My brother and I went to Tville yesterday (3/12/16). The water was like chocolate milk with a lot of floating debris but we gave it a try anyway. We hit up two spots on the lower end without a bite. We ventured up the main lake a little ways and found better water clarity but still no luck. Our jigs disappeared as soon as they hit the water. Clarity was literally inches and debris made it impossible to spider rig or cast jigs.
Name: IMAG2507.jpg Views: 876 Size: 80.8 KB
We made the decision to abandon Tville and make the drive to Green in search of better conditions. My brother called Emerald Isle and it sounded promising. It was a rare time where I had all day to work with so we loaded up and was on the road by 9:30.
We got to Green around 11:30 and noticed right away we would have better chances. Water temp was 55 when we got there and rose to 59 by 6 o'clock when we left. Levels were still at winter pool and just a little stained.
Our first spot was in about 6-8 ft water and immediately caught about 6-8 craaps on a drop shot. We ate lunch and continued on to our next spots. Winter pool had left a lot of brush high and dry so it altered our plans. All our deeper spots yielded only Dinks so we tried shallower areas following our gut according to water temp. Thump, thump, thump. A little pile of brush in about 4 ft of water was loaded with prespawn females.
We fished that spot three times throughout the day and it produced every time. Every other similar areas were holding prespawn females here and there. Some in 2-3 ft water.
Wally Marshall 2" Slabolicious jigs in Popsicle was the ticket. My brother switched to them and immediately caught fish 2 to 1 to my jig. So I switched to the Slabo's and it turned into a good day.
All the females were full of eggs but they were still really firm and not ready to be released. Give it about another week to week-and-a-half and if the water temp stays where it's at, Green will be in full spawn. Full moon is March 23. Look for spawn to be in full swing around then.
We ended up with 21 keepers out of around 50 fish. Jig under float, drop shot, minnow and slip bobber, spider rigging, and casting jigs all produced fish for us, but by far, casting the Slabo's on a 1/16 oz jig head was king.
Name: IMG_4883.jpg Views: 891 Size: 61.6 KB
As I always say, a little grit goes a long way in fishing. Don't give up, even if u have to drive to another lake to get results. I love to feel that thump!


BTW, my brother registered last week with the site. I'll be looking forward to your sarcastic comments to my posts, CrappieSnob!! But seriously, I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather fish with. Thanks for helping with our great day yesterday! That's how you get it done.