To get to the private hole this morning I had to call out the 4 wheeler due to our roads being closed to anything but ATV’s.

I hauled the boat down there yesterday with it.  You can see the boat back in the bushes just over the white ice chest. The water is good and high as the ATV is parked at the top of the ramp. In time it will really help the fishing. The water is very clear with a brown, tannic tint. I went right to work with a Ribbit since there is so much moss and duckweed. There is also an area of flooded coffeebeans where the tops are just sticking out. In addition, the moss and cottonwood seed are floating on the water and the wind blows them up in a raft. All perfect frog spots but the bass didn’t get the memo, nothing. I tried a spoon, a swimbait, a DT-6, a DC-13 and a shaky head, all no no avail. Mickey gave me a popper with a rattle he picked up on a bargain table at the BPS. It’s a pretty bait and has good hooks, so I put it on.  I figured the frog might be a little too fast and they might want something in their face a little longer. Sure enough, it wasn’t too long before I had, as Sandy Ingram used to say, a “solid three pounder”.  A couple more fish blew up on it but were not serious. How a fish can hit that bait, take it down and not get hooked , I don’t know. The banks in the private hole drop straight down. The only way to get the bait to the bank in some cases is to skip it under bushes. I became able to, not adept at, skipping the popper with a bait caster under the overhanging bushes. I caught four more including the 3-14 FOD that airballed it and then came back for more on the next cast.  I’m glad to see the fresh water but a few things worried me today. The first thing, I did not see one small  this years bass. With new water like this they are usually cruising in packs.  I did not see a bream. In these conditions they are usually out “floating” in droves. I am hoping the water clarity has all the fish deep or in the shade. Maybe things will improve if we can get an algae bloom and cut down on some of the visibility and light penetration. The deepest depth I saw today was 36 feet but I didn’t go hunting for the deepest spot. I think I remember the deepest was 22 before the rise.