12/30/2024: TFFer ChadTRG42 and friend Graham and I fished CC today despite the high winds. We fished mostly in protected water near the dam (Dam Hump West of the Pole, Greenhouse Ridge, and East Dam Hump) then at Pitts Point, Birdhouse Point, and Flagpole Point from 8 AM to 1:20PM and caught 96: 89 whites, 2 legal hybrids, 3 short hybrids, a cat, and a yellow bass. We had two more hybrids break off. We searched for fish under birds for the first 30 minutes, but the fish didn’t show up today. We tried suspended fish briefly and caught a couple. The rest were on the above-mentioned structures fishing vertically with HeyTodd spinners and Panther Martins.

Dennis, it was great to meet you and Graham! Thank you so much for taking me out and showing me your white bass fishing methods. I learned a lot and am still amazed! The few fish we kept are already filet’d and in the freezer. Thank you so much and let’s do it again!

Chad

2/7/2025: It has been a week since I was out last, and during that time the weather and lake water have warmed up. So, today I went on a scouting run from the dam north to Enchanted Isle Ridge. Water temp varied from 53.2 to 53.8 degrees. I looked for fish on structure, and, when I found some, I fished for them to make sure they would bite. I ended up catching 65: 55 white bass, 5 short hybrids, 4 yellow bass, and a largemouth bass. I caught fish at Campbell's Hump, Dam Ridge, Long Ridge West, Spillway Hump, the Rock Pile, and Enchanted Isle Ridge. Three structures (Long Ridge West, the Rock Pile, and Enchanted Isle Ridge) were loaded, and I could have stayed at each catching fish. The fish were on structure in 19 to 24 fow. The best lure was a Mepps #4 silver. I caught most straight down but also caught some casting and retrieving in a saw tooth pattern. I tested several other lures, and a small yellow or white BoBlade also caught fish. I tried dead-sticking for a while but only caught 4 whites and a yellow bass. The one black bass was a 4 to 5 pounder 21 inches long. I kept it plus a few whites for supper.

Awesome thread.

Thanks for the report Dennis

2/8 and 2/9: I fished about 4 hours both days and caught limits of big white bass. Since the recent warm-up, the whites have been showing up on multiple structures. There are also a lot of 9 to 10 inch fish in the lake, but you can find big ones on some structures. Dam Ridge and Long Ridge were best the 8th and 9th. Mepps 4, Hey Bud, and Hey Todd spinners jigged on the bottom then lifted or dragged with the rod is how we caught them.

Some of our catch on the 8th:

With the severe cold last week, structure fishing has turned off. Few fish on structures and the few won't bite.

I feel better now.
I fished saturday afternoon, marked lots of fish, huge schools.
I caught a single 8 inch gaspergoo on an RSR slab, got several bites but nothing stuck.
Saw lots of cat fisherman trolling planer boards.

I was out 3 hours yesterday afternoon trying to locate some fish. I looked at spillway hump, Merimac point, long ridge west (I saw Dennis there when I was looking), A frame, Damn drop off and Pitts point. I saw some fish at Merimac, long ridge west, A frame and damn drop off. For the most part, the number of fish moving was low except for damn drop off. That had the best numbers of active fish. I picked up a half dozen of very large sand bass and a hybrid that weighed 5.55 lbs. The fish were 14 to 18 FOW on structure. I saw 50.7F to 52.6F water temps. Vertical presentation worked best but the hybrid was caught on the MAL lure using the saw tooth retrieve method.

Yes, I went for a short scouting run and found fish on Greenhouse Ridge, Dam Ridge, and Long Ridge and Long Ridge West. I didn't fish at these last two spots, but caught 3 at Greenhouse and 8 at Dam Ridge. Also looked at East Dam Hump, Dam Hump West of Pole, Campbell's Hump, and Staubach Hump but didn't see any fish at these spots.