Hit up sand hollow for the first time this year. Just got the boat all put together, did a total overhaul on boat and engine. It actually ran right and didn't sink so that's a plus. Weather was nice out. Went out about 4pm till 8pm. Never fished there before or for bass so.... got skunked most fish on the fish finder were about 30-40 foot of water. Kinda fished near the beach area where the south ramp is. Most of the boats were around there so thought that be my best shot. Used power bait 7 inch worms pumpkinseed and motor oil. Sum crank baits that had perch colors in them. Sum hula grubs that looked like craw-fish. Didn'T have any luck but i am learning to fish for bass. Hopefully this Sunday and Monday coming up i will have a better report and sum pics of the first bass i have ever caught can't wait
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Pretty soon SH will be on fire. It sounds like you are using all the right gear. Next time out try a white/chrome blade spinner bait 3/8 oz. and fish it just fast enough for the blades to spin. You can let it sink after the cast to fish different depths or near the bottom but if you see bass in the shallows start cranking just as it hits the water. The splash will sometimes scare the bass but if you retrieve it right away it will usually trigger a strike. Welcome to the world of bass fishing. There is a board here on BFT for any bass fishing questions, or answers, you may have.
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=162"]Bass Board[/url]
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I was thinking about going out there sometime soon myself. What was the water temp. out there?
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You may be just a little early this spring. The water temp has get up a little more before they come alive, but be ready when they do because it can be some fast action.
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It bite may be a little later this year because of all the rain we have had here in the south. Sand Hollow will start first and then Quail but the good news is that we will have water to fill all the southern lakes this year, well maybe not Powell. Don't forget to hit Newcastle for the smallies.
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I was thinking of heading down any suggestions on when. I was thinking about late april as of all the increased cold water that will be pouring in as the snow melts. I will be fishing form a flaot tube. PM me if you dont want to post openly.
Matt
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i always make a yearkly pilgramige down there i n mid april. i wade the shallows or float tube and kill em. 100 bass days. i hope my timing isnt off this year due to the snowpack................
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bassassinator,
That sounds fun!!!
I went down with my tube last year at the beginning of May, but I missed the hot fishing (or it hadn't started yet)
What kind of conditions/weather/temps do you watch for to plan your trip, and hit it at the right time?
Thanks so much,
Nate
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i was there the first weekend of may and did very well. it was windy so i didnt tube. just waded the sage brush are on the back side. tossed senkos.
i usually hope for the water to hit about 58 to 62 degrees when they get on the beds in the shallows to spawn and thats generally all it takes. seems to usually happen in mid april and then the bite stays hot after that. just hope it warms up fast this year. i am going about a week or two earlier than normal cuz of schedule conflicts.....
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I am looking at either the end of April or the first part of May as well. I went down about 3 years ago in mid may and would say it was a week or two early. Only really had one real good day of fishing well until the wind came up and blew everyone off the lake that is.
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Both trips should be Ok. I had been hiting Sand Hollow in mid March in the past with good results. Not the 50+ fish a day results but my friend and I would have plenty of fish to fill a limit or two. Sand Hollow doesn't recieve runoff from a river it is feed through pipes from Quail. So as soon as we start warming up and the rain subsides the water will warm quickly. Both reservoirs are filling early this year. The mountains are still getting snow, but having 6" of rain since the first of the year the lowlands have been filling the reservoirs alone. Mid to late April will be a great time to fish this body of water, and May will be just as good.
May will be fun for Quail but you will need to fish harder than Sand Hollow and can be done from shore or a tube as well.
Gunlock won't be productive for a couple of years. It was drained to do some work on the overflow late last year and they have been removing silt from it this year. They plan to remove something like 500,000 cy of silt from it to increase the storage.
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And the wind is a daily occurance at Sand Hollow. If you can get off the lake by 1:00 it usually is too bad.
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The only time I have been there it was rainey and windy. We kind of hunkered down aginst the dyke and fished it. Did pretty good. I am looking forward to coming down this year.
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Welcome to the site Mountain_bass, nice looking wiper you have in your profile.
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I was thinking of heading down there next weekend. Should I bag it and wait til April or will it still possibly be productive by next weekend?
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I will be going out about noon sunday and monday. When it warms up a bit let u know how i did when i get back in, hopefully have sum pics to go with the fish stories
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Went out and boat broke down lol. It was pretty windy when i got there sum people coming in said they did very well about 3o fish for the day and this was about noon. Have sum carb work to do on my motor it looks like.. hope i can get it going for next weekend
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My fiance and I will be in the area next week for our honey moon and we were wanting to hit some good fishing. (I have the best future wife ever huh?)
What works well at sand hollow? Neither of us have ever nailed a large mouth.
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The fish will still be deep 20' plus, so your best option will probably be drop shotting plastics if you have a boat. If not fish from the west dike where it gets deep fast, still with plastics. Senkos work well there but you will need to weigh them down to get to the bottom faster.
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I will be down there this coming weekend from Friday morning til Sunday. Can you give me any tips on what areas to fish this time of year? This will be my first time down there. You said to fish 20+ feet deep and drop shot, what plastics are good to drop shot down there and what colors work well this time of year? What kind of structure is in Sand Hollow at 20+ feet deep that I should be targeting? Also is it worth hitting Quail this time of year? I have never fished there either. Thanks for the help in advance.
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