Lake Erie anglers

Fishing for walleyes, the big daddy for Lake Erie anglers, will be exceptional this year, thanks to outstanding hatches in 2014 and 2015. Anglers can expect to encounter many walleyes from year classes dating back to 2009 along with a fair number of fish hatched in 2003 and now measuring 28 inches and more. With a lot of fish from the successful 2015 hatches available this year, Erie walleye anglers can expect to catch a few sub-15-inchers. Anglers are reminded Erie walleyes less than 15 inches long must be released immediately.The daily walleye possession limit is four through April 30.
Quota allocations set by representatives of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan and Ontario set the possession limit at six walleyes daily from May 1 through Feb. 28, 2018.Yellow perch, easy to catch and tasty on the table, will be readily available this year on Erie waters, especially in the western basin. Central basin anglers will find average numbers, with most of the perch coming from the 2012 year class and some from the 2014 hatch.
The daily bag limit for perch is 30 with no minimum length regulation.Fishing for hard-fighting smallmouth bass is expected to be on par with recent years. Smallmouths love the hard-bottom areas near and off shore, leaving the harbors and marshes to exceptional numbers of largemouth bass. Areas with vegetation, brush and wood cover are likely largemouth hangouts.

Devils Lake

 

Ice fishing is done for the season, and the focus now will shift to the coulees that are opening upstream in the basin. Northern pike generally show up first, followed by walleyes and white bass, but some anglers already have reported catching walleyes and white bass. Basically, any ditch or coulee with open water has the potential of holding fish right now if it connects to Devils Lake or other bodies of water in the basin. Don't forget new North Dakota fishing licenses were required as of April 1.

Lake Powell

 It has come up 6 inches since last week. Spring runoff has begun a bit early due to warm days in March. That may change as another storm front is now on the way. Early runoff is a double edged sword for fishing success from Trachyte to Good Hope Bay. This week, reports indicated good steady fishing success for smallmouth bass, walleye, stripers and largemouth. Catching was steady for those using bass jigs along the shoreline and trolling with wally divers and shad raps at 2.5 to 3 mph in open water.
Early runoff will “muddy the water” and have some impact on fishing success in the northern lake. Right now the mudline is in the vicinity of White Canyon/Trachyte. The muddy water could move quickly downstream depending on the strength of the Colorado River inflow. Anyone headed to the northern lake this weekend will find good fishable water and good success in catching a wide range of species.
In the southern lake bait fishing was working better for stripers than most other methods. Most anglers were finding success at the dam. One reported suggested cutting an anchovy in half and hooking it on a 1/4 oz. leadhead. “Then cast the bait out about 50 to 60 feet into deep water and let it just drift down on its own arc controlled by the length of line out. By the time it gets to about 40 to 50 feet deep you’ll get a good bite.” The Wahweap fish cleaning station was busy every day with many fishing crews bringing in 20-30 fish to fillet

Early season bass

Early season bass fishing is usually a shallow water affair. During May and early June any shallow cover like reeds, fallen trees, or docks and boat lifts is a probable spot to locate bass. A simple way to target fish in the shallows is with a “do nothing” soft stick bait fished weightless.          

Soft stick baits look like the common ballpoint pen and don’t provide much action when rigged weightless. What I like to do is hook them “wacky” style, inserting an over-sized Kahle-style hook into the bait’s middle. When rigged this way, the bait has a tantalizing fall with each end providing just enough wobble to attract any bass lurking nearby to come over, inspect, and often eat the bait.

This is simple fishing where I cast the bait to shallow cover and slowly let it fall while watching for bites. Depending on water clarity, sometimes I see the bass approach and bite, other times I simply see the line start to move off. Patience to let the bait sink and sit is key, as bass will often come and take the bait, even once it’s reached bottom.

Percy Priest

The last week on Percy Priest has been very productive. The bass have been biting up-lake in the river off the mud flats around wood. Crank baits, rattle traps, and top water lures have been successful. Down-lake has been productive when you can get into the right pattern. However, it can be a very slow day until you find the bass on the lower end. Alabama rigs and jerk baits have been the ticket. The crappie have been biting well between Fate Sanders and Jefferson Pike Bridge. Fishing brush piles in 10-16 feet of water, stumps, brush piles off the mud flats are effective. Casting Crappie Magnets in chartreuse and clear or tight-lining minnows 2-3 feet off the bottom has been effective. Lastly, the hybrid fishing has been phenomenal. Both trolling and casting plastic shad baits has produced quantity and quality fish in the 5-15 pound range. These hybrid have been suspended in 10-20 feet of water mid-lake.

Cheatham Lake:

 As of Monday afternoon, Sycamore Creek is 49-50 degrees and the main lake is 48 degrees. Both are stained but not muddy. Visibility is 1-1.5 feet. I have been catching most of my fish on Strike King chrome with a black back Red Eye Shad. Ordinarily this time of year I would be using jerk baits, crank baits or swim baits, but the low visibility gives me less confidence in these tools since we are more dependent on sight due to very little sound generation. If the water clears up, these would be my baits of choice. The other important thing I learned this week is the importance of my electronics. Similar to the fall season, if I did not find shad and fish on my electronics, I caught very few fish. When I did find these concentrations, I did very well. Where these concentrations are depth-wise is also critical since the fish are not as active and won’t chase as well. When you figure the correct depth range, count your bait down to the proper depth and yo-yo it right through the middle of the school for best results. I also learned that the concentrations have moved slightly from day to day. It may have only been 300-400 yards, but if I had not noticed this on my electronics, I may have completely missed the bite. Currently the concentrations have been in the main creek channel, but this could change with the approaching warm temperatures.

Ozarks

Jerkbaits should be very effective as will the Bama rig. Fish a tube in smallmouth areas, and the action should be quick. Spooning is still effective on both bass and walleye. If you are fishing for walleye, plan to spoon 45 to 50 feet deep.
Crappie are being caught around brush piles on both lakes. Live minnows and small Bobby Garland baits have been working better than anything else. A few white bass are still being caught from Udall to the state line on Norfork. Several anglers reported good catches of big bluegill on Bull Shoals last week, with most fish being found in the 20- to 25-foot range.

Hemlock Lake

Hemlock Lake, also known as Straight Run Lake, supports a good fishery comprised primarily of largemouth bass, panfish along with northern pike. Its modest 60 acres cool quickly, increasing the odds of a lengthy ice fishing season. Just to the east, State Game Lands 174 provides nearly 4,000 acres of public hunting boasting a variety of habitats.
Hemlock Lake (as it will show as on most maps, including Penn Dot maps), is a relatively infertile body of water that, despite this lack of productivity — water chemistry-wise — plays host to a respectable fish population, largemouth bass in particular. It reaches depths of more than 30 feet and has significant weed growth in the shallow zones — consisting of about 30 percent of the lake’s total acreage.