Ending February and 2020/21 Season with a Slow Bite

 5:00-7:00PM 15' My Spot Rock Lake

20-25℉, Sunny, 5-15mph WNW

I watched Gussy win at the Tennessee River. I wasn't in a big hurry to get out tonight with the wind being so nasty. When I arrived at the lake they got less snow than down here, but with the drifting, I lost my bearings and parked the truck a little farther out than I meant to. I used the truck for a windbreak. I didn't see or mark anything, so I went and drilled two new holes. There were fish there suspended the second I put the FL-8 down.  I got 10 crappies in the final hour. They ran small. They were evenly split between the Demon and THE Jig.

10 Crips

PS I was going to fish for tullibee in the morning, but it was snowing pretty good so I decided not to go.  

Rock Again Tonight

9" THE Jig

4:30-7:00PM 16' 2021 Spot

33-35℉, MC, 0-2mph NE

Visibility was the highest it's been,

The wind yesterday made finding my holes impossible. I only drilled one set with a plan to drill more if I wasn't getting anything. I marked fish pretty quickly, so I put the camera down and they were a couple of crappies. They nipped at THE jig and my minnow but didn't inhale. I put the Mini-Rippin Rap down and that attracted a pike. I watched him come in and attack. I got my minnow pulled up, transducer and camera out. It went on several runs then came off. Oh well, long-line release. Had several more crappies come through nip and not inhale. I put on a smaller minnow and that got inhaled. I pulled the camera up shortly after that. I got one 10-incher on THE Jig, the rest were 8-9". The minnow fish ran 7-8.5". Caught slightly more on THE Jig.

23 Crip

1 Pike

 

On Gill At Sullivan, No Tullibee

6:00-7:30AM Sullivan Lake

28℉, PC,  10-25mph SSE

I got going a little later than I should have. By the time I got holes drilled it was getting light on the horizon. I marked something that came through quickly before I had lines down. That was it. At about 7AM I went to the Sunfish Hole. I marked something toward the bottom. Got it to nibble, but didn't get it.  Put the camera down, not much visibility. A gill came up and inspected the camera tight to the bottom. That was it.

Caught A Slab and Some Little Ones Tonight

12.75" 1.14lbs THE Jig (Glow/Pink)

Size of the other one's I was catching

4:00-7:00PM 14-16' My Spot

30-35℉, PC, 3-8mph SSW

I drilled out the usual holes and put 3 or 4 single holes down to the South. Started in the 2021 spot holes, nothing. Briefly marked something in the next set toward the cane. Very perchy. In the CSP holes, there were a billion small perch swimming around. The holes closest to the cane had some little sunnies that vacated when I put my lures down. I worked on each of the new holes for 15 to 20 minutes marking a few perch probably. At about 5:20 I went to the holes out from the 2021 and didn't mark anything so after 5 minutes I went to the holes just beyond the 2021 Holes where I haven't caught a thing this year. I was marking stuff here pretty consistently. The first fish was a small crip on the minnow that took the bobber down without me noticing because I was working a fish on the vex. I think I got three clones and missed a few bites on THE Jig. I then hooked into something with some heft that took THE Jig. I figured it was a small pike. Much to my surprise, it was a slab that was barely hooked. I managed to land it. I caught 4 more little guys on the minnow 4 little guys on THE Jig and 1 on the Glow Demon Spoon.

11 Crappies

Slow Night, But It Was Nice Outside

 

8.5" THE Jig

4:30-7:00PM 16' 2021 Spot

29-33℉, PC, 3-8mph SW

I didn't mark anything to start so I just camped in the 2021 spot. Only saw a couple of crappies on the camera before it got too dark. I didn't have much visibility. Not marking much only got 7 crappies tonight. New plan for tomorrow.

7 Crip

Pike Night On Rock

25.5" Glow Demon Minnow

 

16" Glow Demon Minnow

10.5" THE Jig

6" Glow Demon Spoon

3:30-6:30AM 14-16' CPS Holes and 2021 Spot

30-39℉, Cloudy,

Started at the 2021 Holes with nothing until I got to the CPS holes where I pulled a couple of perch and was marking fish. Sent the camera down and saw a mix of perch and sunny's. Was fishing the minnow up above the camera out of view, so both pike came as a surprise. Only saw one small crappie. At 5:30 I went to the 2021 Spot and caught a few crappies. It totally died by 6:30 so I headed in.

10 Crip

2 Pike 

17 Sun

16 Perch

Morn And Eve Trips On Rock (110 Fish Day)

 

10.5" THE Jig

6:00-10:00AM 14'-16' My Spot 

23-28℉, PC, 2-7mph SE

I started in the 2021 Spot and only caught one fish. I drilled holes on the way to the cane. Found a couple of nice crappies in the hole closest to the cane. I went and drilled additional holes and they went dry. Found a school of sunnies, crappie, and perch in the next hole out so I spent the rest of the morning there looking at fish. The birds were singing this morning. With the wind, it was cold out there this morning.

9 Crip

17 Sunfish

10 Perch

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10" Glow Demon Spoon

4:00-7:00PM 14-16' My Spot

35-40℉, PC, 3-6mph SW

The school from this morning was right where I left them and that is where I fished for most of the night.  It was primarily little sunfish. Only caught 3 crappies on a minnow and missed a couple of bites Got one crappie in the 2021 Holes. Saw an eagle flying over the RPRO. I didn't wear long johns.  It was a beautiful night on the lake.

19 Crips

42 Sunfish

13 Perch

For the Day:

28 Crips

59 Sunfish

23 Perch

110 Fish Total

OK Bite On Rock Tonight

9" On the first drop with THE Jig

3:30-7:00PM 16' 2021 Spot

28-30℉, Cloudy light snow, 0-5mph SE

Got the minnow down first, didn't see anything. Put THE Jig down and got bit immediately.  Unfortunately, it wasn't on like that. Just occasional fish coming through. I did catch 5 crappies in about 3 minutes on the Glow Demon around 5:30 or so, but other than that it was here and there usually with individual fish. Saw one perch on the camera. Visibility wasn't great for the camera with so much junk in the water tonight. I think it got too dark to see around 5:20 or so. I only got like 3 fish in the final hour with a few misses. Fish were all over in the water volume tonight and bigger on average than the last couple of nights. Caught at least 5 over 10-inches with 10.5" being the biggest. I think I had a couple of pike come through but never got them to appear on camera.

35 Crip

 

Trainwreck To Start, Never Got Back On Track

 

10.25" Glow Demon/Minnow

8" Rippin Rap

Cluster

4:30-7:00PM 16' 2021 Spot

18-21℉, Sunny, 4-10mph SE

Nothing was going on to start so I got completely set up. For some reason, I was having trouble picking up THE Jig on the Vex. I had to turn the gain up to 4.  Pike came in first thing when I was trying to get the Rippin Raps on rods. I didn't notice the bobber went down, so I was late to set the hook and the line broke almost immediately, drats. I used that opportunity to replace the second bobber stop which came off yesterday. Finally got that straightened out and got a minnow back down the hole. Missed a pretty good size sunfish that sucked in THE Jig. Then I got the 10.25" Crappie on the jig. It caught the minnow line on the way up then got all wrapped around the transducer cable. Another PIA. It was now getting almost too dark to see on the camera. I got the crappie on the Rippin Rap. The camera was out of position after that, grrr. It was slow with a lot of Lookie Lou's. Got a couple fish on THE Jig. As I was packing up  I got 3 crappies on THE Jig. In my haste to get over to Steve's, I forgot to pack my rods in the car. Realized the mistake when I got home. I wish I would have put the stuff I had taken out of the truck, back in. I would have gone fishing again had I had the stuff.

14 Crappies

Slow Night Tonight

6' Jigging Rap (Rainbow Trout)

4:30-6:30PM 16' 2021 Spot

5-17℉, PC, 0-4mph SW

When I was first putting lines down I had a school of fish show up in the upper half of the water column. I think they might have been little sunfish. I had a few bites but didn't hook anything. Eventually, I got the camera put down. The first thing to come in was a pike. I spooked it when I put the 1/2oz Rippin Rap down. Then I had some crips come and I actually hooked an 8-incher on the 1/2oz Rippin Rap. I had another pike pay a visit and nibble on the camera. Had a mixed school of perch, sunnies, and crappies come through. The action was on the slow tonight. I probably would have caught more had I not been trying to catch them on the Jigging Rap. I did get 5 on the Bear Trax Glow Demon/minnow and 5 on THE Jig. I only got the one on the Jigging Rap. Half the fish were under 8-inches tonight. I ran out of propane just after 6PM. 

 

Ok Morning and Evening Smackdown On Rock

9" Glow Demon/Minnow

6:30-10:00AM 16' 2021 Spot

5-10℉, Cloudy Light Snow, Calm

About every 15 to 20 minutes or so a school would move through and I would catch them until they disappeared. Then I would wait for another school to show up. Saw one sunfish on the camera, the rest were crappies. Caught a few fish on the Mini-Rippin Rap, THE Jig, and the Glow Demon Spoon. Most of the bites were on the Glow Demon/Minnow.

37 Crappies

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9" 

4:30-7:00PM 16' 2021 Spot

10-17℉, Cloudy light snow, 0-3mph N

Didn't mark a thing for the first 45 minutes. After that it was AWWWWN.  They were all over THE Jig tonight; Landed 30 of them that way. I got about 20 on the Glow Demon/Minnow and a couple on the Demon spoon.

51 Crappies

88 Crappies for the Day
 

Rockin' It Again Tonight

 

9.5" Demon/Minnow

4:30-6:30PM 16' 2021 Spot

7℉, Cloudy light Snow, 0-4mph S

Parked in the same area as yesterday. Drilled out one of yesterday's holes, but couldn't fit the auger to fit to send the slush down the hole, so I went a bit to the North and drilled three new ones. Got the first bite when I was messing with the Aqua-Vu. Had about a half hour of good light for viewing, but not much was going on. Saw one sunny and a couple of crappies. When fish were down there they were either on the minnow or THE Jig. Had a couple of flurries a piece when one or the other was hot. As quick as I could get it down a fish was on. Fishing got tough around 6PM.  As I was packing up a guy named ?Travis? came over to talk. He set up about 40 yards to the South of me around 5:30 or so. He gave me a bit of info about the lake that I will have to give a try sometime when the weather is warmer.  It wasn't nearly as cold tonight.

36 Crip 

1 Sun

Back At It On Rock Lake After 11 Days

 

Ice is 20+

8.5" Glow Demon/Minnow

4:30-6:30PM 16' 2021 Hole

-5 to 5℉, MS, 0-3mph S

After the Polar Vortex, it was finally time to head out again.

It was still cold out, but the sun was shining and there wasn't much wind so I went fishing. Drove out to my area. Hands got cold while I was drilling holes, had to get the choppers out. Ice was a good 8-inches deeper maybe more. Got set up and it was so warm in the house I eventually took my jacket off. Couldn't get the old Aqua-Vu to work. Wasted at least 20 minutes on that. I did eventually put the Aqua-Vu 5c down, but there were only about 15-minutes of good light for me. Saw a couple of crappies and a perch.  The first crappie took the minnow, but fish were way more active on THE Jig. Got one crip on the Glow Demon Spoon. The bite shut down at about a quarter of 6PM. I got a few stragglers after that. It was cold while packing up.

21 Crip

1 Perch

Morning and Windy Evening Trips

8" Glow Demo/Minnow

6:30-9:30AM 16' 2021 Spot

18-25℉, Cloudy light snow, 3-6mph NW

Put lines down and fish were there immediately and biting.  It stayed that way until about sunrise when the fish moved out. I called a few up with Rippin Raps after that. Saw a few sunnies and a perch on the camera. Wish I would have gotten there an hour earlier.

31 Crip

4 Sun

1 Perch

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9.5" THE Jig

4:30-7:00PM 16' 2021 Spot

9-18℉, PC, 8-30mph WNW

The sun came out and it was really windy. Should have reset the holes to play the wind. Didn't do that at first and got blown around until I did. Saw a few sunnies and crappies on the camera. Caught 10 a piece on THE Jig and Glow Demon with the Minnow. A lot of sniffers. Snow flurries when I left.

25 Crip

4 Sunnies

 

Good Night On Rock

 

9" THE Jig

4:00-7:00PM Rock Lake 2021 Hole 16'

30-31℉, MC, 5-8mph E

Put the minnow down and went to set up the Aqua-Vu, no power because it accidentally got turned on yesterday apparently. So I used the Micro 5c instead. Got it situated. Fish started coming in around 4:35PM. Saw a perch, a couple of sunnies, a pike and quite a few crappies. The Crappie action was pretty good with 22 caught on THE Jig, 20 caught on the BT Glow Demon and minnow, and 1 caught on the Glow Demon Spoon. 

48 Crip 

2 Sun

1 Perch

1 Pike 

Lesson Learned Tonight At Rock Lake

8.5" THE Jig

5.5" THE Jig

3:00-6:30PM 16' 2021 Spot

18-22℉, Sunny, 3-7mph E

I got out plenty early. got set up on the spot. Had a couple fish come through and quickly leave.  Drilled a circle of holes from my area then went out and checked them. Marked a few fish to the NW.  I kept checking holes rather than get set up. I went back to where I was set up and marked and caught a crappie. It was now around 5PM, so I didn't put the camera down. Had a steady bite on THE Jig and caught half as much on the minnow. I should have put the camera down right away just in case they showed up. I could just leave the camera in place and pick it up at the end of the night if I need it. Oh well, lesson learned. Caught a number of little guys and the average size was down as a whole.

34 Crappies

 

Smackdown!

10.5" Glow Demon/Minnow

 

4:30-6:50PM 16' My Spot Rock Lake

20-22℉, Cloudy, 3-4mph NW

I got up later than I wanted. I almost forgot the maggies and waxies. Had to drive back home from 27 and 8. The fish were where they were yesterday and they were active for the first hour and 15 minutes or so. After bringing my 5th crappie up on the Glow Demon and Minnow. I sent down THE Jig and caught one right away. I sent down a minnow and got popped immediately. Kept sending the minnow down and getting fish. After I had gotten about 8 more crappies. I decided it would be quicker if I didn't have to deal with a minnow so I sent THE Jig down again. Caught one more then couldn't hook about 7 bites in a row, so I went back to the minnow and brought them in as quick as I could. Finally at about a quarter to 6 things slowed down. I caught a few more on THE Jig but they weren't loving it. I switched up the VMC Tubby got a couple on that and missed a bunch of bites, sunfish maybe. I got a couple on the Glow Demon Spoon. The last fish came on a Glow Demon/Minnow. The fish averaged a little smaller tonight. I caught maybe 6 that were over 10 inches. Most of the fish were 8", whereas last night they were closer to 9 inches. 

60 Crips (That's what I'm talking about)