Arose at 5:00 a.m. this morning to meet Dell at his home by 6:00 a.m. We made it to the ramp and on the water by 6:40 a.m.
The air temperature was only 58 degrees this morning and the water temperature was 80.4 degrees. That made for some steam rising off the water as we ran north.
Just outside the access, I looked into the sky to see one of our bald eagles soaring just above us. As we neared the eagle, it turned and ran along side the boat... Cool sight so early in the morning!
We arrived at our destination near the Safe Harbor Dam and started to throw topwaters. There was a breeze blowing across the river from the ESE. That put just enough ripple on the water to turn the topwater bite off in the area we were fishing. So, I picked up a 3/8th oz. spinnerbait and got my first fish to hit.
We did speak to a few anglers who were fishing a more protected area in the morning and they were able to get a couple of "blowups" on topwater lures, but failed to hook up. That is one thing about a topwater... low percentage hook ups, but a heck of a lot of fun watching!
As we entered an area with several pronounced ledges in about 3.5' to 4' of water, we started to hit bass on lipless crankbaits. The biggest fish of the day was just over 16". Dell caught this beauty just below the damn in about 5' of water.
The weekend warriors were out in force today. We met several anglers at the ramp and several more while on the water. It's a pleasure meeting new folks who also enjoy fishing just as much as we do. Many don't get the opportunity to fish as often as we do over the summer months and if I can help them make a decent day out of their limited time on the water, I will do so gladly.
I hit a few nice 15" smallies on the lipless crankbait almost back to back. At one point during our adventure, Dell and I had a double hook up. That's always fun to do.
The water level was down a bit from what Safe Harbor's website mentioned it would be. The site stated that the water level would be near top level at 169'. I would say it was more in the 167-168' level or about two feet below what was stated. Plus, they did not generate any electricity all morning long. That means no water spill from the turbines. It was like fishing in a big bath tub.
In such situations, I will throw an reaction bait to entice the fish to attack... spinnerbaits, crankbaits, lipless crank baits are in order.
I believe that they were cleaning some units and every now and then, after 10:00 a.m., the siren would go off and just a small amount of water would discharge from different locations. This was not enough to turn on the fish and get things started.
We ended our trip around 11:00 a.m after catching 15 smallmouth and one nice channel cattie. Only three bass were longer than the 15" limit. That's not a bad day for just 4.5 hrs. of fishing. Dell had a great day throwing a SPRO ArukuShad in the Wild Shiner color.
Dell has gone from being a Mr. Twister tosser 100% of the time to an angler who now throws an array of lures. By doing so, he has increased his catch ten fold. We were talking today about his growth as an angler over the past five years or so. His confidence has improved in some of these lures that he now throws and he isn't hesitant to risk losing a lure to get a good bite going. For example, he broke off a crankbait and a small jerkbait today. These are the first two lost lures he has had this summer while fishing with me. That's pretty darn good!
We're suppose to get rain tomorrow and Monday. Tuesday's forecast looks like a decent day is in store for us . Then the remainder of the work week looks like there will be a potential of thunderstorms each day. temperatures will be in the low to mid-80's all week long.
Hopefully, I'll get a good report from the surgeon on Tuesday and be out on the water several days next week.
Take care and Stay Safe!
Dad
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