OUTLOOK for JULY
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For starters, I would like to apologize for being tardy on this report. Things have been busy here around Fish Tales. We are now into FULL SUMMER PATTERN on the fishing. The bass are moving deep and the stripers are starting to school up on shad fry in the early morning. The best time to fish will be during the week, Tuesday through Thursday will be best.
Tournaments….
Sunday Morning Bass Series
Every Sunday through September.
$100 Entry Fee (includes Big Fish)
80% Payback 1 in 3 payback
6am-11am
Angler Appreciation Tournament
SUNDAY OCT 29
7:30am-4:00pm
Flights will consist of 50 boats per flight.
Boats 1-50 7:30-3:30
Boats 51-100 7:45-3:45
Boats 101-150 8:00-4:00
Participant Raffle will start as soon as the weigh in has concluded and results being tallied. If anyone would like to come on board as a sponsor and donate prizes to the participant raffle, please get in touch with Chris Craft.
We will start accepting entries on Saturday July 29. Boat numbers will be assigned in the order that entries are excepted.
$120 Entry Fee (up $10 to help offset food costs)1 in 7 payback.
BASS- Largemouth are now in their summer time pattern and are deep. They are holding on brush piles, bridge pilings, rock piles and deep boat docks in 12-30 feet of water. At first light, you can find them schooling and chasing pods of baitfish fry.
Walking baits like the Spook Jr will produce violent and exciting strikes from these schooling fish.
After the feed is over and the sun is well above the tree line, it is time to start probing deeper water. Shakey head rigged plastics like the Zoom Trick Worms and Deep Creek Lures six inch floating MT Worm are all great choices. Try to keep your colors natural…….Green Pumpkin, Watermelon Seed, Watermelon Candy and Watermelon Red are my go to colors. I rig these on a 3/16oz SG’s Shakey Head.
Deep Diving crank baits are also catching their fair share of fish. Bill Norman DD22’s and 6XD’s are two of my favorite choices. You want to bump into the cover of a brush pile or make that bait dig into the lake bottom in order to get reaction strikes. My color choices are Chart/Blue, Gizzard Shad, Blue Back Herring and Sexy Shad.
Jig & Pig combinations, Yamamoto Hula Grubs and creature baits like the Double D Bay Bass Bug or Kracken also work very well during the summer months, especially if you venture to the up lake region. Pitch your baits in the willow grass and under boat docks, make sure you put it right up against every pole on the dock, willow grass will also hold fish, in the hot water temps, the grass will hold the coolest water and have the highest concentration of oxygen. Put you baits into open pockets of grass and hop it a few time after it settles to the bottom. Be very careful to watch your line, sometimes these fish will inhale the jig and not move and inch.
STRIPER- With the water warming into the mid to upper 80’s, the striper are actively chasing baitfish at first light and aggressively taking trolling baits after sun up. If you see schooling fish, nothing beats a top water strike! Pop R’s, Zara Spooks and Torpedos all are great choices, but if they are playing volley ball with your bait, it is hard to pass up a Cotton Cordell Broken Back Redfin. Just wake the bait under the surface to create a disturbance they cannot resist!!!!
After the top water feed evaporates, stay on the school with your electronics and drop spoons or blade baits down to them. If trolling is more your speed, Deep Diving Red Fins trailed with a 1/4 or 3/8 bucktail will provide all day action for you. DD22’s and 6XD’s are also great choices, Colors should be Chart/Blue or a Natural Shad for best results.
CRAPPIE- The Specks are a little more challenging at this time of year. They go to deep water and can get finicky. Bridge pilings, deep boat docks and brush piles will all hold fish. Small minnows rigged either on a slip bobber or a jig head will produce the best results.
LAKE LEVEL- 5 inches low
WATER TEMPS
UP LAKE- 85-88
MID LAKE- 82-87
DOWN LAKE- 85-90
Chris Craft
Anna Point Marina/Fish Tales Tackle Manager
540-895-5900 ext 5
We would like to thank Scott and Teresa Cain for all that they do with Wet Line Productions. Without them taking awesome pictures and video of our events, we would be just another marina on the lake!!!!!!