Doug Wynn

Hello from the Excel 230 Elite.

One can tell the crappie spawn is ongoing due to fishing changing every day. One day they will be on the banks, the next day in 18 feet of water. The 4-5 degree drop in surface temperature had a lot to do with that. Hopefully we are on the back side of the last cold front of the spring.

For me, fishing this past week has been disappointing. We caught really good crappie some days, other days it was 9 inch crappie and white bass. The big tuxedoed male crappie dominated our catch many days.

The week started with crankbaits to shallow jigs and spinner heads back to crankbaits. An occasional catfish, sauger, or big Redear sweetened the livewell. Some of the female crappie show signs of partial spawn. I just hope the surface temperature moderates so they can finish the future of the fishery.

Sauger appear to be on the same trajectory. The Redears are hitting the rocky shorelines more regularly now. Look for them along pea gravel banks with some woody cover. They should start the spawning ritual leading up to the full moon later this week.

We caught some of the nicer bluegills I have seen lately on our jigs last week. They also should be cleaning out the beds and getting started.

Congratulations go out to fellow Cornfield Fishing Gear and ACC Crappie Stix pro staffer Andrew Nordbye. He won the $80,000 first place prize in the MLF tourney this past weekend on Kentucky Lake. He brought several impressive smallmouth bass to the scales. It seems that lately the smallmouth make up much of the bags weighed in on these lakes in tournaments.

I saw the first jet ski and wake boat this past week. While they have as much right to be on the lake as we fishermen do, it is frustrating to have a peaceful day ruined by somebody who insists on playing their taste in music loud enough it can be heard a mile away.

The lake levels are just below summer pool and after the storms of last week some bays muddied up for a couple of days. Overall the lake clarity this spring has been more like summer than spring.

Be careful out there. We will soon see a major influx of recreational traffic, most of those boats seeing their first action of the year. It will pay you to keep your head on a swivel.

Special thanks to my readers who took time to let me know they enjoy the reports and depend on them to start their trips. Talking to them at Lynnhurst Family Resort made my day on a good day. Enjoy the Picos!

Welcome to our slice of Heaven.