Hal and I fished at the private hole Monday and Tuesday thinking it would be good because the highs were forecast to be in the 60’s. We took my regular boat so we could use the side finder and look for any new logs or etc. The last time the side finder was used there was before the 2011 flood so there was plenty opportunity for some new things to be discovered.  There were some new things but one of the most revealing things was the number of dense schools of fish down about 15 feet. Judging by the shape of the fish and the way they were together, I think they were crappie. A good sized one even came up and ate my DT-6 in a place where the schools were most prevalent. We had trouble catching bass. I caught one off of a tree top with a DT-6 and Hal caught one off of a deep log with a drop shot then nothing happened for a while. We got a few nips out in the open water but I have to believe they were from the crappie. The last bass was caught directly under the boat in 19 feet of water on a shaky head. There was no “thump” with the bite, only “something there” and set the hook. All this was on Monday – Tuesday not a bite we could be sure of. Hal got something he was 83.5% sure was a bite on a blue jig. The fish must not have gotten the memo that the rating for fishing was high both days. The next time I go there, after one time around and not much to show for it, I’m going to rig up a small crank bait with a sinker 3 feet in front of it and troll around the hole with the idea of catching some good cold water crappie for supper. Hal and I have a long history of fishing in the private hole so, even though the fish were not in a cooperative mood, we were able to relive some of the fun times we have had there. It also has been a few months since we have fished together and enjoyed each other’s company.

This post was delayed by technical problems that had me unable to post for a couple of days. A thank you to Harley IV for getting it straightened out. He was told there might be some data loss and I hope it was not too much.