Went out 3 times this past week (Mon-Wed-Fri) to try and catch some whites on 15 to 25 fow structures � as opposed to dead-sticking suspended fish in 30 to 45 fow as I think everyone else is doing. Was out 2 to 3 hours each time in the middle of the day and did manage at least a limit of whites each trip. Water temp is still around 48 to 50 degrees F. Places checked were East Hump, Long Ridge, Mid-lake Hump, 3-Jug Hump, Merimac Point, Spillway Hump and Iron Wall Hump. On Monday and Wednesday the only good concentrations were found and caught on Mid-lake Hump in 18 to 22 fow. On Friday the only good concentration found was at Merimac Point in 16 to 18 fow. I used a #4 silver Mepps Aglia and fished it like in my video (below). I reel it just fast enough to make the blade spin. The bite is either a light peck or the line just getting heavy. In either case I set the hook. Fish are mostly 13 to 16 inches long and more are males than fat females.

On Monday I ran into fishing friend John of John and Luanne at Mid-lake Hump. This trip he was with another fishing buddy, and I took the photo below. I also ran into J.D. and his 2 boys at Long Ridge. J.D. is a friend and work associate of TFF�s FlyingMonkey. On Wednesday I ran into and met TFF's Cedar Jim at Long Ridge. Don't know how all these folks ended up doing. Maybe they can add to this post.

John and friend at Mid-lake Hump:

Glad you found some shallower fish. I'm sure the warmer weather has helped drive those fish shallower. I bet here in a month there will be even more on humps. I haven't done anything but dead-stick in 35-50 ft of water. As long as it keeps working I'm not gonna change.

We were at Lake Fork on Friday. Fish were in 50ft of water. Light taps were all you would feel dead sticking but the fish were 2 1/2 to 3lbs. Water temp was 50 degrees.

Thanks for the report Dennis!

Good job, Dennis. That is how everyone caught them in the winter before this dead sticking thing caught on. Just goes to show you the fish never change.



Gene, were there any crappie fishermen fishing in the area you were fishing? Should have been crappie down there also.

Nice report and video.

Great report sir. Nice work.

I talked to JD and he didn't quite have the luck you did. They did catch some each day they were out. As always thanks for posting your reports.

Don, re the way folks used to fish in the winter, I never fished in Dec-Feb until I joined TFF. I figured all the fish were on the bottom in the deepest part of the lake. Right after I joined the forum in August 2009 somebody did a forum survey asking whether people fished for whites/hybrids just during certain months or all year round. To my surprise most said they fished all year round. So, in the winter of 2009-2010 I fished for the 1st time and indeed discovered I could catch fish even with water temps down to 43 degrees. So, this is a testament to what you can learn on the forum.