Thread: CJ WATER TEMPS AND FISHING THREAD FOR FALL 2015 & 2016

Look who decided to bless the lake with his presence. The 2nd pic is his first fish in 2 years....then it was on like Donkey Kong.
Same Pattern...we caught fish on almost every cast from 7pm until dark...at dark they shut off...we couldn't stay to see if they turned back on after their eyes adjusted.
We caught hundreds of fish....started off catching 8-9 inches, and kept moving down the bank....then we found the pot of gold and hit 11 thru 14 inchers...I also got a 20 inch kitty...dang things!
Bright colors were the ticket again...they smashed the heck out of them...IT WAS GREAT GETTING TO FISH WITH DALE AGAIN...WE HAD A BLAST!

Got out on water about 7 this mornen, lake was ruff already, hit the pylons nothen much there went and work west side of dam on the drop off edge of rip rap, managed 12 or so missed a ton had one 11 incher, electric chicken bobby garland was the meal ticket with a nibble.

Imp
Don't waste your time on the pilings, they are fished to death...because people can't figure out any other spots.
This has turned into a summer pattern already....deep water and slow fishing during the day and fast paced fishing in the evening and after dark....they feed shallow as the air cools...or on CLOUDY days.
Your best bet for morning fishing is to get out at sunrise or before and catch the last hours of feeding...then you can be home by 10:30am.
Remember shade in the daytime...find shady areas.
Most open water suspended fish (stressed) are chillin' till conditions improve at night, and will not feed unless you set food on their nose...fish that are comfortable (shade/oxygenated water) at CJ will feed.
Some fish still have not spawned...they are stressed, they may spawn if it cools again, if it gets too hot they will absorb eggs, due to self preservation.
I can tell you that evening fishing is Fantastic, but I leave at dark when they stop biting...my guess is if I would stay till about 11pm, they would turn on again after their eyes adjust....then it would be "on.like Donkey Kong" again!

Went out this morning just at first light, took the advise of intimidator and had a great time, couldnt keep 2 10ft. jiggen rods in the water it was the best day weve had in a few years and caught some good ones in the mix, water 75 this mornen , shadpoles, jokers, bobby g were the ticket today, and thanks for the help!

Congrats IMPDOG...sometimes we fishermen get stubborn and don't want to adapt....CJ is always adapting...you just have to figure out the puzzle! lol

The full summer Pattern is now in on CJ....fish are feeding in "low" or "no" light conditions, and suspending during the day...when they head out to suspend, they can be tough to get to bite...Crappie, Walleye, and other Cool Water fish, will use up more calories than they can take in during the high heat of the day...so they slow their metabolism and suspend until the stress of the sunny/hot daytime is over! Small fish are still in the shallows during the day trying to spawn in the rocks...they can handle more heat and less O2 than the larger fish!

Another good place to try, are shade areas with high O2 levels...think waves crashing! Look for structures/ambush points. Fish in these areas are active and feeding in the darker shade and cooler temps.

Expect the Thermocline soon...this will shrink the lake, but will also stress fish more...then you better invest in a Red Headlight for Night, and rain gear....or give up fishing until Fall!

Gotta love the Rotten Egg smell of algae blooming also...

Dale and his buddy went out Friday and hit some deep water areas close to Flats....Dale had 85 on his clicker.
They got into a mess of WB also and he caught a 15 and 18 inch WB...the 18 incher looked like a hybrid but wasn't...he said it took forever to get it in!
Dale told me that White Keitech's work during the day and the Fluorescent ones work at night!

Saturday night I went out and tried my 14 year olds "theory"....he was pretty much right...plus add pearl during the day and Glow at night.
I fished until 2 am...and the bite does come back on later...I guess after their eyes re-adjust.

So you were catching at night without the use of a light and just casting jigs? How long after sundown did the bite start to pick back up? And are these black or white crappie?

Originally Posted by lshields

So you were catching at night without the use of a light and just casting jigs? How long after sundown did the bite start to pick back up? And are these black or white crappie?

I Never use lights...don't need them!
Crappie have the second best eyesight of any freshwater fish behind the Walleye...and we have those in the lake also!
The Crappie and Walleye will move from the deep water drop-offs to the feeding flats every night to feed during the summer pattern. They move schools of shad shallow and gorge...then they suspend and rest during the day to conserve energy and to deal with the heat stress.

I use Keitech swimbaits to mimic the baitfish being driven into the shallows. It is taking about an hour or more after sundown to get fired back up...things stay steady and the last blast is at sunrise, then things start to drop off again!