Fishing Report Archives

Hello from the Excel Storm Cat 230.

Seems we have fallen into a deep summer patten on fishing much too early. Dry weather has the lake almost stagnant with very little current and that in turn has the fish with no pattern to speak of from day to day.

It is a new search for fish every day. Those fish that were here yesterday are gone to who-knows-where today. It is taking some time to locate and pattern the crappie most days.

That doesn’t mean that once you find them fishing is just so-so. We had a morning last week where we sat down on them immediately and had seven or so nice keepers in just a few minutes.

Most of the fish I am seeing are relating to deep water areas and channels. Some of those fish may be relatively shallow over deep water so keeping an eye on your electronics is a must. I usually keep one of my Humminbird Helix 12s on split screen down image and side image.

I can see directly under and 100 feet either side of the boat. Finding baitfish or baitballs is most important. The crappie as well as all other game fish will be in close proximity to food all summer. Don’t be afraid to seek out offshore, open water spots.

The white bass and catfish seem to be moving out of the bays and into the main lake areas where they will spend the summer feeding up. We caught several big channels catfish last week on crankbaits.

I can pretty much tell if a hit on one of our rods is a catfish or a big drum. I know the lucky fisherman on the handle of that rod is going to have a fun time getting that fish to the net on light tackle. Shad pattern crankbaits attracted most of our catch last week. Lots of sauger were caught but most were under the 14-inch size limit.

There are many ways to fish our lakes. Some like to watch a bobber, some like to watch a live-sonar screen, others cast for their quarry, some of us troll for the fish we seek.

My garage is full of tackle for every one of those techniques. My boat is equipped with the electronics for all those options. Anybody who checks out my website is not going to be surprised to find a couple hundred photos of trophy fish.

The vast majority of those were caught trolling both crankbaits and jigs. No surprises here. If somebody is looking for a technique other than what I’m having my most success on at that time, I will recommend they call one of the other great guides on our lakes.

Trolling allows me to take folks who know ZERO about fishing and have them quickly catching trophy fish or at least a great bag of fish for dinner. It is not about numbers. It is about having an enjoyable time on the water in a comfortable and safe boat while using tackle from a variety of companies.

Fish the way you choose to fish. There are no right or wrong ways.

It seems I have recently become a test platform for new surgical devices and techniques. New hips, new knees, new shoulders, lots of other surgeries. I am now facing my next chapter in my book of surgeries.

When I had lower lumber fusion surgery in 2018, I was told by my doctor that I would be facing more fusions in the future. That time is now. On July 5th and again on July 7th, I will be having lumbar fusion surgeries. I am expected to be out of the boat for a couple of months. I want to think six weeks, but that decision won’t be up to me. I will be wearing a back brace for at least two months so being off the lake during the hottest months just made sense.

For those who had booked trips in July and early August, you should have received my message and your returned deposits. I will be booking trips until the end of June then again in September.

I’m sorry if this doesn’t mesh with your plans for fishing during that time period. Hopefully this will alleviate much of the pain and numbness I have had for years. My doctor is very optimistic about my future. I’ll keep you posted. I will get to fish the PTG crankbait tourney on Grenada Lake, Miss. on June 24th with sponsors. It will be a great time!

Be careful out there. Summer is here in a week or so. That means vacation traffic on the lakes and sadly many who will be drinking and operating boats as well as their vehicles to and from the lake. Keep your head on a swivel for those around you. Help those who need help. Wear your PFDs.

Welcome to our slice of heaven.