The weather last week was one of wild swings in temperature, cloud cover, wind direction and wind speed.
We experienced freezing temperatures and frost on Tuesday with no clouds and mostly calm winds.
Next came a three-day warming trend with increasing clouds, and temperatures up to 72 in a breezy southwest wind on Friday. Temperatures dropped as northwesterly winds picked up with a strong cold front moving in overnight into Saturday morning, dropping the ambient temperature again to 37, with a wind chill of 27.
Despite the extremes, there has been a slow, net warming of water in our reservoirs over the past three weeks thanks to increased day length, many nights with air temperatures higher than lake surface temperatures , and solar warming during the day with little or no cloud cover. .
Since I’m on the water a lot, I see small, incremental changes in the fishery that coincide with the annual spring warm-up.
Some of these changes I have observed include the initiation of hatches of aquatic insects, gamefish abandoning deep water, gamefish showing a willingness to chase lures farther and faster than just a few weeks ago ago, and the release of the milt of the male white bass on my clients captured.
I realize that most readers aren’t on the water as often as I am, so one of the goals of this article in particular (and this column in general) is to share with you what I see so you can make the best investments. what time you do need to spend outside profitably.
So, if you are a recreational angler and are not stuck chasing a particular species, here is my “prescription” for you between now and mid-March.
First, consider the weather. The type of weather we had on Wednesday and Thursday is the type of weather that will produce better results for every hour spent on the water. These two days had overnight lows of 42 and 53, respectively, both days had a light southerly breeze blowing, and the percent cloud cover increased on these two days from approx. 30% white clouds in blue skies on Wednesday, to 100% gray cloud cover on Thursday.
Next, consider the pursuit of white bass. They are, by far, the most numerous species of gamefish present in our local reservoirs and their preferred temperature range is lower than other species, such as largemouth bass. Therefore, they “go” earlier in the year than other species.
Regarding location, my detailed record keeping over three decades at Belton and Stillhouse Hollow lakes indicates that Stillhouse produces more consistently during the period from mid-December to mid-March.
White bass often use the “shoulder” where the old river channel rises to meet adjacent flat areas. This week, fish have been found in 19 to 34 feet, and if our slow warm-up continues, the fish will continue to move shallower.
As for timing, it’s possible to start too early. This time of year, there is no need to read the line before sunrise, and you can start up to an hour after that on cloudy days where the sun is completely covered.
The best bite usually runs for about four hours once it starts.
Finding fish is made simpler if, regardless of the make and model of your sonar, your transducer is level. This will allow your side-imaging technology to go as far as you can and have crisp and clean signatures that show fish as bright rice grain-shaped signatures on a slightly darker bottom . In 30 feet of water, I can see an individual white bass on the far left- or right side of my sonar unit with the range set at 150 feet.
I usually find fish using side-imaging. You can then U-turn to return to them after marking their location with a waypoint and holding over them or near them with your trolling motor. Then, using 2D sonar, down imaging, or LiveScope (or similar), you can maintain visual contact with the fish and your bait.
Finally, as far as presentation is concerned, all the fish my clients landed last week came on one of two baits. Seeing the fish directly under the boat on the sonar and calling for a vertical presentation, we used a white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slab (found at www.WhiteBassTools.com).
When the fish showed up on the side imaging to the left or right side of the boat, we cast horizontally with a Berkley PowerBait white, 3-inch, soft plastic Ribbontail Grub (www.purefishing.com ) on a 3/8- ounce VMC Neon Moon Eye Jighead (www.rapala.com).
Using light spinning tackle with spools loaded with 10-, 12- or 15-pound test braided line (I prefer Sufix 832) tipped with a 25-pound test fluorocarbon leader allows on these lures that sink quickly to the bottom of the water column where these fish are found.
As the warming days increase, the fantastic spring fishing begins, with that stretch from late March to late May usually being the best of the best.
