7/9 Back in the saddle again

[P.A.W.]

Odd front moving through today. Windy and cold. Between that and the recent bluestone which knocked down most of the frog throwing areas the LMB bite was kinda tough. Stripers are starting to chase bait so I did pretty well throwing lures early and hit some trolling later. However, they were all the 1lb class. I think when things warm back up the shad will come back out of the depths. As for LMB, the water is now gin clear with less cover than before so they are finicky. I wasn't armed for dropshotting or finesse so missed that bite.

[JAG107]

Glad you got your boat back and could get on some fish! Weird weather for sure out here, but I'm not complaining...

[P.A.W.]

Thought I'd add a couple odd sightings. Fishing the fast whitewater at the inlet I hooked into a nice fish. The thing did a nice aerial at which time I could see its green body. I thought LMB or big hold over trout. Landed a nice 3 pound green striper! Later I found one of the few remaining moss patches and snuck up to quietly throw my frog. On the outskirts there was a pretty large turtle periscoping his head around. You don't see turtles at Skinner everyday.

[mizukry]

PAW, Never heard of a green striper. Is it a hybrid of some type?

[fastjim2000]

Thanks por the report PAW. I always look for your posts. I know its not your usual target but have you heard any buzz about the bluegill yet this year?

[P.A.W.]

Mizukry, I kinda doubt it's a hybrid. The only difference is in the color not a shape or fin arrangement change. Jim, I have spoken to a few guys who caught some nice gills. Not wide open but they are there to be had. They have been caught from 2 feet deep to 50 feet.

[Big-Bob]

I saw a guy dump turtles in the lake when I was launching a couple weeks ago.

[HawgZWylde]

Bill and I saw a huge Turtle crawling on the bottom a few weeks ago. Has the water level risen at all? It looked to be about 10-12' down last Tuesday. I couldn't believe how much bait we metered last week, reminded me of DVL in it's better days. Some had lots of big marks chasing it while other, much larger and denser bait clouds went unmolested. LMB are definitely in their typical summer grind pattern but some nice models are to be had if you grind it out...

Thanks for the report Pat.

[P.A.W.]

Water is the same level as 2 weeks ago with the inlet running pretty hard. Tons of bait. By November the stripers should be really chunky. The whole fishery is doing well.

[HawgZWylde]

Water is the same level as 2 weeks ago with the inlet running pretty hard. Tons of bait. By November the stripers should be really chunky. The whole fishery is doing well.

Amazing how much water gets pulled out when you see how much is coming in isn't it? I agree, she is a very healthy lake, my elbow is proof positive, lol. Wifey has been requesting some stripey filets so I guess I'm gonna have to break out the stripey rigs and convince Bill it's in our best interests to honor her requests, lol. Just wish the level would come up, hate seeing all those fry protecting Tules high and dry...

[P.A.W.]

Ha! You should have enough meat on deck by 7:30 or 8. That gives you the rest of the day to do some LMB damage.

[HawgZWylde]

That's true. I've done my best LMB damage as of late in the mid-morning and late afternoon bites...

[P.A.W.]

Ok, another episode of strange sightings at Skinner. I found one of the last few frogable mats and was merrily throwing my LunkerHunt. Off to the side I see some motion, and there was a big ol' bullfrog jumping across the area. I thought maybe it was being chased by a bass or something. Nope. It was headed straight for my frog. 3 or 4 long jumps and it was on it! Don't know if it wanted to mate, eat, fight or what, but I got my froggie back. Weird!

[HawgZWylde]

Ohhh, almost had yourself some frog legs for diner Pat. You bet that bullfrog was looking for a meal! Heading out tomorrow, any change in conditions? How was the bite?

[P.A.W.]

Water has come up about 2 feet. The fence line at the inlet is underwater again (watch out!). It's still like fishing an aquarium the water is that clear. I'm sure you could school me on what to use for LMB now. I'm stuck in frog mode still.
BTW Hawgz.... check your PM

[HawgZWylde]

Pat it was a pleasure meeting you today. Enjoyed the mid-lake convo. Dude, was it a grind today or what?

[P.A.W.]

Hahaha, That's Skinner for you. Even the experienced regulars get fed some humble pie out there from time to time. The water is starting to color up a bit here and there. I bet that'll turn things back on.

[HawgZWylde]

Hahaha, That's Skinner for you. Even the experienced regulars get fed some humble pie out there from time to time. The water is starting to color up a bit here and there. I bet that'll turn things back on.

Yup, she bites ya in the arse just like DVL can. But we did finally put it together. the wind came up pretty good and that's when things started popping. Lol, Bill caught this Stripey dink on a freaking Brush Hog of all things.
http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag145/Hawgz_Wylde/0714151448_zpsrbnia9v9.jpg (http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/Hawgz_Wylde/media/0714151448_zpsrbnia9v9.jpg.html)

Then we found some offshore structure and I caught 4 of these guys on the rig I showed you. All of them were the same size of about 3 1/2lbs. Then our troller batteries gave out so we called it a day.
http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag145/Hawgz_Wylde/0714151551_zpsrzfw1sit.jpg (http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/Hawgz_Wylde/media/0714151551_zpsrzfw1sit.jpg.html)

I think you're right, once that water stains up a bit, it'll be on again. But I think you're right about the fact that that lake is super healthy with tons of baitfish. Every time we stopped somewhere we would get literally surrounded by juvenile Bass. and clouds of other fry and baitfish. The Bass I caught all had full plump bellies...