Water Temp and Sunfish Feeding

Yesterday I took Jacob to our local creek for some wade fishing and swimming. Water temp at 8:00am was 81 degrees. We fished and swam for about three hours before we threw in the towel. While snorkeling, we could see longear sunfish, spotted bass, largemouth bass, bluegill and big green sunfish. I threw the kitchen sink at them and only caught one small bluegill. We have fished this section of the creek pretty hard the last three summers and by late summer we can’t hardly buy a bite here. Water is really low and clear and getting warm. Do any of my fellow creek anglers notice a similar pattern in your neck of the woods? If I go north to some creeks with more springs and cooler water, I can still catch fish. Just a longer drive.Attachment 380177

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Originally Posted by D10

Water is really low and clear and getting warm.

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In hard conditions like these, I would use bait. I would position myself upstream and let the bait drift downstream under a float.

The hardest fish I can ever get to bite is one I can actually see.....I think they're watching us instead of the bait.....LOL

I think I will bring my cast net next time and catch some bait.


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Originally Posted by SKs Crappie Catching Adventures

tThe hardest fish I can ever get to bite is one I can actually see.....I think they're watching us instead of the bait.....LOL

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You know, there is a lot of truth to that. Years ago I was fishing a really beautiful pool where I could see the trout actually rising to check out my fly and then move away, time after time. I got so aggravated I finally threw rocks at them - that didn’t help either but I felt better! LOL
Bob

Suggestions:
Vary the time of day you fish: early, 9-1pm or 4pm - near sundown. Could make a difference.

Fishing before it rains or before a front moves through has an amazing affect on the number of strikes.

Have you tried light jigs and finesse soft plastics like the crappie or trout magnets? 1/32, 1/24 and 1/16 oz ball head jigs and 6# test braid do well with them. Even overhead spins (Beetle) used with 3" curl tail grubs on light jigs get some big strikes.

Along with finesse plastic lures rigged on light jigs is a slow presentation using reel handle 1/4 turns to impart some slight changes in lure speed horizontally.

I go down to 2# line, 1/48 or 1/62 jig head and 1" or so plastic tails fished real slow and deep. Black jig head and black or white tail (Bobby Garland Itty Bit Swim-R or something like that). One or the other color tail almost always works. It also takes a longer ultra light rod to cast that combination. The 7' Shakespeare Micro rod works just fine and is very inexpensive.

I waded creeks for years. When it gets hot, we used weightless plastic worms. Now I usually move to a 4inch Zoom lizard in cotton candy or redbug. Redbug has been really good the last several years. Rig it weedless on 6 lb line.