Another No Flow Day
August 30, 2017
A later than usual start and an early finish had Darren & I fishing limited areas today. We started out with a troll and despite many short strikes, only managed a couple of fish. I had noticed something strange with the water and figured out why on our next spot. There was very little current! I think they reduced the flow from one of the dams upstream. Add the zero wind and it felt like we were anchored!
We had to cast the drop shot rigs here instead of the usual drifting technique and It didn’t take long before there were fish being caught. Several keeper walleye and some bass were landed with a few other fish being lost too. I really would have liked to fish this area longer but it wasn’t producing as well without the movement and I decided to pull the plug and try for bass somewhere else.
We arrived on a shallow flat that had been holding good fish the last couple of weeks and it didn’t take long to find out that they were still here. Soft plastics were the ticket and fish after fish were landed. Although mostly medium sized, there were a few pretty big ones too! Eventually the bite just slowed completely and we were forced to move once again. I knew that we were pressed for time and that Darren wanted to bring a few walleye home so we decided to resume the troll.
Back at it again with the sun higher and the water flat, I wasn’t sure what to expect. After about 30 minutes of washing baits, I had my answer. Nothing was moving except us. I relocated again and tried it in another area with exactly the same results. Without any wind or flow, the weeds on the surface were also insane and the lines were covered with them constantly. It was impossible to keep the rods clean!
As there were only 30 minutes remaining before we had to pull out, I decided to look at a couple of areas that were in deeper water. I was shocked to see that one of them was setting up pretty good and showed signs of life on the bottom. So much so that as soon as I told Darren to drop down, he was locked up. The drop shot rod was loaded but we never got a chance to see how big the fish was as it came unpinned before it reached the boat. The winds had also began and were now blowing enough from the south that we were able to make a drift. With the time remaining, several good fish were landed including an over walleye that Darren caught on the very next drop. It killed me to have to pull out of here but we had no choice. Darren had to pick up his kids from school as his wife became sick and wasn’t able to do it as planned!
Although time was cut short, there were a number of fish landed today and we ended with bang. I can’t wait to get back out again and refine the area we last fished and hopefully find the mother lode. It will have to wait a couple of days though as tomorrow I will be on a different pond looking for giant smallies in the deep. Looking forward to the change of scenery!
