I was out of town the last 2 weeks of June so I hadn't been on the water for a bit. Took the week of the 4th off and fished every morning (Mon - Friday). Planning to switch to sandies/hybrids for the weekend for a change of pace.

Spent 15.5 hours on the water and caught 99 total crappie which is well below my average hourly catch rate, so the fishing was fairly slow. I hit almost every pile I have marked, only failed to try 2 areas so I covered a lot of ground. There were only 3 spots I hit that seemed to be loaded with fish, overall the fish seemed to be pretty scattered and not very aggressive.

I started out Monday fishing the Thump chubby for a few minutes and then switched to the 1/32 oz white/chart hair jig that I typically have to switch to in August ... the switch is early this year I guess. I fished the hair jig all week long. On Wednesday I lost a lot of fish before I realized that swinging in larger fish on that hair jig will bend the hook out so I paid more attention to it from that point on and didn't lose many fish afterwards. I knew this happens but I guess not fishing it for a year you have to re-learn lessons the hard way.

Water temp was consistently around 84 degrees all week. The fish did NOT want much if any movement on the jig -- I caught myself holding my breath on occasion. I did catch a few fish with a very slow pull away technique but most were caught sitting dead still. The bite was also VERY subtle even though I was fishing braid. Sometimes I didn't feel the hit just the tension and a couple times I saw the fish swimming away with the jig and I hadn't felt a thing.

I only kept fish on Monday and Thursday, all others were released. 13" and 14" fish were few and far between, most fish were on the smaller end of keeper range. I think I caught 3 or 4 unders for the week and only 2 or 3 14" fish.

Mon July 3rd 6:15am 12 in 2.5 hours
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Fished 16 - 22 FOW, best sports were in 18 FOW.


Tue July 4th 6:15am – 20 in 3 hours
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Fished 16 FOW in the first hour or two and then moved out to 20 - 25 FOW.


Wed July 5th 6:30am – 25 in 4.5 hours
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Fished 16 - 22 FOW and it was consistently slow all morning. The wake boat / jet ski traffic was lighter today and I left my dog home so I fished longer and decided to see how long it would take to catch my limit. Had to move a lot and pick just a few fish from each spot. The most productive spots were in 18 FOW just like Monday.


Thu July 6th 6:15am – 14 in 2.5 hours
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Caught 14 in 2.5 hours on 1/32 oz white/chart hair jig. Fished 15 FOW early and moved to 18 - 20 FOW. It was a slow day with just 2 or 3 fish coming from each pile.


Fri July 7th 6:30am – 28 in 3 hours
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I tried a more meticulous approach to fishing every single pile but moving quickly … I fished a hump that has lots of piles and I hit every single pile I had marked. Some spots I caught 0, some 2. The last spot I fished was loaded in 22 FOW ... I caught 10 on it and the fish were very aggressive and would swim out 2 feet from the pile and hit my jig as soon as I dropped it. Best spots were 18 - 22 FOW.

Great report Ron! Great way to spend time off work.

Nice report Ron.

Good report!

Great job!! Love the detail!!

Solid report RD

Been thinking about you Ron. Need to get together again soon.

I'm white bass / hybrid fishing cedar creek Monday and Tawakoni Tuesday of next week.

Maybe after that?

Ron,
I got to meet you on the water one morning by Pinnacle. I was in the skeeter with my father-in-law fishing for bass. It was nice meeting you.

Ah yes, I remember you guys .. nice to have met you too -- hope ya'll eventually found some. Oddly enough, that area you were fishing is a place I've never accidentally caught any largemouth but it should be perfect for them. I used to exclusively fish for largemouth and I've considered going out to some of those brushpiles and tossing a worm or carolina rigged lizard (my personal favorite).

I've caught a few good bass on that point before. I had to hit a ton of brush piles to find a willing bass though. I assume the hump with the brush is up mid-lake(ish). I need to bass fish that area too.

I did crappie fish a pile last Saturday. I was bass fishing and saw a ton of crappie on the graph. Managed a few on a jig.

Ron
When you switch to the 1/32 jig, do you add a split shot or just use the jig? Thx for all your information!!

I always add a bullet weight about 18" above the jig even when I'm using heavier jigs. The bullet weight helps me identify my lure easier, so I always have it.