Nimrod,
I know what you mean about being puzzled about this year. Our lake has bumped up 10-15 degrees in the last week, & I'm thinkin, I've got to fish cypress trees now, & yesterday I caught 2 fish. It seemed that they turned off because of other factors besides temp, like the wind (or lack thereof). My home water is oxbow, and relatively small, 100-150 acres. We are seeing a big rise & fall in temps, going from 56-65 during the course of a day. I did see a difference in jig size today. I caught some on 1/32 oz jig, & couldn't get a nibble on a 1/16oz jig w/ a spinner blade. These are the subtle little changes that I've been trying to play with. I think it's some of the things that fishing w/ a partner has some definate advantage over. It's not just about color. There are a lot of things that have to be considered other than water temperature.