6 replies to this topic

[Fish Chris]

In case you didn't already know this, please allow me to teach you something that I should have.... well, I kind of did already know...

> Quickly rising water, especially during the spawn, is ALL BAD !

I had heard reports that my favorite trophy lake had risen about 1ft per day, for the last 8 or 10 days, and was almost to the spill way.
What this means, is that even if any fish had started to build, and get on beds last week, this week, they were either to deep for the fish to use... OR, too deep for the fishermen to see !

Worst yet, that new 8 to 10 "top" feet of the lake, are coming straight down from the Sierra Mountains > read: freezing cold snow run off. Brrrrrr !

So while the lake should be getting 1 or 2 degrees warmer, each week, instead, I would bet the lake dropped by two degrees, when it should have been warming !

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All of this said ^ It's freaking Apr. the 9th (later than I have ever started bass fishing) on the best trophy Smallmouth, and Northern LMB lake in Nor Cal ! Surely I could scratch out a nice one or two, right ?

Wrong !

I worked hard for 9 hours. Threw crawlers in all of the best holding areas. Through Huds on every hump, point, etc, that I have ever caught swimbait fish in this lake, on..... and zero !

Finally, at like 6pm last evening, on my way back to the ramp, I through the Hud again, at a spot which always has fish on it, but they get constantly hammered on.... And Bam ! I got totally freight trained.... but no hook up Probably a 6 to 8 lb N LMB, since this is what the lake has so many of.

But that was it

Water temp was in the low 50's.

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Now, what to do in the near future ? I know the rising water won't be an issue any more, as the water will be at the spillway today, or tomorrow.
But my next big concern, is that a good sized area near the dam, had started a big, ugly red/brown algae bloom, just between morning and evening !
By next week, that whole lake could be a big red/brown mess ! It would actually make sense too. Think about all of the additional nutrients from hundreds of acres of newly flooded land, plus the stuff in the new water itself !

Certainly won't go back next week, without talking to the marina next weekend......

It was still a nice, relaxing day though. Got down to a tank top for about 3hrs That felt good.

Maybe I should wait until May..... or June ? Heck, if they aren't on by then, it will be time for the Sunfish ! WTH ?

Oh well.

Peace,
Fish

[Catt]

I feel ya!Toledo Bend came up 12' in less than a month

[WookieeJedi]

My lake went from 2 ft down from pool to 18" over. All the while, the water temp continued to rise. Confused a lot of fish, and even more fishermen.

[redboat]

Wife and I fished TB last weekend. Saw LOTS of bass hatchlings, huge balls, with the male fish nearby guarding them, all in 2 or 3 feet of water. May have been more deeper but the water was so murky from the recent rains a couple feet down was about as deep as I could see.

So we pulled out to a ledge area, caught several on Texas and Carolina rigged Grande Bass Rattlesnakes, but all were small. I think it will take TB a year or two to recover from the drought. Not much hydrilla, lots of dead weeds that were recently on the shore.

It is still our favorite lake, though.

[tomustang]

I don't believe you Chris! When I lived in nor cal all I ever saw was Folsom lake get lower and lower


Same thing happened by my canal, the rivers been bad so they started bedding in the canal right before they filled it. They all disappeared and I wouldn't doubt things got screwy

[Fish Chris]

Thanks guys.

Tom, it's true !

The thing about this lake, is that it is a medium sized lake (about 3800 acres) yet it has a HUUUGE watershed. {area of land which drains into it} Basically it recieves a large portion of the Sierra mountain run off, through the Merced River.

So this 10ft rise, in the last 10 days, was basically from a storm system that might have given us an average of 2" rain, in a few days (a single, medium sized system). During hard rains... especially Spring tropical rains, that melt a ton of snow, they empty as fast as they can, and can still barely keep up !

Peace,
Fish

[NCbassmaster4Life]

I had some of this happen to me this year, the lake i was fishing was pretty low not to bad put under average. By the time it was "spawning time" the lake had come up 2 ft and into the bushes and trees thinking they would be all up in the bushes and trees, nope only bucks and then relized that not only were the males there to build beds the females where still in 6-8ft of water.