Once again Lake Monticello sent me home with a zero. A few years ago I had a great day in October so I went looking for a repeat but I got one of those zero repeats. This is what I have been doing lately but have completed my required herd limiting requirements.

The wind was scheduled to blow at 15 MPH out of the South which means there will be no place to hide from it. I fished some of the North pointing coves by tying up to some of the snags and then fishing around the boat mostly with a swim bait. I hit one spot in 12 to 14 feet of water where I got two bites, one I hung and broke my line the other just grabbed the tail. The line breaking was because of a bad spot on the line because the bait had been dragged over so many limbs and bark. Throwing across the wind was treacherous as the bait would go where you wanted but the line would blow up against the nearest tree with bark still on it and you would become hung.  The Arkansas Game and Fish has done something that I think is really going to help the lake. The water has been lowered for dam repair and the banks are covered with vegetation. They have also cut trees and placed them on the banks especially on points.

I can just see a Ribbit frog coming over those weeds or a Rex spoon coming through them. At the landing I talked to a good fisherman who was willing to share what he was doing. He caught 6 the largest was 4 pounds with a 6 pound head. The larger fish he has caught lately have been skinny. Those 6 were caught by throwing a worm next to trees in 18  to 20 feet of water. The bites would come on the drop, about 10 feet down, as the fish were suspended. Was his first time to fish the lake in about a month but sometime this summer it was three times a week. When he fished last with his wife they caught 27 on Pop R’s. He saw the fish on his sonar about 4 feet deep schooling in the middle of one of the coves and backed off and caught them on top. A very nice guy.  Not a fun day but very educational.