I was delighted to get back on the water after some family visitors, work, and brutally hot temperatures kept me away from the lake for too long. There were lots of boats on the water to start the day, but the fishing was tough and their number gradually thinned out as the day went by. Morning started clear and calm, with barely a ripple on the water. This cold front that passed a few days ago brought some serious relief to North Carolina. Surface temperature was in the low 80s and visibility was good, though the water was slightly stained. In the river section of the lake there was a distinct thermocline at 14 feet, though I only caught one small crappie in the first mile of paddling. I immediately caught a bigger black crappie after switching colors to a a brighter lure, though the bite on it went cold real quick. For a time it felt like I was just washing to paint off my lures, so I changed the setback distance between rods to vary the depths the #5 Flicker Shads were running. As I paddled down the main basin of the lake, the water was clearer and the thermocline looked slightly deeper. It appeared that most of the shad schools were in the upper 1/3 of the lake. I kept changing lures as I went, searching for the right color combination. It wasn't until I caught a few on a black & chartreuse that things clicked. I figured the way to decide which color they preferred was put black on one rod and chartreuse on the other and let the fish tell me what they wanted. Black started catching fish right away and chartreuse didn't draw the first strike. I caught most fish on the back hook, missed several short strikes, and had too many spit the hook. Short strikes beats no strikes. The breeze picked up and a few clouds rolled in, though they didn't appear the change the fishing. I ended up with 27 crappie (probably lost 15 more), three junior bass, and two catfish. Nothing was exceptionally large, though I gave 6 of the biggest (11 inch) crappie to a guy who was having no luck and was frustrated by me catching fish off a spot he'd just left. The app on the phone says I paddled just under 14 miles in 7 hours of fishing. Also had an otter swim between me and the bank, but he left before I could get his picture. It was a great day to get on the water and enjoy some crappie fishing.
Jim
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