Went out yesterday from 2:30PM to 6PM and focused on the south end. Found fish up on the 14 fow just west of Saint Annes Drop-off. Most of these were the 10 to 12 inches. From there I headed to the dam area and stopped 1st at Campbell's Hump. Caught fish there for a while until a loon came in and scared them off the structure. So, I checked out Dam drop-off and nothing there.

Then went to Dam Ridge and they were there, and big. Most were 13 to 15 inches. I was catching them in 21 fow when Benny, son Vincent and the wife (sorry, forgot your name) pulled near by. I motioned them over to where I was fishing and demo'd the Mepps method for them, who were already using Mepps. I was catching a big white every cast until another loon moved in and spooked the fish off that part of the structure. I headed south along the ridge and found fish in 15 to 17 fow on eastern edge of the ridge. These were also big fish. Caught them for a while, and yes, another loon moved in. This time I held out one of the smaller fish I had caught and the loon came closer to the boat. I tossed it toward the loon and he dove under water to catch it, and emerged with fish in mouth. He came back for a 2nd fish and I obliged him. After eating the 2 two 11 inch whites he left. But the fish there had been spooked, so I moved farther south along the eastern edge of the ridge and found more fish in 12 to 15 fow. Caught good sized fish there until I was tired and headed in. Ended up with 86: 80 sandies, 4 short hybrids and a crappie. All caught on #4 Mepps.

One noteworthy point: the fish for the first time this year wanted a fast retrieve reeling my 7:1 reel about 6 cranks. I checked the water temp and it was 68.4 degrees - the highest I have seen this year. The fast retrieve seemed to work best in the deeper water (20 to 22 fow) , and in shallower water a jerk start with medium retrieve worked best.

Good report! Thanks

It was nice seeing you in action Saturday an with your help i was able to put some in the boat . I was want to get Vicente a spincast reel to use with the Mepps Technique and was wondering what you use . Also what trolling motor are you set up with , thinking about upgrading

Good tips, DC!

On CC for the first time Friday night with a couple of guys from work fishing some docks. First hour and a half very productive. Wind picked up and got nasty for three guys on an 18' Bass'r. A small billed crank bait and white/ green paddle tail were most productive.

Thanks for the report.

I was at BassPro recently shopping for the best spin-cast I could find for my guests and ended up getting the Abu Garcia Aubamatic 170. Good casting reels work so much better (sensitivity to light bites and smoothness in reeling in a fish once on the line), I would teach Vincente to use one as soon as possible. Re trolling motor, when I bought my iPilot in 2012 I had to get a compatible TM, which is the MinnKota Terrova 12Volt for my 17 ft alum bass boat.

4/4/2017 report: Went out from 3:30 to 6:30 PM to see where the whites were after all the rain Sunday. With strong SW wind I went to west side and began looking at A-Frame Point. Nothing there or Sam's Hump. Found a few at Key Ranch Drop-off and caught 5. Checked Key Ranch North and 3-Jug Hump and nothing. Ended at Old-pond Dam and it was loaded. Caught fish just about every cast til I got to 50 whites then quit and headed for the house. Average size was 12 inches with as many bigger (13 to 15 inches) as smaller (10 to 11 inches) fish. Fish there were in depths from 15 to 23 fow. I will add this spot to my map. Water temp was 67.9 degrees. Still catching on #4 silver Mepps plain Aglia.

4/14/2017 report: Since the rains of 4/2 I have found fish in only a couple of places - the rains seemed to shake things up. Finally, yesterday I had great success, and the pattern has changed - fish are now on deep humps as well as some of the shallow points and humps. I caught 81: 66 whites, 11 hybrids, 3 cats and a 12 inch yellow bass. I caught them deep (25 fow) at Mid-lake Hump and Merimac Point way out on the deep end just before it drops off into 30+ fow. At both places I stopped when I had caught 25 and moved on to check other spots. I found a few at Game Warden Hump, but gave the small spot to a young man with 2 kids who came there to get out of the wind.

The last place I tried was Saint Annes Point East. It was loaded with big sandies and hybrids. I caught 10 keeper hybrids in that one spot reeling a #4 Mepps alternating fast and very fast up from the bottom. All the other fish were also caught using a #4 Mepps reeling medium to fast up from the bottom.

Went out from 5:30PM til sunset. Caught a few good sandies at Saint Annes Point East, but boat traffic forced me to leave that spot, and I headed for dam area. Found fish at Campbells' Hump. Caught some nice sand bass and a 20 1/2 inch LMB then went to check Dam Drop-off and Dam Ridge. Nothing there. Realized I left my marker at Campbell's Hump so I slowly cruised back in that direction when I went over a bunch of fish in the shallow spot just south of Dam Drop-off. I was in 10 fow just to the south of high spot. I stopped and caught 10 legal hybrids in the next 30 minutes without moving. I only caught the hybrids there - no sandies or anything else. Caught one on my last cast as sun went below horizon and I headed home. All caught on #4 Mepps.

Went on a scouting run Thursday Apr 20 and found fish in 3 places: Campbell's Hump in 20 fow, Long Ridge in 22 fow and Mid-lake Hump in 25 fow. Caught 10 fish at each spot then moved on leaving them biting to check out other spots. Still using #4 Mepps. Water temp up to 75 degrees.

Went out Monday 4/24 early and, after searching for shallow action, could only find fish on deep humps: Greenhouse Ridge, East Dam Hump and Mid-lake Hump. Ended up with 55 on the scouting trip. That was to prepare for a trip out with my pastor and 2 more the following (Tuesday) morning, and we caught 3 fish. A big surprise and disappointment.

Thursday 4/27: Pre-fished Saint Andrews Point East from 2 to 3 pm catching 25 before TFFer Andrew came by with his large tri-toon pontoon boat. He picked me up at about 4PM, and we tried to fish Saint Annes Point, but by then the wind was too strong for him to hold anchor. So, we went to dam area and marked all the spots near and out from the dam on his GPS map. We found fish at Dam Ridge West of the Pole and Campbell's Hump but couldn't hold anchor there. We went to West Dam Hump, found some fish and managed to hold anchor there for a short period. I was able to demo the Mepps technique there catching several, and he also caught one or two using the Mepps.

With the wind so strong he would have needed a 50 lb anchor to hold that boat, and he had a 12 lb anchor. I also suggested he buy a detailed maps chip-set for his depth finder.

Friday 4/28: With strong southerly winds I went straight to dam area and found fish at Greenhouse Ridge, Dam Ridge West of Pole and Campbell's Hump. Was catching fish every cast when I left for home. Ended up with 60: 52 whites to 15 1/2 inches, 4 hybrids, 3 keeper yellow bass and a crappie. All the hybrids were caught at Dam Ridge West of Pole in 18-19 fow. Still only using #4 silver Mepps plain Aglia spinner.