Lake Levels

Time to start building the ark fellas...

This morning at 5:00 AM Lavon is at 501.62 which is 9.62 feet above full pool. It is still 1.38 below the mark for flood pool. But 9 feet high is blown out as far as fishing is concerned. The shallows are gone. Unless you have an air boat. You can't get to any. What would normally be shallow is 15 feet plus. I think this is good for the fish, especially for the spawning fish because they can get back in cover that offers good protection for the fry. I think my only option for fishing is the sand bass pattern. I am seeing the fish up against the wind blown points right where they should be. I will be out there pulling baits through that biomass and we'll see what we can get. Last week when I was out after the rain I was watching small schools of shad surfacing and running all over the lake. They were small targets and moving way too fast to throw at. Something I hadn't seen before. Anyone know what they were up to? They were not being chased. There was no sign of feeding predators with them.

Looking at the calendar, we are already a week into June and I think the spawn started a week or so early this year. Meaning by the 4th of July, we should start seeing hungry blues everywhere. Last July when the post spawn bite fired up, we had one of our best days ever. We boated 4 fish between 25 and 35 (two of them were 33) plus several in the teens. I'm looking forward to that bite turning on...

Lake level chart


Couple pics from the post spawn bite last year. These were July 23rd, 2020. My grandson Billy.

The sandbass pattern is going strong Tim. If you and Wyatt want to come fish with me and Jax I’d be happy to take y’all out anytime. You can fish this patterns on most of our North Texas Fisheries. Just try and pick a day with good wind or clouds. Edges, ledges, points, and humps. Any type of ambush structure in 15-35ft can produce. If the group your on doesn’t want to bite then keep moving and find a different group. There are going to be fishable groups all over the lake this time of year and the main thing working against you is the clock. They usually turn off by 10:30-11 am unless there are good clouds, rain and/or wind which we’ve had plenty of lately.

The threadfin are moving back out after their spawn. The sandbass as well as every other species of fish in the lake will be following them around like puppy dogs. They will be using that mid depth structure to corral and ambush threads for the next month Tim and then they move out into open water and go pelagic. When I see threadfin on the surface it’s 1 of 3 things. They try and warm up early spring and will come to the top to sun. Im gonna go out on a limb and say they weren’t sunning. #2 is they are being harassed by predators and will flip on the surface trying to get away. You said they weren’t being predated and flipping so I’m going to eliminate that one. The 3rd is Threadfin like to travel and feed on the surface at dusk and dawn. Plankton and phytoplankton will rise to the surface and the Shad will “sip” on them. I see it a lot but occasionally when the conditions are right (cloudy light wind) you can see them all over the lake every 50 ft even mid day and afternoons. If the Shad weren’t flipping then they were probably sipping.

As far as the spawn goes? I love ya amigo but I’m gonna have to disagree on the early spawn. We’re a good 3 weeks behind on the spawn this year as the lakes are just now getting over 75 from all the cool rain. Lake has been flooded which makes everything move up around that flooded vegetation or up into the creeks. With all that flooded vegetation on every stretch of shore it’s hard to decide where to fish since there is so much of it. I struggled with that for years and wasn’t until I became experienced on side image sonar that I got that part of my game ironed out. When the toads come off their beds there is about a 1-2 week window where you can catch some during the day but 95% of the big fish will be feeding nocturnally when they come off their beds until October. The major exception is a summer storm and when we get them you know where I will be and that’s your best shot at catching something big during the day in the summer.

As the Mighty Azul peers into the magic crystal ball, I see a side image sonar with a 12” screen in Catfish Tim’s future! 🧙‍♂️🔮

Okay brother there is a lot of knowledge to digest here and I don't want to miss anything... Here goes...

I have always been hard on myself about not having enough patience so I tend to sit in one place longer than I should. I am going to run the sandbass pattern but with more of a stick and move attitude until I find the active group. Wyatt and I are always out early so I should have time to get on em.

I think you hit the surfacing shad spot on. This was right after the rain, the water was slick, dead flat calm and there was still heavy cloud cover from morning rains.

It is hard to disagree with you about the rain this last month but I was seeing water temps in the mid 70s before during and after the rain. But... I might just be looking at my glass being more than 1/2 full. I hope we are not three weeks behind. I have seen the catch rate slowdown as it does when they go on the nest, at about the same time (maybe a smidge early) as they usually do. I would like to do a comparison between Lavon and Lewisville in terms of size, depth, etc. to understand if things work different at all between the two bodies of water. I know in general, lake to lake things are aligned by the weather and the season but what makes them different?

I need to do more summer time night fishing. I am an early bird and much prefer sunrise to sunset. I need to work on that and get out there at night to get on the nocturnal bite.

Now, as for the prognostications of the great and powerful El Gato Azul...a picture is worth a thousand words... Below is my wishlist for upgrades this winter/next spring

I'm going to add the Elite 9 FS. I don't have $4,000 for an HDS 12 but I think this is as close as I'm gonna get. I will have down scan and side scan. And I am really looking forward to using this along with the shallow water anchors to up my shallow water game. Lastly, I'm ready to trade in my dumb trolling motor for a smart one integrated with my chart so I can work those edges ledges points and humps more effectively.

I love learning and getting better at this. This shows me I still have a long long way to go.

Chris, I want to get on the water with you soon. But I want to figure this sandbass pattern out for myself. It's a pride thing. Text me and lets talk about setting up a time for Wyatt and I to come over to Lewisville...

Catfish Tim - looking at your wishlist... what size/type boat are you running? And since it's a wish list right now, I would add a 2nd pole just in case that wish becomes reality. Night and day between 1 and 2 poles.

Go with a 24v Ulterra and 9" Humminbird, and skip the power poles. My Ulterra has held me in place for up to 10 hours (depending on current). I have never anchored on a spot shallow enough for power poles to ever deploy. Again, just offering an opinion on what works for me. I know the Tennessee River is different than Lake Lavon. I can be 20' from shore and the depth is 35 feet.

I agree about the delayed spawn for kitties. When all this rain first started, they were just starting to move to a pre spawn pattern (on the lake I frequent anyway), then they got really scattered again, as did the shad. The shad spawn is just about closing out, or may already be done. Haven't been out in a boat for a week.

As far as a fish finder goes, I love my Elite TI2 12 inch, but they don't make them anymore. A 9 inch is definitely the smallest screen I'd want to use, since running multiple screens makes them much harder to see. Now way I'd spend the money for a power pole setup. I have two 1 inch PVC 10 foot stake out poles, and they hold my pontoon in place with ease, and with the carabineers, and rings, they cost me 50 bucks. I run a 12V 55lb Powerdrive, with I pilot. But, if I had it to do all over again, I would go with a 24V minimum. In a stiff wind using the trolling motor to troll, uses up battery power a little faster than I would like.

I have a Tracker V 16. I will definitely be getting 2 power poles.

I love fishing the Tennessee River. I envy you there. I am not a fan of the Hummingbird gear. I've always been a Lowrance guy. It's a bit of a Ford vs Chevy thing I think. They all do what they do. I guess I just started out with one and haven't had a reason to change...

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/humminbird-helix-12-chirp-gps-g4n-fish-finder-chartplotter

Go big or go home Tim. I would spend your doe on the graph and hold off on the power pole. Your going to wish you bought a bigger screen if you get a 9” I guarantee it. You loose a ton of pixelation on the smaller units. Not really an issue for guys that are casual fisherman but for as much as you fish your gonna wish you bought at least a 10” screen. Fish identification becomes much more difficult on a smaller screen. The biggest difference is on eye strain. You get a ton more eye strain with a smaller unit and when you graph as much as I do the difference is massive. When I fish on my buddies boats with smaller units my bell is rung after squinting at that small screen all day. Anyone who has run both a small and a large screen will tell you the difference is substantial. I know they cost an arm and a leg but they will save your old man eyeballs and will make spending half the day graphing much more enjoyable.

Also go with the 24v trolling motor.

I’m a humminbird guy since 1991,

I
My eyesight sucks to begin with. The 7 inch Elite TI I have now is bare bones minimum. I would love to get an HDS 12. We will have to see where the bonus comes in next year and go from there. I could swing the 12 if I skip the power poles. If I get a good spot lock out of my trolling motor, maybe I can wait on the power poles...

Decisions decisions...

I just told my wife the HDS 12 would be less money overall if I didn't get the power poles... She rolled her eyes at me. That's a good sign.

Tracker V16 is the deep v right? If it were me, I'd opt for the 60 inch shaft. Worst thing is trying to spot lock and the TM coming up out of the water. also, keep in mind, the poles are more useful than just sticking in the ground.

I have a Minn Kota now with a 54" shaft and it does fine. I think the 60 might be a little more than she needs...

I do think that a 24 Volt is in order though...

We think the same way Tim. It’s all about laying that groundwork at my house before the building starts. When I want something I know my wife is going to resist I do lots of groundwork and let her think it was her idea. My eyes aren’t what they used to be honey, this tiny screen is destroying my old eyeballs. Man that Bay Boat looks like a fun/safe family boat! I bet they stay out in that all day! Look at that family under that T-top, man it would be nice to be able to get out of the sun!

Lol but I would have gone for the 16" and really made extra points by saving $$$ getting the 12"

Is it a Powerdrive? You can add IPilot to SOME of them, really easy, and it gives you all the same things the others would give you, since you aren't using a Humminbird graph. (spot lock, jog, cruise control, and autopilot) Also dramatically cheaper than a new trolling motor. Unless you want more umph than what you have now also, then get a bigger motor. You could also run two batteries in 12V to extend the time out on the water, with what you have now. Still dramatically cheaper than a new trolling motor.

Haha you sir know how to play the game... My wife is pretty good to me. She lets me get away with more than I deserve but when I'm gonna spend 3 or 4 or 5 grand, I need her blessing. It's usually not too hard to get. If she had her way, we'd be in a pontoon boat. That makes sense for the one or two times a year the whole family wants to go out with me. Most of the time it's me and Wyatt or me and Jer so I've resisted that.

I planted the seed to re-deck our boat this past winter. It started out like this, “Gosh this old deck is hard to keep clean, look how good that new deck looks on that boat...man my knee is killing me, standing on this hard deck kills my knee I had surgery on...why are you limping honey? I slipped on that old deck and hurt my knee a little...I’m gonna have to buck up and re-deck the boat before I have to get another knee surgery!”

This morning my wife told me she thought it is time to re-deck the boat! It took 6 months to germinate that seed but it finally sprouted this morning. Now I have some BIG decisions to make...

I bought the iPilot upgrade about 6 months ago. It does what they say except the spot lock is not quite as advertised. It struggles to stay in one place especially if there is any wind at all. The nav lock works really well when I'm pulling boards, I like that feature. I would like to switch up to the motor guide so I can integrate with my chart and plot a course rather than just follow a heading. That would let me follow a contour without constantly adjusting course. I love the remote control especially when I'm catching bait...

Okay, so after due consideration, the power poles are out...for now anyway. I might buy/make a couple of mud sticks but for now I'm going to focus on what's going to give me more bang for my buck and since most of the year, I drift fish and only anchor when I have to, those things are a lot of cabbage for one specific purpose that I can manage other ways for a fraction of the cost. So; its the HDS 12 with the 3 in 1 transducer and an integrated Motor Guide trolling motor.