03-19-2013, 08:37 PM
[#0000FF][cool] I wanted to do a recon trip to Lincoln Beach, just to see firsthand what the water levels and temps were. Of course I also wanted to chase down a couple of walleyes...or whatever. I got no pride.
The ramp and channel looked a lot different than they did on my drive-by a week ago. No mo ice. All gone. Well, maybe a little bit of the dikeberg at the end.
Air temp was a cool 36 with a north breeze blowing. Water temp inside the harbor was 45...but dropped to 41 outside as the wind and chop kept the newly de-iced lake from overheating too quickly.
My optimism for walleyes dropped a couple of notches when none of the "regulars" were showing up. They hit it hard when the fish are in but don't waste time on it if the fish are not ready. That, together with the cold north wind, made me aim my electric motor south to the flats instead of north to the rocks. I was hoping that maybe I could at least find a kitty or a few white bass.
I popped two dink white bass quickly, off the end of the reed point at the beginning of the shallow bay. No pictures. So sue me. Water temp in close to the reeds was over 43. Depth was less than 3 feet. The water has come up a couple of feet since last fall but still needs to rise another 3 feet or so for optimum fishing.
Put out a minnow on one rod while pitching various plastics on the other. Worked from 3 feet out to almost 8' and then back. Covered a lot of area without even a whisper on the minnow.
Finally worked over into a favorite zone out off the inlet of Benjamin Slough. I almost always find something there. Today I had just changed baits from minnow to carp meat when I had a pop-zing. Wouldn't ya know it. My only bait inquiry and I whiffed it. Put on a new bait and lobbed it out...figuring I probably blew the only chance I would get. Glad I was wrong. A few minutes later a fat 20" channel cat snarfed the carp meat and then crawled into my net. But that was it. No more bites the rest of the morning on minnow or carp.
I did get a good workout on a "toothless golden walleye" (carp). It slurped up a small jig I was tossing for whities and tried to make me believe he was bigger and badder than he really was. At first I dared hope it was a REAL walleye. Then I thought maybe it was a big cat. I've caught lots of them on those jigs. But NOOOOOOO. It was a golden beauty. I kept it, along with the catfish, to test out my new Bubba Blade knife on something with ribs and substance. I needed to add some more carp meat to my stash any hooters.
That cold north wind blew all morning...letting up a bit only after I had gone back in and was almost to the ramp. What we need now is some strong SW winds with some warm in them. The water is getting oxygenated and is turning a better green color...better than the sickly dark stagnant green it was when the ice first came off.
Mean water temps seem to be around 43 around the lake. That is in between walleye prespawn and walleye spawn. They begin spawning at about 45 and will continue until they are all through...maybe about mid April this year...or slightly longer.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
The ramp and channel looked a lot different than they did on my drive-by a week ago. No mo ice. All gone. Well, maybe a little bit of the dikeberg at the end.
Air temp was a cool 36 with a north breeze blowing. Water temp inside the harbor was 45...but dropped to 41 outside as the wind and chop kept the newly de-iced lake from overheating too quickly.
My optimism for walleyes dropped a couple of notches when none of the "regulars" were showing up. They hit it hard when the fish are in but don't waste time on it if the fish are not ready. That, together with the cold north wind, made me aim my electric motor south to the flats instead of north to the rocks. I was hoping that maybe I could at least find a kitty or a few white bass.
I popped two dink white bass quickly, off the end of the reed point at the beginning of the shallow bay. No pictures. So sue me. Water temp in close to the reeds was over 43. Depth was less than 3 feet. The water has come up a couple of feet since last fall but still needs to rise another 3 feet or so for optimum fishing.
Put out a minnow on one rod while pitching various plastics on the other. Worked from 3 feet out to almost 8' and then back. Covered a lot of area without even a whisper on the minnow.
Finally worked over into a favorite zone out off the inlet of Benjamin Slough. I almost always find something there. Today I had just changed baits from minnow to carp meat when I had a pop-zing. Wouldn't ya know it. My only bait inquiry and I whiffed it. Put on a new bait and lobbed it out...figuring I probably blew the only chance I would get. Glad I was wrong. A few minutes later a fat 20" channel cat snarfed the carp meat and then crawled into my net. But that was it. No more bites the rest of the morning on minnow or carp.
I did get a good workout on a "toothless golden walleye" (carp). It slurped up a small jig I was tossing for whities and tried to make me believe he was bigger and badder than he really was. At first I dared hope it was a REAL walleye. Then I thought maybe it was a big cat. I've caught lots of them on those jigs. But NOOOOOOO. It was a golden beauty. I kept it, along with the catfish, to test out my new Bubba Blade knife on something with ribs and substance. I needed to add some more carp meat to my stash any hooters.
That cold north wind blew all morning...letting up a bit only after I had gone back in and was almost to the ramp. What we need now is some strong SW winds with some warm in them. The water is getting oxygenated and is turning a better green color...better than the sickly dark stagnant green it was when the ice first came off.
Mean water temps seem to be around 43 around the lake. That is in between walleye prespawn and walleye spawn. They begin spawning at about 45 and will continue until they are all through...maybe about mid April this year...or slightly longer.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
