Went on a scouting run today from 8:10AM to 1:45PM. Focus was on locating fish and catching enough to prove spot was good. Did manage to catch 64: 50 whites, 8 cats, 5 keeper yellow bass and a 21 inch hybrid.
Details: I started by checking 3 spots on the south end: Dam Drop-off, Dam Ridge and Staubauch Hump. For me fishing south of Long Ridge this year has been very poor. But, like today, I occasionally check some of the spots that have been good in years past. Again, there was nothing on those 3 spots this morning. So, I headed to Key Ranch Drop-off, which has been pretty consistent this summer. There I found fish all along the drop-off. I would park in about 12 fow and cast out into 17 to 19 fow and reel the Mepps up the slope. When fish would move along the slope I'd relocate too. In an hour and a half I had over 30 including 25 whites. I caught them on both #2 and #4 Mepps. Left still catching fish to check out some other spots. I didn't see anything at Merimac Hump (like the last several times I've been there). Went over to Iron Wall Hump and ran into guide Billy Seaman with party. They had caught some there trolling. I went on to Slide Hump but only caught a cat there. When Billy left Iron Wall I went there and marked a few fish in 22 fow but couldn't get them to bite.
From there I went to north tip of Spillway Hump, but saw few fish there. On to the Rock Pile where I saw a good concentration and caught 10 of them with a #2 Mepps. Left still catching them to try Enchanted Isle Ridge. There I ran into John and wife LuAnne, who were catching big whites with a #4 Mepps. Pic of them below. I fished along side them for a while picking up several nice whites. Left to look around the ridge a little more, but only found suspended fish on the move. Next I headed back south and checked Kevin's Point, where I found a good bunch of fish. Caught another 5 sandies on #4s to get me to 50, then headed in.
I had also gone out on Tuesday for a short trip and found good concentrations of sandies at the mid-point of Long Ridge and at Key Ranch drop-off.
John and LuAnne at Enchanted Isle Ridge:
