Catches during this period: Trip 1: 2 of us caught 27, Trip 2: one caught 21, Trip 3: 2 of us caught 23 and Trip 4: yesterday I caught 27: 21 whites, 3 hybrids, 2 keeper yellow bass and a cat. We can clearly see fish on the bottom with shad, but getting them to bite is the devil - even in 10 to 15 ft water. I talked to a prominant CC guide re this morning's trip, and he only picked up 10 to 15 keeper whites and that includes trolling. Fishing is usually more difficult in August, but this year seems unusually difficult. I am catching most of what I do catch in 10 to 15 ft ledges next to drop-offs using a #2 Mepps spinner (I refuse to troll). Half a dozen of the fish I caught yesterday were with a #4 Mepps trying to get reaction strikes by violently starting and stopping the lure in short bursts on the bottom. The strikes on the #2 with weight up line are with low and medium slow retrieve.

Checking posts from the last few years, fishing should pick up in September.

Here are some picks from the 4 trips mentioned above:

Grandson Sam with nice white:


A hybrid I caught on 8/11:


Hybrids caught Aug 13 to 21:

Excellent report. I read your interesting article again tonight. The question I have is how do you cast and get the Melphs to the bottom in a reasonable time. I did pick up a couple of them at Cabelas shortly after I read your article the first time a few mondths ago and they seem so light compared to the 7/8 oz Bomber slab I have been using. I just haven't tried them yet! Like most fishing some days I have done well and others 1 or 2 to show for my efforts. Unfortunately I haven't be en out for several weeks now due partly to the heat and mostly because I have been working on a big project in my shop (they like to call them barns in my neighborhood). That is coming to an end soon and hope to get back out this week (maybe).
See that your a 64 graduate. I am a Jan 58 graduate of Louisiana Tech so I have a few years on you. LOL

Interesting Dennis, keep us up to date! CC is not the only lake I've heard of the slow pace fishing.

Must be slow if dennis isn't on em

Jayboy: To get Mepps to sink to bottom in a reasonable time, I start with extra thin line. My preference is Berkley Vanish Transition 10 lb test, which is 0.011 inch in diameter. Next I keep my spool tension loose so when I push the release it unreels freely. With a #4 Mepps this is all that is needed. Of course it won't sink as fast as a slab but it does sink in a reasonable time. If that's not fast enough for you, you can do what I do with a #2 Mepps and add a 3/16 oz weight about 15 inches up the line. I use mash-on weights for convenience. The #2 is definitely too light without the extra weight. With it it sinks about like the #4 without a weight. If I find fish below 30 ft (rarely do) I would probably add more weight to get it to bottom faster. Also, to speed things up I pay close attention to the line giving enough slack to not restrict the free-fall but not so much slack that I can't tell the second the Mepps hits the bottom. I've seen others let out way too much slack and they don't really know when the lure reaches the bottom, so they're waiting more time than necessary to start working the lure. Tip: another way to know when your lure is on bottom is with a loose reel lightly touch the reel with your thumb feeling the reel turn. When it stops turning, you are on bottom. This presumes your boat is substantially stationary (at anchor or held in position with another method).