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!
7 comments:
This is a good time of year to try the Tenney Park breakwater where the Yahara flows out of Mendota. You have a chance at a huge walleye or northern coming in to feed in the late evening.
have you ever catch any fish with those spinning lure?
Hi Rodney. No, I haven't caught anything yet with them. Right now I'm not really catching any fish though. :) I'm looking forward to trying them again in the spring and early summer when the fish are more aggressive.
spinnerbite was killer lure to hunt snakehead at my place..i think you will catch someting with it..
Ben, I used to use spinner baits all the time and there is a bit of a learning curve with them. Once you are dialed in with them then they perform well. I hate geting skunked but I think we belong to the 90% crowd, meaning 90% of the time we catch fish.
Thanks for the visit
Tight lines
Cheers
Hey Ben, you might try matching your spinnerbaits to local baitfish especially when water is clear. They work best bounced off cover or burned in stop and go.
Buzzbaits are for on top the water. They are best late Spring to mid Fall.
Good Blog.
Thanks for the encouragement fish whisperer and BT! I'll definitely do my homework before I go out next time. I've been very slow to try out new lures and baits, but reading all the success stories on your blogs has served as a good kick in my pants to get me out there trying new things.
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