pm sent
Hi all,
I've been trying to fish Hillsdale for over 6 years now with my boat and have had the worst success. For 2-3 years, my best day on the water was 2-3 fish caught. Granted I don't out there as often as most of you fellas. It may be only a couple times a month. But, that means when I finally get time to go, I'm really disappointed when I completely strike-out. I hear a lot of guys claim they can go out anytime no matter the conditions and catch fish. They're worst days on the water usually sound better than my best days. I don't need to catch 50 to be happy. 5-10 would be an incredible day on the water for me.
I've finally gotten to a point where I can occasionally pick-up 5-10, but I really want to make this a consistent thing. For instance, I had one of those super-rare weekends where I was able to break away from the wife and kids twice in one weekend. This Saturday afternoon around 2:00pm, I went out to the flats, anchored off (no trolling motor) right over a good bunch of fish (I have sonar) and had instant success. I pulled 11 fish (7 keepers 10"-12") out of that spot in about 1.5 hours. Caught crappie & stripped bass on minnows with jig-head about 10' down. Would have loved to have seen some walleye. So, I marked the spot on my GPS and figured I'd take my daughter out Sunday morning (around 9:00am) to a proven location where I knew she'd have fun catching fish. Well guess what? We struck-out completely even though my sonar was showing a massive school of fish directly below us! She still had fun driving the boat around, but if I don't change something quick, I'm gonna completely loose her interest in fishing altogether.
I'm finally learning enough to where I can use my sonar to find the fish, which took years, but now when I find them, they only sometimes bite. I know a lot you say Hillsdale is tricky and I should branch out and try other lakes, but concurring Hillsdale is turning very personal for me and is quickly rising to the top of my bucket list.
So, long story short, please help me figure out why my luck changed so much within 18 hours. The weather was very crummy Sunday morning, but I talked to a friend of mine who was out there a couple hours earlier and had a great time catching fish. Was that couple of hours all that made the difference? Is it impossible to catch fish when a storm front is moving in?
pm sent
The boy and I were on great fish Saturday, really amazeing at sunset, but once the wind changed Sunday, bite went to poor for us as well.
i fish there. it depends on many things. you need to use different methord and goes different time. i goes amost once a week. i normally catch something. and sometime when your regular spot is not producing. you have to go search for new place.
how old is your kid? mine is 5 when i start them fishing and i aim for smaller fish like blue gill to start. they are very easy to catch.
I fish at Hillsdale lake and now la cygne
Hillsdale is just one of those lakes. Try moving a lot and find them wen i go out there i may pull one keeper off one tree then a lot of small ones so a lot of times i just keep moving. Try fishing the trees by little bull bridge some good fishing over there in the summer at night. Good luck
What specifically are you looking for? Right now the females are in brush in 7 to 12 ft of water and i can't find many males on the bank regularly.
Sunday we took kids out so we tied up the boat over some brush and put minnows 12 ft down on slip bobbers into the top of the brush. Didn't catch a lot but both boys caught fish over 13 with one being 14 1/2. Lots of different ways to catch them now.
It's not duck season so I have to do something... :D
You are welcome to join us on in outdoor adventures in Kansas. Come along for the ride at www.kansasoutdoorsman.com ~ This is our outdoor adventures of Kansas Hunting and Fishing!!!
Try fishing the trees (standing timber that is visible) in 10' to 15' of water. Lots of them, I mean lots of them, don’t stop on one tree for more than a minute. Put your jig next to the tree (About 8' - 9' down) and if you don’t get a bite, go to the next one, and then the next one, and, well you get the point.
Best tip, keep moving… go to the fish. That’s all I got,
Kevin Rogers-
Sometime jig work better then live bait. keep changing color and when hit, that is the color you will be using for the rest of the fish.
I fish at Hillsdale lake and now la cygne
crappie nibbles are also a must on Hillsdale, IMO. Also don't limit yourself to the eastern part of the lake. It gets hammered. Get off the beaten path. I would search some of duckman's older posts for some ideas...go back to early last summer
Remember "I" before "E," except in Budweiser
Just went to hillsdale tonight, you should try to go for white bass, it is fun to catch.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/kansa...ml#post1911772
I fish at Hillsdale lake and now la cygne