I went to lake Ferguson about noon today. The water was 32 feet on the gauge and was 51 degrees in the upper lake. The water at the waterfront was 48 degrees. The wind was high. It reminded me of the day back in the 70’s when Hal and I had such a good day. A good day it was not. I caught one bass on a Rapala DTF-3 that I stumbled upon by a skinny lone stick. There are rafts of sticks/limbs from the ironwood bushes that have died. They made a lot of areas unfishable. I’m not crying about the dead ironwoods because they were taking over the lake. Another result of the high water for the last 15 years. Home early.

Mickey and I started fishing around 8:30 this morning at the Garhole. Our expectations were running so high we committed a faux pas by leaving the sandwiches that Carol had so graciously fixed for our lunch. They are always good. When we were launched and preparing to fish, I pushed the wrong button on the depthfinder and it went into apoplexy but not before it showed a water temperature of 51.8. Things were slow to start and it took a good while to get going but Mickey broke the ice with a fish that was in 10 feet of water on a DT-6. Notice that you can’t see the bait because the fish Swallowed it.

We started around the hole trying to find the combination but just could not put our finger on it. Another came off of a log and yet another on a DT-6 right off the bank. All slow. I cast a shaky head into a bunch of sticks that were part of a tree top. It became hung up immediately and I jiggled it trying to get it off. The only way was to go with the boat. As I closed in on it I saw a bass in the clear water that had its head down like it was getting something off of the bottom, and it was, because my line started to move. When I set the hook out came the 4-4 FOD. The trolling motor was about 4 feet from the fish, amazing. The fish was relatively slim and not full of eggs as you would expect for this time of year. We surmised that it was a large male bass that was up preparing to make a bed for his girlfriend. Mickey had already caught one off of that spot with a spinnerbait too. All this was going on in a relatively protected pocket. The wind was absolutely howling. When we came out of the pocket fishing became difficult. In some places the boat had to be pointed into the wind so it could be held and allowed to be controlled so we could fish going backward. We went around a couple of times without much to show. Around 3:00 we started to get some bites and catch one or two more on very shallow logs that we had fished before. The water must have been warming. The depthfinder was still on the blink. We ended up at 3:30 with 12 and the male? FOD. EDIT: After a brush up on the online instructions, fixing the depthfinder was relatively easy. I had pushed the button that adjusted the brightness and had it almost to zero. When all else fails, read the instructions.

I met Tom at the landing at 8:30 Friday morning. The major period was supposed to be about that time. We rode a little way and started fishing but nothing. As we reached the place where the fish were chasing shad the last time, there they were. Not quite as hot as before but the depth finder screen was covered with shad. I went through my tackle trying to find something they would bite. A 1/4 oz. redeye shad came closest. It got two bites on the same cast, with one being on for around 4 seconds. Really frustrating when you can see them all around but can get no takers. Finally the fish quit, and I’ll have to say it was a relief to go somewhere else. Tom caught a 4 on a jig out in front of a dock and we thought we had it figured out but no more. We tried the spot where I caught a few but nothing. Going back toward the ramp we came upon the bass chasing shad again. Of course we stopped and tried some more. You could see some of the threadfin shad were dying, an easy meal for a bass. Why bite a moving bait when the shad are being served up on a platter. I put on a drop shot because there were a few fish on the depth finder right on the bottom. I got a bite and felt pretty good that I had figured it out, but up came a 3 pound catfish. It was then time to go.

On the way home I got a text from Ben with this photo.

9-12 , Caught around 3:00 on a Bandit flat max shallow crankbait. He caught 14 in two hours, taking out 10 small bass and releasing 4 good ones including the one pictured. That’s what I call a good fishing trip.