Post By: gotafish Posted: 3/17/2017 7:28:28 AMPoints: 142
The boat ramps opened on the 15th and was able to make it out on the 16th. Water temps were 48° at launch. Picked up some Saugeye off the Rocky points using gulp minnows. The white bass picked up where they left off last year. Looks to be another good year at JM if they can keep water in it. Supposed to be in the upper 80s this weekend, I think I will hit it again. Thank God for spring.
Trout, I've caight WB anywhere on the dam and the north boat ramp. The water temp and wind direction is key to catching WB imo. John has an abundance of WB and should be easy pickin if you can locate them.
We have an episode of FTTV coming up tomorrow (3/18, and running all week) featuring John Martin white bass. It was filmed last September. Smallish white bass were so thick everywhere we fished that I actually worry about the fishery...they are overpopulated as far as I could tell without real fishery sampling data, and they were devouring anything in their path. Most were skinny, even for white bass.
Whatever we threw, wherever we threw it...if it was any shallower than about 12 feet of water, we got constant bites. Finding 12" plus fish was much, much tougher. I caught about 8 average dinks on the boat ramp in the amount of time it took my buddy to back my truck down the main ramp. I guess if I was targeting them there again, I'd fish a Powergrub or Gulp! Minnow on an 1/8oz jighead. We were in the boat but fish were very near the shoreline everywhere and I'd expect the same in spring. CL
Somewhere north of 4 hours I think. I haven't driven it since last year, but if you throw ANYTHING out there, you better put a couple ounces on it or the WB will eat it before it gets deep enough for anything else.
Son and I put over 90 on the bank in an afternoon, and it didn't matter what we threw! I managed to get a line down past them and caught a couple anemic looking catfish. I too am worried about that fishery. They need to up the limits on those smaller fish or something.
Put a few nets in and feed the homeless even, SOMETHING. The other fish are going to starve off if they don't. The WB's are eating EVERYTHING they can get in their mouths, and some stuff they can't! (Good money on BIG wipers being caught on WB imitations in coming months!)
I went a few times last year and the limit was 20 any size. Doesn't matter what the limit is if there is no one fishing. I do think they were overstocked. The WB were small too, only 6-8 inches. They are fun to catch though. one every cast.
