What a difference a slight rise makes.  I went to Lake Ferguson this morning early and was joined by Jackson at 7:30. The lake had risen a few tenths of a foot since I went last.  Before Jackson arrived, I went to try out the spot and found a few fish there but they were not just “eating it up”.  Quickly I went to some other prospective spots but none were productive.  To make matters worse, the wind was howling.  We first went to some spots on the South end but the water was still too deep for them to be good. Then we tried “the spot” with little success. Wind still was howling so we retreated around the corner to more placid water but still no luck. We tried the steep bank, out in the willows and finally the upper lake. Nothing but small bass and stripes. In one place there were what appeared to be stripes schooling in open water but when Jackson threw into their midst out came a small black bass.  We picked up one here and there and they were all small. The count ended up at 11 black bass and a lot of stripes too. Today, just a small rise made a big negative difference when you compare it with the last trip when HM IV and I caught 48.

After a fishing hiatus since May 27th  caused by flood damages, I finally made it back to Lake Ferguson this morning with son Harley.  The spot where I chose to start was one where last year I managed to do very well at this same water stage.  He had a bass on before I even had a bait on my line.  Here is a photo in the “I caught the first one pose”.

He was using an X-Rap 6 and after I got started, I used a DT-6.  Most readers had already guessed that however. The X-Rap came from Craig Tucker with the poem saying that after the flood you’d have to go deep.  He was right on target.  We were catching striped bass and largemouths in the same spot and almost every cast to start off.  The fish were a mixture of sizes up to 3 -6 which was the FOD.  We were going for 50 largemouths but the wind was howling and the waves were getting up so we stopped at 48. It was really nice to go after a long vacation from fishing and catch that many by 11:00.  There is no telling how many stripes we caught.

Besides the baits mentioned earlier, fish were also caught on DT-10s and worms.

I have not been fishing since May 27th due to the flood getting in my cabin on the river.  Cleaning it out has been on the top of my list lately.  Sunday I ventured out on Lake Ferguson to help a friend with some flood related things and the water was Lake Monticello clear. There was a good bit of duckweed floating around and at some point there are going to be some bass under the duckweed just waiting on a Ribbit.  Jackson went to Lake Chicot last Sunday, put in at the courthouse and started fishing with a spook. He caught 8 or 9 in pretty short order until the sun started blazing. The gnats have been a problem but Fratesi’s  Store East of Leland has the answer. It’s “Buggins Natural”  insect repellent. It’s not greasy and it smells good. Just spray it on your hand and wipe it on your face or arms.  After about an hour you will need to reapply. It really works.