something to say about parties.

The Largemouth and Smallmouth are eating Shad as well: look for individual splashes near shore. Those are typically bass but, they can also be carp or catfish. Spooks, pencil poppers, jerk baits, and lip less cranks are catching the bass but sometimes you just can’t beat a good old fashioned plastic worm like a Robo worm, Senko, or Chommper worm with garlic. Bass can be caught year round on worms just play with the different depths and different colored worms. For more advanced anglers looking for good Bass action, the frog bite has picked up and is landing some nice fish in the 5 -7 pound range. That’s it for this week good luck all and rip some lips!