Hit and miss at Lake of the Pines

I hit the lake for a couple hours yesterday and a couple more today. One fish per day. I thought the fishing was going to be red hot when I got a very fat 20" female on my third cast yesterday. I was fishing the boat docks in 20 feet of water, and the fish came on 3/4 oz jig and beaver combo. I had one more bite in the next couple hours. I tried a variety of depths, generally on banks that were oriented to get plenty of sun.

Today I got out a little earlier, and it was the reverse situation. No fish until as a last ditch resort I hit the go to spot for Spring, Summer and Fall. A place known as the rock pile. It rises to 3 feet of depth, out of about 8 feet. I took the fish on a Pointer 100. The lure was probably about 3-4 feet deep, over about 6-7 feet of water. Based on its 16" size and fairly slender shape, I'm guessing it was a male.

Other anglers were catching fish, but also reported them all over the place, 1 foot to 25 feet deep. Which somewhat stands to reason, with the water temp at all depths over 5 feet measuring 48 degrees (yep, I'm now getting geeky enough to measure temps at depth). Some shallow protected spots were as warm as 52 degrees. If the night time temperatures continue to rise, I foresee the fish really starting to stay shallow soon. Water clarity varied from about 4 feet to about 8 feet.  I'm seeing absolutely nothing down deep (35-45 feet) where they were prior to our trip to China at the beginning of the month.

No pix, as James has been playing "hide daddy's camera".

Scott

P.S. I'm getting desperate enough to break out the Senkos...

P.S. I'm getting desperate enough to break out the Senkos...

  You should have! I am surpriced that the water there is still so cold. I thought it would have warmed up nicely in the last couple of days, at least in the shallower areas.

Keep in mind that we're in the Sierra foothills, so night time temps are still in the mid-to-low 40s even though it's in the mid 60s in the afternoon. I did measure 56 degrees at the beach where I launched, but the thermometer was in 4 inches of water in a really protected spot that faces Southwest. I didn't see any fish there, as I have before in the late Winter.

I may forgo the fishing rod tomorrow, and do a couple hours of snorkeling. Can't beat visual intel

Scott

48 - that's what the ocean at the Cove was today.  Brrrr...

Good report, and I'll let you off the hook for no pics, since James stole your camera!   

Scott-

I'm guessing that by next weekend... it's going to be off...

Freddie

Glad to hear your getting in some fishing time.  Not sure when I'll get up there again.  Have a really busy next few weeks, but I'm sure not going to miss the the pre-spawn swimbait bite.  Thanks for the report!  See you on the water soon!

Justin

I may forgo the fishing rod tomorrow, and do a couple hours of snorkeling. Can't beat visual intel

Scott

Illl bet you they are in 20' of water.