Posted By: Flags
Hit Athens Today - 09/03/17 02:57 AM
Put my tube on Lake Athens today. Had to work at it but I finally got them figured out. The places I've been doing really well at for the last few weeks were completely shut down. We have had a fair amount of rain and the temps have been cooler so that may be what happened. Didn't take me but a half an hr to decide I needed to go on the hunt. Took a little while but I found them.
The magic answer was lily pads. They moved to the edges of the patches of lily pads and even right into the shadows of the pads. The good thing about a float tube is I can get right in the middle of the pads with them when I need to and today I needed to. Vertical jigging with pieces of worms got them right interested. Normally I use an unpainted 1/64th oz head but today that wasn't as effective as it normally is. But a 1/32nd oz chartreuse head made all the difference.
The size was a little smaller than I normally get but they made up for it in numbers. The photo is pretty representative of what I was catching. Some were bigger and some were smaller but this was the average. I tried to keep count but quit at 40. Not sure how many I took but it was a bunch. Most of them went back into the water but I did end up with 4 that took the hook deep and were bleeding. Just when I was getting ready to wrap it up this whisked gentleman decided to show up.
I had been wondering what to cook my wife for supper. This provided the answer. All in all a good day on the lake. Sadly it will be a couple of weeks before I can go again. I teach NJROTC at a high school and school started last Mon and after this weekend the next couple will be taken up working with the kids.
Cheers Y'All
The magic answer was lily pads. They moved to the edges of the patches of lily pads and even right into the shadows of the pads. The good thing about a float tube is I can get right in the middle of the pads with them when I need to and today I needed to. Vertical jigging with pieces of worms got them right interested. Normally I use an unpainted 1/64th oz head but today that wasn't as effective as it normally is. But a 1/32nd oz chartreuse head made all the difference.
The size was a little smaller than I normally get but they made up for it in numbers. The photo is pretty representative of what I was catching. Some were bigger and some were smaller but this was the average. I tried to keep count but quit at 40. Not sure how many I took but it was a bunch. Most of them went back into the water but I did end up with 4 that took the hook deep and were bleeding. Just when I was getting ready to wrap it up this whisked gentleman decided to show up.
I had been wondering what to cook my wife for supper. This provided the answer. All in all a good day on the lake. Sadly it will be a couple of weeks before I can go again. I teach NJROTC at a high school and school started last Mon and after this weekend the next couple will be taken up working with the kids.
Cheers Y'All
I have fished spots where it has been nonstop action. When I returned to that same spot a few days later nothing,not even a bite. Moved about 50 yards up and found them. Sunfish seem to move a lot during late summer and fall. I guess they are trying to fatten up before winter. 