NWR 1/5/2013

I went fishing Saturday at NWR and got there a little late, around 8 a.m. The water temp was 38 when I arrived, but warmed up to 42 by the end of the day. The water looked cloudy to me, and there was a FAV/algae bloom in the upper reaches between Bob's and the park. The day started out very slow, and didn't pick up a whole lot of speed. I didn't get but 2 bites before 11 a.m., and I think they were from the same fish. You can see the algae/FAV in the picture:



So, I headed down river casting and longlining, but didn't get any more bites until I got to the state line:



I also picked up 9 more there:






A 13 in green carp (couldn't show the picture on this site!) and a warmouth perch:



I fished until about 4 pm, and had to call it a day:



It was so slow that I threw everything at them, all day. I dragged 4 corks w/minnows, while spider rigging 4 poles out front and trolling 2 more. And I cast a bunch the whole time. It was slow, but multiple poles, tactics, and methods kept the skunk away. Half the fish were caught on minnows, and half were caught on jigs (BGBS pink/pearl and chartreuse/pearl). I had my best luck about 10' to 12' deep. I never made it to the shallow water, but I kept thinking I should try 5' for a couple bigger-ones of these:





Maybe next week.

I had a great time. It was a beautiful day with calm winds and few boats:



and I am always grateful when I can bring home a little something for supper:



Good luck everyone,



ID