Chuck and I went out to the Yahara yesterday. Unfortunately, the sun was going down almost as soon as we got out there, so we weren't able to fish that much. It finally started to get cold this week, and it has had a big affect on the river. The water level has continued to drop, and the weeds are all dying off - leaving the water much clearer than we've been used to. The first thing we noticed is the sunfish are gone; they must have moved down into the lake. There were plenty of minnows though, and we could hear the white bass feeding on them against the sides beneath the bridge, so that's what we went after. Chuck caught 2 of them on his first few casts, one of them pretty big. I didn't have as much luck on my side. He was using a small plain silver spoon, something I don't have in my tackle box. Next time I go shopping I'll have to pick up a few so that I have more choices for white bass besides small spinners.
Jeff inspired me to try out buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, so I gave both of them a try. I used the orange and yellow one with silver blade (below), and the spinnerbait on the far left. The spinnerbait was too heavy for the river, but the buzzbait worked well right up on the surface or a few inches below. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be anything moving in the river. With the clear water I could see the bottom almost half way across the river, but no fish.
Well... this is the first time in 2008 that I got skunked! Chuck gave me the smaller white bass (12") though, so I still got to eat fish for dinner. Delicious! Edit: I just realized... yesterday I didn't eat any storebought meat. I had a duck for lunch that my friend Terry gave me, and I had white bass for dinner. I'm a man of the land!
