Fishing is fantastic despite the lake being over 7' high and stained. Avoid any water North of the White House because that is about where the mud line is for the East end of the lake. Fish (white bass/keeper sized) are biting slabs in 15-25 FOW on main lake points and humps. Hybrid are slow but we are catching a few here and there. You can also catch a pile of really small fish if you want to fish deeper but the small ones get old. Typically this time of year we would be back in the creeks casting small jigs, roadrunners, etc but since the lake level is so high we cannot get the boat back to where the fish are. The guys on foot are killing it though.. The issue is that the trees that are normally above your head and in the canopy are now in your face.. bummer. Thank goodness for a steady main lake bite though that really turned on within the last week after the gates became open. Usually that shuts them down but it has had an opposite affect and I am not complaining. Ive ran five trips this last week and my customers are averaging 100 plus fish an outing.

The best advice I can give you guys is to use a splasher to keep them under the boat. Put your thumpers in the attic and forget about them until the water temps go back to below 60 degrees this fall (please they are annoying even though they work). With a splasher you will literally out fish others using the same techniques 10-1 this time of year. The slabs that are producing the best are the shad slab in glitter as well as the minnow slab in chartreuse from RSR Lures.. American made products people... I see a lot of different ways people use slabs that don't produce well. What I am instructing customers to do is pop it off the bottom fast and then let the bait fall at the same rate they lower their poles. A common mistake people make is to pop it up fast and then immediately lower the rod back to the surface of the water. What that causes is slack line. The white bass are going to hit that slab on the way down most of the time. If your line is slack you will miss the strikes. To avoid missed strikes make sure to pop it off the bottom fast (only about 2') and then lower the rod slowly making sure you have no slack in your line.

I hope some of this helps a few of you guys and gals. Please feel free to share what else is working for you on this thread. Should you want to book a trip I operate 7 days a week and would be extremely grateful for your business.

Here are some hero pics from the last three days.

Nice ketch. Mudline is key right now on most N.TX lakes. Fish that aren't going to spawn this year are thick. You must be on spot lock to use the raise and drop technique. So many solid and successful techniques for slapping and or using a jig. The unfortunate thing is most are not useable by persons that don't know how to fish. Treble hooks are a real pain unless one is removed and one of the remaining hook barbs are smashed. RSR makes barbless slabs that will help future fish populations!

Great report and teaching Phill, you tha man! Thanks for the info!

This is only my second season. Where is the white house, looking for the mud line

the white house is in the little elm arm of the lake. large white single story house with a grey roof on it. directly across the area is the entrance to cottonwood marina.

Sold post and fish. Good job.

Great info Phill. Thanks for sharing. I stopped and talked to you last Sunday at the dock. Was in the Majek Extreme. Can you explain how you are using a splasher? Is this at the surface or underwater with your second trolling motor? WTG making some awesome memories for your clients!

I use both a thumper and splasher off and on all year. I actually have a minn Kota 45 trolling motor mounted on my transom with a splasher propeller on it. I use my bow motor to spot lock and my transom motor for splashing. I have a greyline and there are guys that sell them on the forum as well...

Well done!

White bass, Hybrids, as well as Striper make a ton of noise when they are feeding aggressively at the surface. What we are trying to do is basically mimic the sound. A splasher prop affixed to the end of a hand steer trolling motor can be ran at different speeds to make more or less noise as it hits the surface of the water (I use low). The existing prop on a trolling motor is swapped with the splasher prop. The difference in the props is that a splasher prop is not curved, therefore it does not propel the boat. It is either cupped or flat on the end and just pops the water as it goes around and around.. Position the splasher so that the housing of the lower unit is slightly above the water line. all you need is for the ends of the splasher prop to be hitting the water as it rotates.

There are a couple manufacturers I have bought them from. Ive also built a few on my own. In my opinion, if you're looking to purchase one check out the model sold by Greyline bait tanks. I believe I have their medium (10") sized one ($50). I have it mounted on a Min-Kota Endura 30lb trolling motor that I got at Academy for $100. I had to build a custom mount for it to hang off the back of my center console also. Make sure to install it on the opposite side fo the boat as your transducers..


Link to the one i have: http://www.graylinebaittanks.com/?page=12&sku=SPLASHERM

Great info. Thanks

Better fishing in the AM or PM?

Thanks for your reply. I just now saw it. I need to check my email notification setting.