Tried an oxbow near the Ouachita River last week with slim results. I searched all my usual spots and only caught a couple tiny crappie.

Yesterday, I had to go back to try to work the puzzle again. I had asked a friend, who I consider an expert, for advice. I expected him to tell me a spot or suggest I try a different tactic.

Instead, he said, “Put your depth finder on side imaging at 50 feet of range, and go find them”. So I did just that. It took a while, and the gnats were ferocious, but it worked!! The fish were 5-8 feet deep on trees in 10-20 feet of water! Maybe one or two on a tree and many were small, but many more than I was seeing in my old spots.

I caught enough for supper, and learned a great lesson!! Most fish were caught on silver hand-tied jigs with silver nibble.

I’m thankful for friends and for being able to live where I have so many choices of a place to fish!!

What’s a good gnat repellent?