Cedar Creek Lake Reports for August 2020

Well, it started today. Fish wouldn't touch a #4 Mepps but I caught 2 limits on a #2 using the technique I described in another thread about casting #2 Mepps instead of trolling. I started at Spillway Hump, and there appeared to be a lot of fish on the graph, but too many boats to figure out what was going on. I cast both #4 and #2 and caught one on a 2. So, I went to the Rock Pile and found a small school on the bottom. I was able to establish that the fish wanted the 2 catching 5 more whites there all on #2. There, fish were in 12 to 15 fow. On to Enchanted Isle Ridge and found fish there in 19 fow. Caught 24 more whites up to 16 inches and had a large fish pull off - ran off line like a large carp, drum or hybrid would. Still catching fish, I left with count at 30. Met Sam (Tffer Ranger 1850) there as I left . I think he and his fishing partner were also using #2 Mepps.

I caught 10 more at Game Warden Hump. 2 at Doll-house Point and 8 more at Merimac Point all in 13 to 15 fow to get me to 50 fish. On the way home I checked but did not stop to fish Key Ranch North (14 t0 15 fow), Key Ranch Drop-off (14 to 15 fow) and the top of Long Ridge (20 fow) and they all showed concentrations of fish like the ones I had been seeing and catching. Fished from 7:15 to 11:30 AM.

Glad you figured them out Dennis. I stuck it out with a #4 and caught a few, but no where near 50. Caught most of mine at sunken island in 12 fow. There were 3 boats trolling there and catching fish pretty good, but looked to be small fish. Hope you got your trolling motor issues figured out. I told my wife we should have followed you around. LOL.

Was good to see you out there and glad you caught some.

Hey Dennis, good to meet you! We sat there and used a #4 and #3 and wore them out. Had 3 hybrids hit. Only one keeper and snagged two cats on top of our sandies we kept for a fish fry.

The mepps technique works awesome! Thanks for your information you post here.

Great catch! To me, that you caught some on #4's, means there were likely some larger shad mixed in with the new hatch, plus you can usually catch a few triggering a reaction strike. The older shad are still around, but more and more the fish will tend toward the new hatch, and you can more of them and faster with the smaller bait..

Awesome post Dennis!

Went out today and started at spillway hump at daylight in 14 fow and tried there for about an hour or so. With not even a bite, moved to Enchanted Isle ridge in 19 fow as Dennis C and Ranger 1850 had posted that was the depth they were catching them in, and almost immediately started catching fish. First fish there was a 19 inch hybrid. We stayed there for about an hour or so catching fish. Not every cast, but enough to keep you there. Caught all the fish there, on # 4 mepps. Bite slowed there , so I had some family with me today that was not able to cast a baitcaster real well , so we went to the sunken island and went to trolling the hell pet combo. Found a large group of fish there and caught about 15 to 20 including throw backs till it got hot and we went in around 10:30

PM sent

Nice fish.

Good thread with valuable info. I fished CC years and years ago and got my first introduction to sandies and hybrid bass. I thought I had snagged a stump but it turned out to be a 10 lb. hybrid. Man, what a fight ! I’m wanting to go back when it gets a little cooler. Thanks Mr Christian, for all you do !

FYI, I've been out twice since Saturday's post and fished areas farther south. The pattern south is still catching fish on deep (22- 28 fow) structures and catching fish with #4's - not even a bite on a 2. Caught a 25 limit of whites on Monday and in less than an hour late yesterday I caught 10 whites and 11 hybrids - all legal to 23 inches.

Wednesday 8/5/2020: Took Reverand Gordon Ferguson out this morning. We fished Mid-lake Hump and Long Ridge West and caught 73: 62 whites, 2 legal hybrids, a short hybrid and 8 cats - one going about 15 lb. All caught on #4 Mepps in 24 to 26 fow.

Gordon with nice white bass


Gordon with big cat


Gordon with about a 20 inch hybrid

Looks like a good outing thanks for the update!

Thanks DC, it's always good to take friends fishing !

Thursday August 8: Took out neighbor Pat, and we fished mid-lake Hump from about 9:15 to 11:15 AM. We caught 50 sandies, 10 hybrids to 25 inches and a cat. All on #4 Mepps in 23 to 28 fow. Here's a couple of pics:

Pat with a hybrid


Yours truly with the 25 inch hybrid

Thanks for the report Dennis. Looks like it might be a boat race to mid lake hump this weekend. LOL.

Awesome 25" hybrid Dennis.

I went out for a couple of short trips Saturday and Sunday morning from 8am - 10am and found fish at mid lake hump. There have been boat shows at Key ranch drop off Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning but hardly anyone at mid lake hump. I saw one troller there on Saturday that left and a couple boats on Sunday showed up after I had been there for 1 hour.

I caught 10 whites there Saturday and 12 on Sunday plus several short hybrids, a couple catfish and a 26 lb smallmouth buffalo -- all fish were in 25 FOW on #4 silver mepps.

I may slip over Wednesday afternoon. I know what Whitney and RC are doing. Cedar Creek was my favorite before Whitney caught fire and it's hard to leave a great Striper bite.

Thanks for report sir I hope i cya out there soon its so hot though I may have to find something under a bridge lol.

Thursday Aug 13, 2020: I loaded up with sunscreen and a wide brim hat and got out on the lake from 12:30 to 3:30 PM to do a scouting run. I started with Long Ridge West and found big concentrations there in 22 fow. Caught 2 hybrids, 11 whites on #4 Mepps and moved on. Next stop was Mid-lake Hump. I saw small schools there and they seemed to be moving. Caught 2 good sandies and went to Iron Wall Hump. Found fish there in 22 fow near the southern edge of it. Caught 12 more sandies and 2 cats there. Caught more on #2 Mepps than #4. Stopped and went to Spillway Hump - the south wing , and it had a huge concentration of fish in 19 fow. Quickly caught 10 more whites on #4 - all big - and headed to Enchanted Isle Ridge. Found a concentration there in 18 fow, caught 11 more whites (more on #2 than #4) to get me to 46 whites, 2 cats and 2 hybrids, and headed home. Left still catching fish at every spot except Mid-lake Hump.

Thanks for the report Dennis. Where do you get your Mepps from?

I order online from either fishusa, calelas or basspro.

Thanks! I'm getting back into fishing after a long lay off. I sold my big Triton several years ago and have just bought a little Tracker Pro 160 with with 30 HP Merc. Back to basics...

Thanks for the post Dennis , great information for the month of Hot August !!!

Friday 8/14/2020: Was supposed to golf this morning but golfing buds thought it was going to be too hot, so...I went fishing. Decided to check the shallow (12 to 16 fow) structure bite today. At 9 AM I started with 1st stop at Key Ranch Drop-off. It was loaded and caught 25 there on Mepps #2's and 4's - mostly on 2's. Next stop was Merimac Point. I located a good school there then a boat, which had been out in the deep, came trolling by too close to set up on fish. He had a kid with him, and I figured they may have been trolling throught the spot. So, I went on and checked out Doll-house Point. Not much there but did find some at Spillway Point and caught 5 whites and a cat there. Ended up at Game Warden Hump and caught another 20 whites on 2's and 4's before heading home at noon. The whites at Game Warden were the best - all going 13 to 15 inches.

Between yesterday's post and today's, you can see that fishing is good right now at Cedar Creek Lake with fish on both deep and shallow structures.

Thanks for the post Dennis , great information for the month of Hot August !!!

Thanks for the report Dennis, I’ll be out there in the morning.

Caught two 23” hybrids and about 12 whites on spillway hump first thing this am all with #4. Didn’t see enough on mid lake hump to stop. Ended up at enchanted and found a nice school and we limited on whites there on #4 & #3. Then the Trump parade started and we got off the water ASAP, tons of boats.

Two questions for you Dennis if you don't mind. I know you have a map with all the names on it. Where can I find it? And you a lot talk about Mepps #2 and #4. Is there a specific color that you like? I used to do a lot of striper and hybrid fishing many years ago but never on Cedar Creek. We rented a house down there the last week of August and plan on taking a couple boats out.

Markchat
Look in Dennis signature and he has links to the map and info on his Mepps method.
Both are very helpful

Re Mepps color, I use silver.

You can also order all Dennis Christian Mepps baits from Mepps.com

Thanks for the up date , sounds like you guys had a good day , trying to go tomorrow and hopefully have the same results.

Caught a couple of nice hybrids this morning. One 20" on #4 mepps at Iron Wall Hump and the other 24" on #2 mepps at Spillway hump, also caught 7 whites and 1 yellow bass. I marked good concentrations of fish on both humps but for the first time had a hard time getting bit -- usually if I can find them I can catch them. It wasn't until the end of my trip that I figured out I had to slow my retrieve down with the #2 mepps to catch more than an occasional fish.

Good fish, bet they put up a good fight !

8/24/2020: Made a scouting run this morning from 7:15 to 11:15 AM. Found fish at Spillway Hump in 15 fow, Enchanted Isle Ridge in 19 fow, The Tennis Courts in 14 fow and Game Warden Hump in 15 fow. Caught some in each spot for total of 50 whites and 2 hybrids. Tried Mepps 4's and 2's at each spot and caught some on both sizes.

Great to meet you out there Dennis!

Ditto. I love to see what you were doing - teaching young kids how to fish.

Tuesday 8/25: Fished up north starting at Sunken Island. It was loaded on SW edge. Caught quick 10 sandies witjh #2 then went to Leroy's Hump . It was also loaded and caught quick ten more. Next went north of Seven Points bridge and fished the point on the west end of the eastern most portion of bridge. It was loaded and caught 10 more quick sandies. Next stop was the Old Sandbass Hole. It was loaded with fish, but in the 7 fow they wouldn't let me set up on them - kept moving. I only caught 5 then gave up and went farther north to the submerged buildings. Caught another quick ten there - most 14 and 15 inch fish on 2's and 4's.

I looked farther north approaching the big island. BTW it is impressive with massive tall trees all over it and very dense. Wonder what's in there? But checking my topo map and looking at surface, there were too few structures an way too many stumps around and areas north of the island. So, I turned and headed back south and fished a submerged berm about 500 yards north of west section of Seven Points bridge, Found big bunch of sandies on it and caught ten more. Then headed home.

Thursday 8/27: Went out for an hour and found fish at 1st stop - Saint Annes East. Sat in one spot and caught 25 sandies and two 20 inch hybrids - half on #2 nad half on #4. I caught fish on about 2/3 of #4 casts and on every #2 cast. Caught one hybrid each on the #2 and the #4. Fish were on the SE edge slope in 13 to 19 fow.

Thanks for the report Dennis. Hopefully I will have the same results tomorrow. Thanks also for the #2 Mepps video.

Saturday 8/29: Went out from 9:15 to 11:45 AM to check out the action today. Ran into Greg who fishes with CCL HYBRID. Said he was catching some whites and crappie in Crappie Island Flats area. Went on to check Long Ridge West and it had a good school. I caught 2 big whites and a 22 inch hybrid, then fish moved. I left there and went to Key Ranch Drop-off, and there were 3 boats on it - one was a guide trolling and catching fish. I caught a few a good ways south of him, but not much of a school so I moved on. I checked Key Ranch North, Merimac Point and Iron Wall Hump but not much. Then found huge school at Kevin's Point - about 80 yards due south of the main house on that point. Fish were in 15 to 20 fow. I sat there and caught fish almost every cast using the #2 Mepps rig. Stopped when I got to 25 whites. Last stop was Carolyn Eststes Point, and it had good school on it . They were at the bottom of the drop-off from 7 fow to 15 fow on the south side of the old road bed that goes out that point. Caught 10 more whites and a 19 inch hybrid - fish on every cast using #2 rig. Good luck to all you weekend fishermen!

Thanks for the report Dennis. Went out this morning with a friend to sunken island from about 6:45 ish till 10:30 and caught around 45 . Kept 33 for the grease. Was sitting in 7 to 8 ft. of water casting to 10 to 12 ft. and bringing the Mepps back to the boat. Both of us caught fish almost every cast till bite slowed, then every 3rd to 5th cast. Started in 14 fow the first 20 or so minutes with no fish, and then moved shallow and started catching fish. There were a couple of guide boats trolling and were catching fish as well. All fish caught on a # 4 Mepps .

PM sent

Thanks Dennis, for all the great post !!!!!

I fished 7am - 10am Sunday and caught 27 whites on Merimac point and the point at Iron Wall (not the hump). Early the fish were on the top of Merimac point in 10 ft of water. I brought my ice chest to keep a few for a fish fry and luckily the fish at Merimac were nice chunky keepers around 14". Caught most of these on #4 by letting my boat drift over the top of the point (I don't have a trolling motor). Someone came and started trolling circles around me which made it difficult for me to drift so I moved to Iron Wall at a similar depth. I found fish on that point in 10 - 14 ft and anchored since it was later in the morning. Once I switched to the #2 I was catching fish on just about every cast.

I've really been trying to get the #2 technique down, thanks for the new video Dennis. I've mostly just struggled with it (maybe due to confidence) because I can't feel the vibration. Recently I've noticed that many of the fish I'm catching are near the boat so I switched to a more vertical presentation versus a more horizontal drag. This has been working better for me on the #2. It's the same quick start technique but with my rod tip held high.

Aug 31: Fished south end from 2:30 to 4:30 PM to see if I could find any there and found fish at 3 spots: Campbell's Hump in 14 fow, Saubach Hump in 19 fow and Saint Annes Point West in 18 fow. Caught fish on almost every cast at each spot using #2 Mepps rig. At Saint Annes East they seemed more aggressive, so I tried a #4 Mepps and caught 2 out of 3 casts. Then I tried the MAL lure and caught 7 out of 8 casts jerk-starting and cranking fast from the bottom. Left each spot still catching fish and had a total of 35 whites, 2 cats and a 23 inch hybrid.

Hello Dennis. I’m really happy I found this thread. I was looking for information on how cold fronts affect the bite. I read your article and watched the video of the Mepps technique and am headed to Academy to buy a few silver Aglias.

I fish Lake Conroe, generally trolling a hell-pet setup. I can’t wait to try your technique. Two questions. Have you ever fished Lake Conroe? Have you ever trolled the Aglia?

Thanks!

I fished Conroe in the eighties and it was not a good white bass lake. I have not trolled a #4, but in the 1970s I trolled a #2 on Eagle Mountain Lake. Caught a few small whites and small blacks. I don't care for trolling and don't do it now.