So before this topic gets locked and has an easy to google answer, over here in Michigan we have had thunderstorms on and off for a week strait, usually people say fishing is effected days following a storm, but what if there are repeated storms?

 

i went out sometime last week and saw a top water feeding frenzy early morning to a point where I should have video taped it. I had never seen this much topwater action. I threw a few popper, frogs, a buzz bait, spinners both mepps and spinnerbait jig style spinners, a worm in two different colors Texas rigged, jointed rapalas, a rattle trap, and a fricken x-rap and managed one 13 incher on a big popper.

 

is there a way to fish between a string of storms with better luck? Or was I witnessing some type of insect spawn and they were consumed with natural food options? It was my strangest fishing day I have ever had.

 

I literally tried multiple speeds and retrieval’s of the lures. Oddly enough the fish I caught was on a pop pop pause retrieve, but he was the only taker. 

I should also mention the morning I fished had almost zero wind and very little to no ripple to the water and was overcast just to clarify the conditions a little more. Usually top water isn’t for all types of weather, but with how the fish appeared to be jumping and eating I figured they wanted to eat on the top.

Was this topwater frenzy right on the shoreline, in the middle of grass beds, or under docks and very violent?

 

13 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Was this topwater frenzy right on the shoreline, in the middle of grass beds, or under docks and very violent?

I was shore fishing a small lake near my house called stony creek. The feeding frenzy appeared to be occurring about 10 feet off the bank all the way to where the feeder stream that enters near by created a current. So I’d say right under some tree cover to the weed line. Even some what appeared to be in the middle of nowhere all violent. 

 

Forgot to mention I used a plastic shad also In white and still nothing. 

 

The main thing that I considered was insect spawn and my lures aren’t small enough to have tricked them that day? Although I’m not sure what would spawn in that area. 

Visually speaking I should have caught a fish every cast, but that was far from it. I stayed the entire feeding frenzy basically 550am-730 am and they stopped and i stopped getting any signs fish were around so I threw in the towel very frustrated. 

 

 

I have a wild suspicion a fly fisherman would have crushed the lake that day, or maybe this is some other phenomena? 

And the funny thing about this my buddy was fishing in the upper peninsula and had a similar feeding frenzy, however up north they don’t see lures so they eat everything he managed to be productive. He has a video I could post that pales in comparison to what I saw on the home lake 

I'd be willing to bet what you were seeing was carp spawning. Looks a lot like fish feeding, and just causes all kinds of commotion. 

Huh, never considered that at all! Usually the carp hang out by the dam, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they spawn there does it? 

 

I know that some of the top water wildness was bass just off visuals, but there were so many top water feeds, it wouldn’t make sense for it to be only bass. As far as I know largemouth do not school feed like that ?

I consider myself an intermediate angler. I’m only 28, been fishing since 10, but that pales in comparison to some of the more experienced fisherman who have been fishing longer than I have been alive know! That’s partially why I wanted in on this forum is to make that leap to experienced veteran haha 

Largemouth do school and feed aggressively at times, but when they do, they're very rarely difficult to catch. 

 

 

Now as far of a string of t-storms do I just assume fish are hungry when it’s not storming and go off water conditions? Or do I wait until the week is over and torture myself with no casting haha 

Ok thank you for the clarification. The only other time I saw a hard top water feed I crushed it, but this one was different 

It's been raining and storming non-stop here for the entire spring, hasn't stopped me from going. Fish the conditions, they still have to eat. 

4 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I'd be willing to bet what you were seeing was carp spawning. Looks a lot like fish feeding, and just causes all kinds of commotion. 

Yep, they are in full force.  It's tough not to turn and get excited but reality sets in.

 

Was on a lake this weekend that was well up into the bushes,  could have confused the sound of the carp spawn with a herd of deer running through.

I'd agree that it was probably carp making that commotion.  It has been raining every other day here in Iowa too, and I have been doing just fine on dark and bright days.  The best bait for me during clouds and wind has been a spinnerbait(obvious choice), and brighter days have called for a jig.

Thanks guys. I took a hiatus from fishing for a few years, and there was questions I always have wanted to ask and a forum like this is great considering I’m more of an intermediate angler. 

 

Any colors or softs you recommend for the jig? Or are you not running a soft on your jig at all?