First day scouting to target Saugeyes after taking summer off due to family, chores, work, etc. Got out twice on the lakes thanks to Mike (Bronze) and once banking within the past 10 weeks. After this week should be out few times weekly (wife approved) through Spring if all goes well. Anyways, got out on Saturday from ~2200 until 0230ET. It was dark since there was barely any moon. I went to four locations (Alum lake, Alum Creek, and Hoover) to scout from a deep spot to shallow areas. Wind was from ~10mph coming from NE and air temp ~58F; I didn't check water temp but I could feel it was still fairly warm. I still had my Kayak set-ups so it was mainly my 7ft ML Fast Action on Pflueger 6940 with 10lb braid and 3 foot Flourocarbon leader. I had various lures with me but I mainly wanted to use swims (Joshy's and Twister Tails).
First location was from banks in a cove, I was not able to fish much as the water was still on the high side. Cove is surrounded by vegetation with a small rip-rap averaging 6FOW depth. Right off from the start I could look and tell the water was crystal clear, I could almost see my lure through up to 2ft down. I had tossed a couple TT swims (green pepper, blood red, blue sparkle, etc) with no hits. I knew with this water being this clear I needed to get closer to matching the fish colors due to clarity. So, I swapped over to Joshy's Bluegill swim 3.25 and immediately got a 17in Smallmouth Bass. I almost lost my balance, due to water being high I was in an unstable location (basically no rip rap to stand, was on steep hillside on dirt) so I left after that fish.
Second location I hit another cove with RipRap and Vegetation right across from it, water was from 6FOW to 24FOW. I used the same tandem 1/8 oz jighead 3.25 Joshy Bluegill color, letting it drop on the deep end and reel slowly working the bottom. It didn't take long before I caught my first of a dozen+ fish, mainly fat Rock Bass with couple White Bass and a Largemouth Bass. By far, the Rock Bass were the most aggressive on that location. It is amazing how much fight they have for their size. After 40+ minutes it was time to go, plenty of fish there but it was more about scouting.
Third location I hit an open lake area with water going from 4FOW to a quick dip up to 27FOW depending on the casting angle from shore. I left the same set up on working the bottom slowly, trying to feel each tick of the rocks/shale. After a few casts, I didn't get any hits. I did notice plenty of minnows nearby plus the water was even more clearer than my previous two locations. So, I swapped out to running tandem 1/8 oz jigheads on Joshy's 3.25 Sand Shiners. Just like clockwork got my first SMB and then it was on again. After 30 minutes and 6 SMB, I left to scout my next area. The SMB's were aggressive with a couple jumps, great action but I had to be up by 0500ET.
Fourth and final location, by now it was just past 0100ET. This location was very shallow flat (before a drop) with a decent flow due to wind picking up. I settled to using only one swim since it was very shallow area. I was dragging my swim slowly on the bottom with the occasional twitch. After the third cast I felt the tug on my swim which I have not felt in a while since I took summer off...the Saugeye. I have to say, for some reason the hit/tug of the Saugeyes feels unique compared to other fish...maybe its just me. Once I had it on shore, it was a nice 18" Saugeye. It was on again and I had a huge smile on my face. To top it off, pulled in a 36 inch Muskie plus another 5 Saugeyes. I kept 3 Saugeyes before I left at ~0230ET.
Only pic I have is of the 3 I kept on my deck table; the remainder of pics would only reveal my locations. One thing is for sure, it was bass mania as I caught 4 types of them that night.
Overall great scouting and should be back at it next week. TightLines
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First location was from banks in a cove, I was not able to fish much as the water was still on the high side. Cove is surrounded by vegetation with a small rip-rap averaging 6FOW depth. Right off from the start I could look and tell the water was crystal clear, I could almost see my lure through up to 2ft down. I had tossed a couple TT swims (green pepper, blood red, blue sparkle, etc) with no hits. I knew with this water being this clear I needed to get closer to matching the fish colors due to clarity. So, I swapped over to Joshy's Bluegill swim 3.25 and immediately got a 17in Smallmouth Bass. I almost lost my balance, due to water being high I was in an unstable location (basically no rip rap to stand, was on steep hillside on dirt) so I left after that fish.
Second location I hit another cove with RipRap and Vegetation right across from it, water was from 6FOW to 24FOW. I used the same tandem 1/8 oz jighead 3.25 Joshy Bluegill color, letting it drop on the deep end and reel slowly working the bottom. It didn't take long before I caught my first of a dozen+ fish, mainly fat Rock Bass with couple White Bass and a Largemouth Bass. By far, the Rock Bass were the most aggressive on that location. It is amazing how much fight they have for their size. After 40+ minutes it was time to go, plenty of fish there but it was more about scouting.
Third location I hit an open lake area with water going from 4FOW to a quick dip up to 27FOW depending on the casting angle from shore. I left the same set up on working the bottom slowly, trying to feel each tick of the rocks/shale. After a few casts, I didn't get any hits. I did notice plenty of minnows nearby plus the water was even more clearer than my previous two locations. So, I swapped out to running tandem 1/8 oz jigheads on Joshy's 3.25 Sand Shiners. Just like clockwork got my first SMB and then it was on again. After 30 minutes and 6 SMB, I left to scout my next area. The SMB's were aggressive with a couple jumps, great action but I had to be up by 0500ET.
Fourth and final location, by now it was just past 0100ET. This location was very shallow flat (before a drop) with a decent flow due to wind picking up. I settled to using only one swim since it was very shallow area. I was dragging my swim slowly on the bottom with the occasional twitch. After the third cast I felt the tug on my swim which I have not felt in a while since I took summer off...the Saugeye. I have to say, for some reason the hit/tug of the Saugeyes feels unique compared to other fish...maybe its just me. Once I had it on shore, it was a nice 18" Saugeye. It was on again and I had a huge smile on my face. To top it off, pulled in a 36 inch Muskie plus another 5 Saugeyes. I kept 3 Saugeyes before I left at ~0230ET.
Only pic I have is of the 3 I kept on my deck table; the remainder of pics would only reveal my locations. One thing is for sure, it was bass mania as I caught 4 types of them that night.
Overall great scouting and should be back at it next week. TightLines
