Thread: Last Two Days On The Hill...

Hey Butch,

Great reports! After spending April and May chasing bass, hybrids, and catfish, I'm back in full on crappie mode as of yesterday! I didn't know which would work best, so I loaded up my trolling rods and my brushpile rods....Looked like a Bass Pro Shops sticking outta my boat! Had that same calm water yesterday (Saturday) morning and the troll bite was good, boating around 25 crappie plus a catfish, a perch, three hybrids and a big gar....sigh. Late morning it slowed so I decided to hit brush piles...unfortunately at the same time the wind decided to really start blowing. The fish are in brush but with the wind whitecapping, I had to anchor over brush...ugh..and I just don't like anchoring. Pulled another 25 or so from brush and decided to head in. On the way in, I was shocked as I bounced all over the place (but not from the whitecaps!). I never saw so many recreational boaters on the upper end of the Hill in my life! Between the jet skis, tube pullers, and runabouts, there must have been 30 or more crisscrossing at any one time...Clear moral of the story...get there early, go way back in coves, and like you Butch, get outta there before the heat and party boats arrive in full force!

Oh, and as a P.S., I've gotten fixated too watching those YouTube videos of using Humminbird side scan to find massive bream beds. Those folks find them and it looks like the surface of the moon! I side scanned the creek I was in and just didn't see them but I did it while trolling so I probably needed to cover more water.

The heat has all but shut me down. For me atleast, it just isnt worth it to hitch to the boat, ride an hour to the lake before daylight, the ride home, and some fish to clean for 2 hours of fishing. And between all that I sweat so bad it takes the fun out of it all. Besides, now I'm obligated to helping my Dad keeping his place up now that he's older (89) and needing some help. He has always kept 15 acres of fiends and woods manicured and between his place and mine I seem to stay pretty busy anyway.

Oh yea.....the bug still hits me from time to time and I'll keep my boat and gear setting on ready most anytime, but after I get that itch scratched it will be much longer times between trips for me. You guys stay after 'em and keep those pictures coming. It helps to keep the rest of us motivated to continue hitting the lakes.