Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service
OK. I'm giving this trip a 4 but it could easily have been a 5 with a little more cooperation from the fish.
I fished several locations on the main lake and found fish in 6-12 feet of water. The rating is related to "Strikes" not catches. I only managed to release 2 nice 31" pike on the day. However, the fish were definitely there. I had 12 strikes on the day, and nearly all were from fish in the 30" and above range (measured with my laser eyeball tape measure). I also spent 45 minutes chasing one over 40" and showing her everything I could think of but couldn't make her mad enough or hungry enough to bite. I saw her on 5 different occasions in 10 feet of crystal clear water. I have had days like this before. You will see the fish hit but it doesn't even have it's mouth open. I believe they are simply headbutting the bait as if to tell it to "Get out of my territory".
Both fish I caught came on a fire tiger colored spinner bait with tandem willow leaf blades, on the outer edge of a weed bed. Some of the missed fish came on a Johnson silver minnow spoon and a Rapala Glidin Rap.
Water temps ranged from 60-72 degrees. It's a bummer when you seem to do "Almost" the right thing, in the right place at the right time, only to get that head butt strike.
They're out there. It's up to us to make them eat!
Available Fishing Guide:
Website: Darrell & Dads Family Guide Service