The Fin 2 times

[Ambassadorhawg]

Fished with Crazy Dave on Sunday for a short but sweet early morning session before all the Mother's Day festivities began.

The fish are moving into a full blown spawn now. There is even a few fish guarding fry already. We each got a half dozen or so sight fish up to about 4 pounds before I had to leave. Dave stayed all day and hammered away on 'em.

The plan was for us to fish again on Tuesday of this week. We would arrive late morning and stay until our bodies gave out. Even more fish on beds now. Since I saw those fish guarding fry the other day, I figured I would have an alternative pattern to try, a.k.a., REACTION BITE!

We each plowed through a handful of sight fish up to nearly 5 pounds until the wind came. That's when I dropped my finesse gear and picked up the reaction bite gear and went to town...

The windier, the better. I ended up with 13 or 14 reaction bite LMB's and one big 'ol Crappie. The LMB's were 2 to 4+ pounds. Couple those fish with 5 other sight fish for me and I would call that a good outing anywhere you go.

Dave stuck with the finesse bite all day and picked away at them. He also got a big Redear from on a nest.

One very interesting note that should draw lots of attention:
The water coming into the lake from the inlet was PINK! Dave heard that there is some treatment added to the water that fights mussels and algae. All I can say is that the pink stuff turns the fish off where ever they are in it.

Enjoy the pics...

[dockboy]

The water you see coming in from the inlet is being treated with copper sulfate, or bluestone, which is not blue despite is description. They treat throughout the summer for algae blooms there. It isn't particularly poisonous to fish at low-mid levels but with increased and prolonged dosage that can be a concern However, this year they seem hell bent on stopping the quaggas. I doubt copper sulfate will do anything to kill off mussels if they manage to get in, but hey its a water district, intelligence never seems to be a requirement.
Congrats on the spawn fish. Luckily the regs put in place 3 years ago means we don't lose big spawners to the meat fisherman during the crucial May/June period. With the water as cold as it was this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see late spawners towards July. Tight lines dude.

[INDOANGLER2]

Thanks for the report, I've been picking away and getting one hear and there on the finesse baits. Good to hear they're starting to hit reaction baits, I will definately give it a shot. Yes the red stuff is the bluestoning they do to control the algue growth and it does turn of the bite for a few days. Just stay away from that area and where the current is taking it. I was there yesterday morning from 6 am to 8 am from shore and the water is real clear, I saw a few on beds but quite a few roaming around already and some were in the 3 - 4 # range. A couple of weeks ago I was dropshotting along the reeds and caught a couple of small bass but kept getting big trout instead, no complaint I was just hoping for a DD lmb.

See you on the lake.

[slief]

The water you see coming in from the inlet is being treated with copper sulfate, or bluestone, which is not blue despite is description. They treat throughout the summer for algae blooms there. It isn't particularly poisonous to fish at low-mid levels but with increased and prolonged dosage that can be a concern However, this year they seem hell bent on stopping the quaggas. I doubt copper sulfate will do anything to kill off mussels if they manage to get in, but hey its a water district, intelligence never seems to be a requirement.
Congrats on the spawn fish. Luckily the regs put in place 3 years ago means we don't lose big spawners to the meat fisherman during the crucial May/June period. With the water as cold as it was this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see late spawners towards July. Tight lines dude.

Not sure on the copper sulfate in fresh water, but I know for fact that copper will kill invertbrates such as clams or corals in salt water.
Who knows, maybe they are on to something. Either way, that water looks pretty nasty coming in from the inlet!

Are they still stocking trout there? I have been thinking about making another fin run before the heat of the summer arrives.

[Ambassadorhawg]

I believe that trout stocking season is over up there now. The water temps are getting warm quickly. I did see a guy catch a good stringer of trout up there on Tuesday so I know that they are still in there. Pretty soon, catfish stocking season will begin.

I've seen lakes being bluestoned a whole bunch of times and I never remember it being PINK in color??? Is it always PINK???

[ghetto dad]

Nice job brother....thanks for the invite....lol


GD

[INDOANGLER2]

I believe that trout stocking season is over up there now. The water temps are getting warm quickly. I did see a guy catch a good stringer of trout up there on Tuesday so I know that they are still in there. Pretty soon, catfish stocking season will begin.

I've seen lakes being bluestoned a whole bunch of times and I never remember it being PINK in color??? Is it always PINK???
Ever since I've been a member the bluestoning has always been pink or red, go figure.

[dockboy]

The bluestone concentrate they use really isnt pink or light purple. Its more of a dark purplish blue,but as dilutes with the water, it appears pinkish/purple. Trout season will ast longer than you think. Depending on the water temps, I've had good trouting well into June. Typically Mothers Day weekend in the last big plant of the year, but sometimes another one goes in. The water is really at the top end of the termperature range for trout right now, so there wont be more than month before they start to die off. There isn't a real solid thermocline in the lake so holdovers are very rare, usually a couple fish survive around the intakes and oxygen generators.
Hopefully the bluestone will work if the mussels end up in there. Unfournately, like anything, whatever is treated will eventually grow a resistance to the treatment, hence the reason why they really have to bluestone more in the summer now as the algae have evolved more resistance to the effects of bluestone.

[FishermanStu]

that has to be a largemouth bluegill hybrid. ive never seen a fish like that

[Ambassadorhawg]

that has to be a largemouth bluegill hybrid. ive never seen a fish like that

Stu,

That 'gill had a very deformed mouth. It had been caught in the past and the poor thing was treated badly then. It was healed up but it could not even close it's mouth all the way, giving it a strange appearance.

[FishermanStu]

huh. it looks super green and the gill plate looks a little bigger than a normal gills. maybe im seeing something thats not there. anyways. nice catch.

[dockboy]

the big florida strain gills there are stocked annually, and with the no keep regs on panfish in effect they are growing well. I think that fish may have either been raised deformed from being in a hatchery pen or perhaps it took a bass lure at an earlier date and lost a good chunk of mouth in the aftermath. They get massive there, red ears too. Got a couple red ears the size of tea plates last year, fun fish to catch :Smile:

[Ambassadorhawg]

The water you see coming in from the inlet is being treated with copper sulfate, or bluestone, which is not blue despite is description. They treat throughout the summer for algae blooms there. It isn't particularly poisonous to fish at low-mid levels but with increased and prolonged dosage that can be a concern However, this year they seem hell bent on stopping the quaggas. I doubt copper sulfate will do anything to kill off mussels if they manage to get in, but hey its a water district, intelligence never seems to be a requirement.
Congrats on the spawn fish. Luckily the regs put in place 3 years ago means we don't lose big spawners to the meat fisherman during the crucial May/June period. With the water as cold as it was this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see late spawners towards July. Tight lines dude.


Dave spoke directly with the water management at the lake. The pink stuff is Patassium Permanganate. It's an oxidizer that helps break down the dieing algae and mussels after they are poisoned. Yes, they are treating to control algae and mussels but it's not the pink stuff that is doing the killing! I have actually used this stuff in aquarium keeping. Very powerful, almost dangerous. It's a purple crystaline stubstance before it is dissolved in water.