Tville 4/1/16 Report*

[BubbaThump]

A friend of mine asked if I would take him fishing last night after work. After about twisting my arm off I finally agreed. Haha!😜 We launched at about 6 o'clock and started our battle with the wind.

The water temp was 58 at 6 o'clock but dropped back to 56 when we left at 8:30. Right near Settlers Trace ramp was stained but once we got out to the main lake the water was the perfect clarity. Wind was about 15-20 mph sustained strait from the west.

Our first spot was in about 4-5 ft of water and it really produced with about 6 keepers, four of which were 12" females. We moved on after that spot slowed down and found 5 more keepers in 15-18 ft of water around one spot of standing timber. All fish were VERY aggressive and fought harder than I have ever seen. The jig of choice was still my brother's favorite, Wally Marshall Slabolicious in Popsicle color.

Our third spot was really slow, but my curse still lives on. I got thumped about 5 ft from the shore and told my friend to get the net. We were waiting to scoop the fish up but I just couldn't move her. She stayed down pretty good and threw my jig after a hard fight. It fought harder than any of the 12" fish we had previously caught. My friend told me to just tell myself it was a bass but deep inside I know better. That thump was unmistakable and the way she fought makes me know it was a craap. We lost two other keepers along the way. Bummer.

We ended up with 12 keepers in about 2 1/2 hrs. Daylight faded away and the bite diminished along with my casting accuracy. Haha. It was very cool seeing my friend set the hook on some nice fat females. We did better than I expected, which was a blessing from God. On the drive home as I looked up thru the sunroof and watched the clouds, I couldn't help but thank God and my wife for allowing me to live my dream of chasing that "thump". Hopefully one day I can move back to Taylorsville and make it as a guide. My little lake deserves much credit!

[CrappiePappy]

Bubba .... I thought about using some Slabalicious Roadrunners in Popsicle, but did so well on a solid pink custom made marabou Roadrunner that I never bothered to un-package one of them. Good to know that they work !!

I know how you feel about sticking one that you just know was a P.I.G. and have it come unbuttoned. Happened to me on my Easter trip !! I tried to shrug it off as "probably a Bass", but deep down I just knew it was a Crappie ... and likely bigger than the 12" fish that I was catching then.

And I know what you mean about them "fighting harder" ... I even told my fishing partner to not bring any of his "wimpy poles" along on the Wednesday trip

[Johnny miller]

I had been using tuxedo black and chartreuse crappie thunder jigs and decided to give the popsicle slabalicious a try and they produced

[chaunc]

Thats a nice bunch of fish.

[BubbaThump]

IMO, once you find the fish, any contrasting color that will grab their attention will work. Especially this time of year where they are hungry from the winter and feeding up to gain energy for the spawn.

A word to the Tville guys: Yall are doing a great job getting on the fish. This is the best spring I've seen so far for numbers and size. I want my little lake and town (Taylorsville) to get all the publicity it can. Support the local economy and baitshops while you are there (I know there isn't much when it comes to little custom bait shops, but maybe one day I can change that). I really wanna see the area thrive and my lake put on the map. It really is a crappie producing machine.

Now, if I could just get some time to go fishing for a extended amount of time........these two hour squeeze-in trips go by so fast. Y'all are makin me jealous!!! Haha.