09-30-2011, 09:11 PM
On Monday I went down and fished the Snake River only to find it to be over double its average depth and volume (CFS) for late September. I decided to spend the rest of the week closing out the boat fishing season on Lake Lowell. Perhaps it will be the last time I’ll be allowed to fish the smartweed if the Feds have their way.
Tuesday morning I launched at daybreak at the Lower Dam ramp. The lake was calm and 66 degrees. I ran across the lake and found the water to be 1-3 foot deep along the edges of the smartweed. I started with a Ribbit soft plastic frog and boated a nice 14” largemouth on my fifth cast. I fished along the smartweed edges and pockets with several other baits, catching another twin fish on a Fluke.
The next half hour produced nothing, until I picked up that frog again, and the game was on. I fished along the edge of the smartweed until noon, and landed 9 other bass up to 16”, one of which is shown below. I only saw one other fishing boat, so it was a very pleasant morning on the water with 11 nice largemouth boated. And, as I live only 6 miles from that ramp, I was home for lunch.
![[Image: 2011-0927-16inLMLL-2-PB.jpg]](http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k526/PCW77/Lake%20Lowell/2011-0927-16inLMLL-2-PB.jpg)
On Wednesday the wind won. I caught one fish near the Boy Scout area, fought the wind on the south side, the north side, and finally gave up. It calmed down in late afternoon and I was tempted to head for the launch again, but decided to do some yard work.
Thursday morning I was back across the lake fishing the smartweed edges. I had no competition as the boats were lined up along the equalizer cut. At one point I could make out 7 boats line up along the cut. I can remember fishing that cut about 30 years ago with a friend. We caught over 70 bass that September afternoon and never saw another boat. Thursday the boats came and went so I guess no one caught 70 bass. The lake was a bit rough out there in the center.
I didn’t do much better along the smartweed, but did nail 5 fish in three hours, all on a buzz bait. It was one of those quiet days when nothing was moving. No bird calls, no waterfowl in the air or herons on the move. The carp were podded up in clumps, and positioned on the smartweed points where a largemouth usually lurks.
I was not enthused about the lake Thursday evening, but when I got up Friday morning conditions looked good. I arrived at the ramp to find no vehicles there. I launched and swung around past the swimming area and started with a frog. There was a beautiful sunrise, and the wading birds and waterfowl were active.
![[Image: 2011-0930-LLsunrise-2-PB.jpg]](http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k526/PCW77/Lake%20Lowell/2011-0930-LLsunrise-2-PB.jpg)
After 30 minutes of fruitless casting I headed across the lake to my usual starting spot. I was surprised to see only one boat out at the equalizer.
I alternated the frog and buzz bait, and soon captured a wonderful memory when the bass shown below leaped into the air and came down to grab the frog. This fish was a hair under 18” and probably weighed 3-4 pounds. I set up the camera and took its photo and then released it. In the next half hour I landed 4 more fish, all 16-18” long and really nice fat fish. All took the frog except for one on the buzz bait, and all were in 1-2’ of water.
![[Image: 2011-0930-18inLLLM-3-PB.jpg]](http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k526/PCW77/Lake%20Lowell/2011-0930-18inLLLM-3-PB.jpg)
I then fished the smartweed edges for a while before deciding that the fish were not home there. The only interesting incident in that stretch was the six deer that came out of the willows and browsed in the smartweed.
![[Image: 2011-0930-deer-1-PB.jpg]](http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k526/PCW77/Lake%20Lowell/2011-0930-deer-1-PB.jpg)
I headed back to my starting spot to see if there was anybody else home. I landed one more nice fish there, and then headed east along the smartweed. I landed four more fish in the next quarter mile, but then things died. All were caught on the frog except one that hit the frog but didn’t get hooked. It took the Senko I threw at him as a follow up to the frog. These fish were a bit smaller than the earlier fish, ranging from 12-15”.
By this time it was 11:00 and there were two boats fishing the same area. I decided to head for home while this great closing day was still fresh in my mind. In all, I started with a beautiful sunrise, lots of wildlife viewing, and I caught 10 largemouth, with 3 around 18”, 3 in the 16-17” range, and the final four that have yet to grow a bit. Let’s just hope that OUR government bureaucrats will let us enjoy days like this on Lake Lowell in the future.
[signature]
Tuesday morning I launched at daybreak at the Lower Dam ramp. The lake was calm and 66 degrees. I ran across the lake and found the water to be 1-3 foot deep along the edges of the smartweed. I started with a Ribbit soft plastic frog and boated a nice 14” largemouth on my fifth cast. I fished along the smartweed edges and pockets with several other baits, catching another twin fish on a Fluke.
The next half hour produced nothing, until I picked up that frog again, and the game was on. I fished along the edge of the smartweed until noon, and landed 9 other bass up to 16”, one of which is shown below. I only saw one other fishing boat, so it was a very pleasant morning on the water with 11 nice largemouth boated. And, as I live only 6 miles from that ramp, I was home for lunch.
On Wednesday the wind won. I caught one fish near the Boy Scout area, fought the wind on the south side, the north side, and finally gave up. It calmed down in late afternoon and I was tempted to head for the launch again, but decided to do some yard work.
Thursday morning I was back across the lake fishing the smartweed edges. I had no competition as the boats were lined up along the equalizer cut. At one point I could make out 7 boats line up along the cut. I can remember fishing that cut about 30 years ago with a friend. We caught over 70 bass that September afternoon and never saw another boat. Thursday the boats came and went so I guess no one caught 70 bass. The lake was a bit rough out there in the center.
I didn’t do much better along the smartweed, but did nail 5 fish in three hours, all on a buzz bait. It was one of those quiet days when nothing was moving. No bird calls, no waterfowl in the air or herons on the move. The carp were podded up in clumps, and positioned on the smartweed points where a largemouth usually lurks.
I was not enthused about the lake Thursday evening, but when I got up Friday morning conditions looked good. I arrived at the ramp to find no vehicles there. I launched and swung around past the swimming area and started with a frog. There was a beautiful sunrise, and the wading birds and waterfowl were active.
After 30 minutes of fruitless casting I headed across the lake to my usual starting spot. I was surprised to see only one boat out at the equalizer.
I alternated the frog and buzz bait, and soon captured a wonderful memory when the bass shown below leaped into the air and came down to grab the frog. This fish was a hair under 18” and probably weighed 3-4 pounds. I set up the camera and took its photo and then released it. In the next half hour I landed 4 more fish, all 16-18” long and really nice fat fish. All took the frog except for one on the buzz bait, and all were in 1-2’ of water.
I then fished the smartweed edges for a while before deciding that the fish were not home there. The only interesting incident in that stretch was the six deer that came out of the willows and browsed in the smartweed.
I headed back to my starting spot to see if there was anybody else home. I landed one more nice fish there, and then headed east along the smartweed. I landed four more fish in the next quarter mile, but then things died. All were caught on the frog except one that hit the frog but didn’t get hooked. It took the Senko I threw at him as a follow up to the frog. These fish were a bit smaller than the earlier fish, ranging from 12-15”.
By this time it was 11:00 and there were two boats fishing the same area. I decided to head for home while this great closing day was still fresh in my mind. In all, I started with a beautiful sunrise, lots of wildlife viewing, and I caught 10 largemouth, with 3 around 18”, 3 in the 16-17” range, and the final four that have yet to grow a bit. Let’s just hope that OUR government bureaucrats will let us enjoy days like this on Lake Lowell in the future.
[signature]