I got out yesterday between rains and found that fish are still on Long Ridge in 21 to 23 fow. I managed a limit of 25 - all whites - then came in. Water temp is 50 degrees. Lake is 3 inches from being full - up 21 inches since end of January.

Nice, Dennis. The water temp went up 2 degrees from a week ago. That was my guess with the rain we had.

With the lake now over full I went out this afternoon to see if fish were still in their pattern - on humps in 20 to 26 fow - and they were. I found them still hugging bottom in 4 spots: Long Ridge West, Mid-lake Hump, 3-Jug Hump and Merimac Point. Caught 35 and left them biting. Water temp now 53.5 degrees. Water clarity almost clear/normal.

Are you still catching them on the mepps technique?

Cedar Crk is warming up quicker than Hubbard is. There is a lot of debris floating on the lakes. Be careful.

Monday 2/26/2018 the good and the bad: TFFer lenahorse Larry came down to fish. The day started cloudy then cleared off and was a beautiful day to be out on the water - that and Larry's company was the good. The bad - as I feared from the sharp rise in lake level and perhaps the 1st sunny day in 3 weeks, was that the fish pattern changed. We caught 5 fish at the 1st spot, when it was still cloudy. We caught only 5 more the rest of the day after the sun came out. We couldn't find fish on most structures, and when we did find a few, they were moving around so we couldn't stay on them or they just wouldn't bite like they had been the last few weeks. Larry caught the best fish - a 17 inch fat hybrid. He caught his on a white tail-spinner and I on white Mepps.

Re the new pattern: When the lake rose suddenly in past winters like in 2012 and 2017, fishing was off for a couple of weeks meaning I couldn't find a pattern and caught few fish. So, I'm expecting it to be off again for a couple of weeks. I've got some home projects I can get done - then try then again in a week or two.

Here are a couple of pics:

Larry with a nice white:


Yours truly with a white:

What no mepps for a couple weeks??? Oh noooo, Dennis

Thanks for sharing.

I did go out during the fog and overcast yesterday to verify the fish had left and they have. Checked several favorite structures and no fish.

Dennis, is that because you believe they've headed upstream to spawn?
If so how long do you normally find they are breaking the normal pattern for on your lake?

I wonder if that's due to the gates being opened. Bunch of us were on hubbard Sunday. Many boats. It was SLOW. I believe with the lake rising over pool level, the gates are opened.

Yes, I believe many if not most are going upstream to spawn because of the run-off from recent rains. In the past I was able to find some fish on structures after a couple of weeks.