Doug Wynn

Hey folks from the Excel 230 Elite.

Better weather is making for great fishing for my clients. Wind is still a factor some days but the bad days seem to be getting fewer. The surface temps have been slow to gain back what they lost last week. Most sunny days are seeing late afternoon temperatures in the high sixties after starting 3-4 degrees cooler in the morning. The lake levels are right at summer pool with the water color being slightly stained to clear for April.

I’m seeing signs that some crappie are post spawn but the majority have been pre-spawn or partial spawn. Those we have cleaned have eggs that still appear to be viable. We are still catching a majority that are slightly below the 10 inch minimum. Our average keeper crappie have been very nice size with many over 14”. A few 16-inchers have shown up also.

I had several personal best caught by clients already this season and that is always a big source of pride for me. I’ve been pulling Pico Lures INTs along with some cranks that would be considered medium runners in 12-25 feet of water.

It is very important to keep an eye on the electronics to determine the exact depth the fish are holding. I then use the Precision Trolling Data phone app to see how much line we need to let out with certain baits. I want to get them just above the level of the fish. White and yellow bass as well as some big channel catfish are falling to our offerings.

While not everyone keeps these species, my clients who choose to find I trim the most of any red meat off the skin side of the fillets. I’ve taken a few much needed days off due to the high winds and rain forecasts. I still have some dates available in late May as well as June.

The crankbait bite will just get better as the spawning fish finish up then feed back up. I’m seeing some very impressive redears as well as bluegills being caught. It seems with the decrease in Asian carp the bluegill and redear populations have rebounded very well. My opinion all along has been the carp invasion disrupted the spawning grounds for panfish and they have been slow to respond. They are being caught on worms, crickets, and jigs. My favorite tactic has been a drop-shot rig with a piece of nightcrawler or Popeye jig with a waxworm.

We will soon see some college semesters closing and younger children's school year closing down. These always mark the beginning of vacations. Vacations mean increased boat traffic.

Be careful out there! Watch out for other boaters as well as floating debris. One thing I hate to see is trash that is blown or thrown out of boats. Keep our lakes clean. Wear your PFDs.

Welcome to our slice of Heaven!