Thought I'd post a quick report.
Met a fishing buddy yesterday at the lake and we headed out in my boat to try our luck (and try out my 50hp Yamaha after some carb work I did on it). I've had trouble figuring out Fayette over the past few trips. I'm about 25 years removed from the height of my bass fishing days, and I'm still stuck in my old patterns from lake Nac. and Rayburn I guess.
We fished for about 4 hours, beginning around lunchtime with very little luck. Boats were EVERYWHERE. The launch line at the ramp was 4 deep when we arrived. One guy even passed right by me and the guy ahead of me and jumped in line while we were standing RIGHT THERE. LOL. It was amazing. What a moron. Guess he was in a hurry.
First we tried some shoreline on the SE corner of the lake, throwing spinnerbaits right up against the shore and bringing them back to about 4' of water where the boat was. Not a bite. We fished some really nice looking shoreline too, including some areas I had caught a few several weeks ago, on spinnerbaits.
So I went out to about 15' of water off a point and tried rattletraps, finally hooking up with a nice 3lb bass, but nothing else. I tried Carolina rigged worms off that point, no bites at all.
Tried the discharge canal (where about a month ago I hooked up with a fish I fought for over 2 minutes, but never saw) and no luck there. We were starting to get a little disheartened, and were about to call it a trip.
Finally, about 5 p.m. we tried the shoreline down by the intake canal, and I got out my "last chance" rig - a spinning rod with a 3" fire tiger Rapala floating minnow that I work like a jerk-bait. That did the trick. On about the 3rd cast, I hooked up with a nice 17" fish in about 2' of water. Then about 5 casts later, another one. Same thing. In the next 100 yards of shoreline, I pulled in 5 more bass, all doing the same thing. My buddy was still throwing a spinnerbait, with no bites at all.
We went back up that same stretch, this time with him throwing my spinning rod / Rapala combo, and me with a white spinnerbait. I caught two more on the spinnerbait, but he didn't have as much luck with the Rapala as I did.
From there we went back in the cove West of the West side ramp, and I pulled two more football-sized bass out of that channel, again with my spinning rod/Rapala "jerk bait" and we called it a day.
Just thought I'd share if any of you were having trouble up there right now. Might be something you want to try. I use a constant jerk/retrieve action with that lure, and twitch it hard about 12" at a time while I reel. This keeps the lure about 1-2' under the water, depending on the height of my rod tip.
This has always been my "desperation move" when bass fishing. I don't know too many bass in shallow water than can lay off that, even 25 years after I learned that trick.
Here's the lure I use (fire tiger color)
Met a fishing buddy yesterday at the lake and we headed out in my boat to try our luck (and try out my 50hp Yamaha after some carb work I did on it). I've had trouble figuring out Fayette over the past few trips. I'm about 25 years removed from the height of my bass fishing days, and I'm still stuck in my old patterns from lake Nac. and Rayburn I guess.
We fished for about 4 hours, beginning around lunchtime with very little luck. Boats were EVERYWHERE. The launch line at the ramp was 4 deep when we arrived. One guy even passed right by me and the guy ahead of me and jumped in line while we were standing RIGHT THERE. LOL. It was amazing. What a moron. Guess he was in a hurry.
First we tried some shoreline on the SE corner of the lake, throwing spinnerbaits right up against the shore and bringing them back to about 4' of water where the boat was. Not a bite. We fished some really nice looking shoreline too, including some areas I had caught a few several weeks ago, on spinnerbaits.
So I went out to about 15' of water off a point and tried rattletraps, finally hooking up with a nice 3lb bass, but nothing else. I tried Carolina rigged worms off that point, no bites at all.
Tried the discharge canal (where about a month ago I hooked up with a fish I fought for over 2 minutes, but never saw) and no luck there. We were starting to get a little disheartened, and were about to call it a trip.
Finally, about 5 p.m. we tried the shoreline down by the intake canal, and I got out my "last chance" rig - a spinning rod with a 3" fire tiger Rapala floating minnow that I work like a jerk-bait. That did the trick. On about the 3rd cast, I hooked up with a nice 17" fish in about 2' of water. Then about 5 casts later, another one. Same thing. In the next 100 yards of shoreline, I pulled in 5 more bass, all doing the same thing. My buddy was still throwing a spinnerbait, with no bites at all.
We went back up that same stretch, this time with him throwing my spinning rod / Rapala combo, and me with a white spinnerbait. I caught two more on the spinnerbait, but he didn't have as much luck with the Rapala as I did.
From there we went back in the cove West of the West side ramp, and I pulled two more football-sized bass out of that channel, again with my spinning rod/Rapala "jerk bait" and we called it a day.
Just thought I'd share if any of you were having trouble up there right now. Might be something you want to try. I use a constant jerk/retrieve action with that lure, and twitch it hard about 12" at a time while I reel. This keeps the lure about 1-2' under the water, depending on the height of my rod tip.
This has always been my "desperation move" when bass fishing. I don't know too many bass in shallow water than can lay off that, even 25 years after I learned that trick.
Here's the lure I use (fire tiger color)
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