I met Tom at the landing at 8:00 this morning after a beautiful sunrise on the way over to Wilmot. It only lasted about 30 minutes before the clouds came. Luckily I took a photo.

The temperature was in the high 30’s so rather cool idling down the lake. We idled because Tom was looking for the schools of fish. Soon he said “it’s on” because he had seen a fish make a move on the slick water. When we got to the spot the fish showed up on the depth finder and they were there in spades. I had a DT-10 on and Tom had a 3/4 ounce Jackhammer bladed jig. The DT-10 caught the first small fish but the Jackhammer came up with this 5 3/4 FOD.

The DT-10 was just touching the bottom in the 10 + foot water and the Jackhammer was sinking the bottom and was paused every few turns of the reel to let it sink back to the bottom. The bottom of the lake is covered with cypress needles and Spanish moss that has fallen out of the trees so running the DT-10 on the bottom is not the thing to do. It needed to be run close to the bottom and slow. There were clouds of shad with the bass chasing them and every now and then coming up and just blasting them. When the bass would hit sparkling shad went everywhere. Evidently after hitting them the fish returned to the bottom as most of the fish we caught were close to the bottom. It was frustrating at times with fish running shad all around the boat but you couldn’t get a bite. Finally I connected with a 5 1/2 on the DT-10.

We were fishing in the same general area because the fish were not moving much. It seemed they were moving slightly in the direction that the wind was blowing. Even where there were no bass there were clouds of shad. In fact when we tried a Johnson Sprite spoon we both came up with the shad impaled on the hooks. Tom said his goal today was for us to catch 20. At about 2:30 we had 16 and there was a lull on our bites but not on the bass activity. A crappie fisherman came by to chat and as he left all visible activity ceased but Tom soon caught a 4+ right on the bottom.

We surmised the fish retreated to the bottom because of the boat disturbance. The fish continued their assault on the shad and soon we had our 20 at 3:00. There were some other good fish caught and they were all fat because of all of the shad for them to gorge on. After we caught number 20 we were guessing its weight. It looked to be one that in lake Ferguson I would weigh thinking it was 3 pounds and it would turn up 2-13 every time. This one was 3-1 and was fat as could be. A wonderful day of January fishing. On the way home I came up with an idea of how to make them bite next time.

This morning at 10:30 I started fishing in the Garhole. It was cold this morning so it didn’t bother me that fishing started a little late. Water temperature was 51 degrees. It took 30 minutes to get the first bite and it was just a peck on the DT-6. The next one however meant business and hit hard. When it finally came to the boat it was a pretty 4-9. The water in the Garhole is beautiful this time of year and the visibility is very good. When you have a fish on it really looks pretty when it comes to the boat. A 4-9 is a good way to start the year. A little while later I drifted up next to a treetop and dropped the rugby head down between the limbs and a 3 1/2 grabbed it. I missed another in that same treetop and caught a smaller one. A new rod to pull the DT-10 came out and I was trying it out in the open water just to see how everything was going to work and surprisingly a small one bit and got caught with only one hook barely fastened. That happened a couple of times today. Must be those new hooks I put on both the DT-6 and 10’s. In some areas a vibrating jig was able to cover a lot of territory but the only fish it caught was a chain pickerel.

They show up when the water is cold in the spring and are generally not seen for the rest of the year. They must go very deep to stay in cold water during the summer. I keep a cut off hoe handle in the boat to act as anesthesia to the undesirable fish. Mine was lost by some means or other so today I replaced it with an 18 inch piece of large bamboo. This was its first victim. The pickerel has a big mouth with a lot of sharp teeth. I would hate to see a large population of them in the Garhole. The bite came to a halt. I had about a 3 pound fish come up and boil at the DT-6 just as I took it out of the water. Shortly another small fish just followed it up and looked as the bait came out of the water. To remedy this a shaky head came out of the tackle box. In one spot I had some strange bites but could not connect. Another bite and it was a grinner so out came the bamboo again. The very next cast another bite and again a grinner and more bamboo. I thought maybe they were getting ready to spawn or something. The ending water temp was 55 on the North side of the hole when I quit at 4:00. I ended up with 12 bass with a FOD of 4-9. Probably had 6 more that followed it up. One even hit at the rugby head with a craw on it on top as I was rushing to make another cast.

Found this on the bank of Lake X today, along with hundreds of others. The lake was down at least a foot since the last time I was there and the mussels were lining sections of the bank. Mickey and I showed up around 9:30 and started fishing around 10:00. The bite was slow to nonexistent to start and did not pick up much all day. We thought we did a good job of fishing by thoroughly working the tops. I think the fish were there just watching our offerings go by. Mickey broke the ice when he enticed one to hit a spinnerbait. He caught another one on a redeye shad just casting around the boat out in the open, or so we thought. Making the same cast again, he hung on the log that the fish had been hanging around. I missed one because I had forgotten to set my drag. When I put my rods up for the day, I loosen the drags in an effort to keep them free and smooth. A little later another bit the plastic and made it to the long handle net distance. Another came in on the chigger craw on a rugby head jig a little later. We were about to quit and load up when Mickey suggested fish the concrete ramp since the wind was blowing straight in to it. I lost another to a weak hookset because of a bow in my line (that’s my excuse) and caught another before we quit. We ended the day with 5 fish and a nonweighed FOD of around 4 pounds.

Hal and I met at the Wallace Creek landing this morning at 7:30 and started fishing right at the ramp. I caught a 5 pound bass last year on a small point close to the landing very quickly and Hal did the exact same thing today.

That’s where the similarity to last years trip ended. We had a long dry spell afterward. The water was a rather cold 52 degrees to start and by 3:00 was up to 57 on the windblown side. The wind blew the water on top that had been warmed by the sun over to the North bank. When the water warmed, the fish bit a little more but only a little. Another issue was that as we fished around, we watched four boats fish the same spots we had fished or wanted to fish. Those spots had already been worn out. Take a number and get in line. We ended up catching 8 with the aforementioned 5 pound FOD.

I have not been to the Garhole since the end of August and I knew the water had dropped substantially. It might be a problem getting the boat to the water so I went early. First the leaves had to be blown out of the boat, then some large limbs had to be laid from the back of the boat to the water to keep the back of the boat from sinking into the mud. The water was down three feet so it was about 10 feet from the back of the boat to the water. I loaded my equipment and then pushed. It worked like a charm. I started in a spot that usually gives up a fish or two but nothing today. More good spots but again nothing. There is a top near a good place that I threw the rugby head jig into and one cooperated and chased the skunk away. There was nothing going on so I tried another top, this time just drifting up close and dipping the bait over between the limbs, no cast involved. Got another bite and caught another small one. The wind was high and the leaves made it impossible to fish a crankbait in many places. The main part of the hole was half leaves and half clear. Even just fishing the tops where the leaves were, there were no bites. When I moved out of the leaves a DT-6 caught one very quickly. I figured this must be where the fish are, but no more bites for a long stretch, even in the thick spots. The wind was really blowing the boat around now making it hard to sneak up against a top so I could drop the bait down between the limbs. When the bait went down into the top and hit a limb it would feel like a bite. I was fooled a lot of times when I thought it was a limb but it was a fish. I bet there were a dozen that I missed. When I started on my second time around, I saw on the depth finder a fish right on the bottom in 8 feet and said to myself “that looks like a bass”. After the boat had moved a little I cast a DT-10 to the spot and came up with a 2-14 which ended up as the FOD. No more however so I went back to the tops and caught a few more. By now it was 2:00 p.m. A DT-6 tried in one of the usual places and caught two more. It was obvious things were picking up somewhat, but not overly so. Went back to the place I started and caught one on the rugby head and one on a DT-10. I had to be out of the woods at 3:00 and it was time to quit with 13 fish.

Tuesday morning I met Hal at Wallace Creek landing on Enid at 7:00. The lake was at 245 feet which was a little deeper than we wanted. We like it down at least 6 feet from there. The first spots we tried only yielded a few small ones , probably a little over a pound each. We knew it was a little too deep for those places but they were great last year, and who knows, we might get the early birds. Leaving there we crossed the lake to fish a shallow point but as we pulled up we saw a shallow top sticking up close by so we fished it. Hal threw a plastic and had a bite. The fish immediately dove down into the top which was thick and it became entangled. We went over and Hal stuck his arm down to get his hand in the fish’s mouth. His hand pushed the hook out and the four pounder got away. We fished a few more tops with spinnerbaits, shallow cranks and worms and caught a few more. Hal had a favorite snag that is underwater marked on his GPS that we tried to find with the side finder but had no luck seeing it. We casted around and finally caught a small one. I then put the sonar on down imaging and we floated right over it, and there it was. We then went to a point where we caught some good fish the first time I ever went there with Hal. We got out the DT-10’s and caught three, one being a 5. I also contributed a DT-10 to the underwater structure after trying for 10 minutes to free it with the lure retriever. Getting over in the afternoon, we went to a line of sunken tops where we caught some right off the bat on a DT-6. A couple of times when one of us would catch one the other would immediately catch one too. One time we did that and only one fish came up and we couldn’t figure out what happened but the fish had wrapped the lines. We had a good laugh when we figured it out. One of those tangled fish was a 4. When that spot ran out we headed closer to the ramp and caught a few more small ones in relatively shallow water. The eagles are really reproducing. Every where we went today they were flying everywhere, some mature adults, but mostly immatures. At every place there were two or three flying around. It is great to see that. We ended up with 23 bass and a 5 pound FOD.

This morning I broke one of my rules by going to Lake Ferguson on a weekend. Public lakes are full of people on the weekend but about 8:00 I drove down to the wharf to see if there was much of a crowd. Only a few hydroblaster trailers so I rode home and hooked up the boat. By the time I arrived back to the wharf the population had increased but not too much. After launching, I headed up the lake to see if I could find the “secret school”. Someone was sitting right where it had been a few days ago but not catching anything. I started nearby going down the bank with a DT-10. The boat left the school spot but quickly two more drove up. Looks like the secret school is not so secret anymore. Continuing down the bank to the 70 spot where a 4 1/2 loaded on the DT-10. A few casts later another small one bit. Before leaving I picked up the Carolina to give it a few tries before leaving. The next one didn’t just tap the bait, it just grabbed it and hauled tail. I really thought it may have been a large gar but it turned out to be the FOD 6 1/4.

Again moving down the 70 bank with the DT-10. I came upon a 4 3/4. Not a lot of bites but they were good ones. Left for another spot where there have been some good fish. All this time, there was a steady stream of boats visiting the “secret school”. I don’t think they were catching much because they left pretty quickly. The next place was pretty barren, only one small bass that something had cut a gash down its side. After leaving there with no boats in sight, I crossed the lake to an old favorite spot where I have been catching some fish. As I pulled into the spot, I looked down the bank and there was a boat that I had missed 150 yards away. I staked my claim but did not want to catch anything to give the spot away. I threw out a chigger craw impaled on a rugby head to a spot that I didn’t think there would be a fish. Tap tap, the electrifying tap. I could have pulled it out of the fish’s mouth but that’s just not me. I caught the fish, a 2-13. The cat was out of the bag. The guy didn’t look like a very good fisherman and had been using a spinnerbait fishing very close to the bank. He very quickly put on a worm, and camped about 50 yards away. He wasn’t going anywhere so I pulled out the DT-10 and caught 2 more small ones relatively quickly. No more bit but I was not about to move and kept trying different things, DT-6 and Carolina. Finally the guy left after catching nothing but I’m sure the next time he goes fishing he’ll be right there. After he left, I caught a 5 1/2 on the chigger craw. Boats were still visiting the school, I’d bet 10 today. It was time to quit, started at 9:00 and it was 4;00. I ended up catching only 9 fish but they were quality, largest 5 weighed 23 3/4 pounds. Everybody that drove by today was watching. You could tell because when they were coming they were just cruising along, but after they passed a little ways, they put the hammer down. By not following my rules today I probably ruined one of my best spots.

Fishing started this morning at 9:00 and started rather slowly with two small fish shallow and a quick hangup that ended any activity. In another spot, that I have fished a lot this summer, I caught 3 after a long session and moved looking for the “magic school” that I did not find, but in the process caught a 4-2 on a DT-6. When I turned around and backtracked, the school showed up and I caught some on a rattletrap. Two at once one time. The school fish were of decent size, one was 3 3/4. When that gave out I left for an old spot that has been good this summer. First cast 4-13, a few later 4-1, and a few after that a 4-0, all on a DT-10. When I could not get another bite on the DT-10 the Carolina rig came out and caught 2 more. A total of 17 fish, the best 5 weighed 20 3/4. Fishing ended at 2:10. A good day.

The lake was up another foot but the lake is so low I didn’t think it would make much difference. Late start again (11:30) along with a Southwest wind about 15 MPH. Today, like yesterday, it didn’t take long to get things started. No luck on a Carolina but a DT-6 started off with a 4-11 FOD. It caught a few more but the size was going down. I tried where the bass were hitting on top yesterday but the water was up a foot and the wind was pouring straight through that spot. I returned to the starting spot with the DT-6 and DT-10 and the Carolina but nothing. When I started down the bank, I ran into a group that started with a 4-0 but once again the size deteriorated. When that ran out I crossed the lake to a favorite spot and caught a 4-8 on the first cast with a DT-10. It had a wingman follow it to the boat that was only slightly smaller. Never could get that one to bite. Caught two more there with a DT-6 . After that I tried the Carolina, a chigger craw on a rugby head and even a rattletrap but zero. Snagged two silver carp today. I have figured out that the best way to deal with them is to use the boat hook like a gaff hooking them through the gills. They are quickly immobilized and it’s easy to take your pliers and remove the hooks. I ended up with 12 bass, three of which were over 4 pounds. Back home by 4:30.

October the 12th is a great day, but this morning I was apprehensive because there was a Northeast wind. The lake was at 15 feet and fishing started a little after 10. The apprehensiveness soon disappeared when a Carolina rig came up with the 5-5 FOD.

Shortly thereafter, it caught a 4-1 and a little after that, a 3-2. Destruction followed because two Carolina rigs were sacrificed to the gars. The lake is rising and I noticed some fish following the water and beginning to hit groups of shad. I followed using a red eye shad and caught 2 about 3 pounds each but some ran from the bait in the very shallow water. The fish were feeding pretty good but the water was not deep enough for the boat. I figured a top water would work so I put on a Whopper Plopper. It was just the ticket. Caught some but some missed the bait some too. With the long casts getting a good hook set was a problem also but it was fun. One just blasted it about 15 feet from the boat and made me jump. The action was going on 360 degrees around the boat. I was looking behind me while reeling it and heard another hit and said out loud “where did that one hit” and looked around and it had my bait. It got to where the fish were missing a lot but I’m such a sap, if they’re hitting at it, I’ll sit there and try to catch some. Usually fish doing that in shallow water are extremely small but most of these were between 3 1/4 and 2 pounds. When it got too slow, I went back to the starting point but caught nothing. Another spot yielded another 3 pound fish on the Carolina rig. I had more places in mind but by this time the clouds were gathering and looking dark so it was time to leave. Good thing, it rained a little on me on the Broadway Loop. There were 17 total bass most of substantial size. 11 were caught on the Whopper Plopper which really added to the fun. I finally figured out how to set my phone camera on “wide Selfie” after 4 years or so which makes taking a photo of a fish when you’re by yourself a little easier. Almost got the whole fish in the picture. I still have to practice some.