Lavon 8/18/22

We went out at daylight this morning and fished until about 11:30.

This was the worst day this year. We caught a total of TWO crappie, and one of them was a dink, one sand bass and 4 channel cats, all probably 10" or so.

All fish went back in the lake.

We use Livescope and did not even see the numbers of fish we had been seeing. We were fishing 20-22 FOW in standing timber. Most of the fish we did see were at about 15-17' and we saw very few that looked like big fish. We did NOT try shallow water. Maybe we should have, cause there sure weren't many fish where we were.

We talked to a guy at the ramp on the way out and he said he fished all morning as well and only caught one sand bass.

Another thing that was odd, it was a beautiful morning, wind was perfect, did not get very hot and we saw a total of 4 other boats on the lake all day. No jet skis, no ski boats, nothing. One trailer in the parking lot when we left at the power plant ramp.

Wayne

Fished last night and was going to drop a report. Did better than normal fishing shallow 10-14ft. Caught a couple on standing timber, 1 fish per tree, but lost were around shallow brush piles. Not on them, but the crappie seemed to be roaming around the outside of the pile chasing shad.

That sounds like fishing a cool morning in the summer on lavon. The fishing is going to be best when it is blistering hot outside this time of year and the sun is shining. Afternoons (between 1-6) are always best.

I am glad I am not the only one.

I went sunday AM about 8 . Got on my first pile in open water about 18 feet deep, caught two real nice fish right away then nada , moved to several other piles just one more fish small.

Dumped the 2 and went home at noon. Also real calm before the heat set in it was tolerable.

At least you made out. You got a bonus when you did not get skunked. Being on the water is what counts. Catching fish is "icing on the cake"! Enjoyed the post.

I feel your pain.

McKinneycrappie, I have seen several posts where you advocate heat of the day fishing at Lavon. So I gave it a shot. I have been out twice in the heat of the day and didn't do all that well either day. Better than the early morning trip yesterday, but still not very good. If I am going to fish in the heat of the day, I am going to have to put a bimini or something on my boat. It is just too uncomfortable sitting in the sun to fish.

We went at daylight last week and caught 25 NICE keepers and about 25 throwbacks by about 11:00.

So I think sometimes it's just better than others, but mornings are far more pleasant.

Wayne

STAcoolvest.com

I have the Black Industrial vest $265 comes with two sets of cooling packs. There are 6 packs to a set.
It depends on the individual, what you are doing, Heat, humidity, etc. In my experience you get a good solid 2 hours to 2.5 hours of real feel good cooling.

When it stops cooling take a 5 minute break, pull out the used packs, slap in some new packs from the cooler, and you have another 2-2.5 hours of real feel good cooling. You can order extra cooling pack sets for $45. I bought 4 extra sets and actually have 6 sets (36 packs). That equates to a solid 12-15 hours of real feel good cooling.

Bought the cooling vest after my heat exhaustion event on Tawokini last summer at 10:15am it scared the heck out of me.

I understand the vest aren't cheap and many folks will just not fish when it's hot.

Some folks will take a dip in the lake to cool off or maybe go find a bridge. Different strokes for different folks.

Dad and I wanted the option to fish all day if we wanted too wherever we wanted.

We bought the cooling vests and the extra cooling packs. We have around $500 invested in each vest with the extra cooling packs.

They are a Game Changer in our opinion.

If I was a Fishing Guide it would be required equipment just like a boat, rods, and fishing license.

If your gonna fish in the heat of the day, you definitely want to keep your core body temperature cool, and be able to enjoy the day.

The cooling vest in my opinion is necessary equipment.

It will feel heavy once it is loaded the first time you use it, but once wearing it you won't even know it's on you with the exception of dang this feels great!

We have a separate cooler for the extra cooling packs. You use those blue cooler packs not ice to keep them cold. We wrap the other cooling packs in a towel and put them in the cooler to help keep them cold.

We obviously have some money invested in the vest, extra cooling Packs, cooler, cooler packs etc,
Absolutely it is an investment just like anything else in fishing.

In the big picture if you are wanting to fish all day or in the heat of the day when it truly is miserable...the cooling vest is an absolute game changer and must have.

Guides like Slewfoot, Three Nails Guide, Jerry Hancock, Lane Palmer, Jason Burton...I would totally be wearing one every time I went out with a client.

If you do get one shoot me a PM I can give you some tips to help with charging your cooling packs the first time.

The only reason I didn't have it on when I went fishing with Mark Standridge back on June 15th was because my wife had taken my cooling packs out of the freezer and I didn't see that until in the morning.

If you do want to fish all day or in the heat of the day and you know the cooling vest may save your life...ask yourself what is your life worth?

Dad and I made the investment after my heat exhaustion scare because to us it was worth the investment.

Stay Frosty and Tight Lines!

If you have never experienced heat exhaustion I hope you never do. It can kill you if you do not heed the warnings.
It happened to me in mere minutes.

Wayne Dad and I like fishing in the morning as well. :-)

I caught 23 on Sunday, 8/16 and 12 on Wednesday, 8/20. I have been fishing submerged trees in 15-17 fow. The fish are about 10-12 feet down. Sunday I was out from 8-1pm,but most of the fish were caught between 8-11. It got too hot to stand anymore, and that takes a lot for me. Wednesday was an afternoon trip from 4-7:30. Same pattern. I have been using a split tail from Limits Tackle on 1/16 jig head. Pitch it out and let it fall slowly through the tree tops. I prefer the afternoon heat but it is rough this time of year.

We were fishing deeper water than you. We should have moved into shallower water, but it just didn't make sense to me that as hot as it has been that they would go shallower. We were fishing in 21-23 FOW and the few fish we saw were 15-18' down.

Have to try shallower next time. Thanks for the update

Wayne