By Capt. Cefus McRae
I can’t remember when it has rained so much, so hard and in such a short period of time. It seems like it’s rained nearly every day for the past couple months. That’s not the case, but it sure seems that way. Lake levels are at full pool or above, and rising.
If you fish our southern impoundments and rivers, you may have noticed some of them look like chocolate milk. Creeks are overflowing and all that water movement downstream tends to muddy-up the lakes. Plus, there is a lot of debris being pushed down too, so you have to be vigilant and on the look-out for floating hazards. I’ve seen dock steps, dock floats, trees, lumber and other stuff adrift on the lake recently.
So what’s all this rain done to the fishing? With “normal” rainfall, the increased current helps stir nutrients and critters off the bottom. The raining motion agitates the surface and adds oxygen to the upper column. In the summer months, rain can help cool the surface allowing bait and game fish to come closer to the top. All those can be positive effects of a ‘normal’ rain shower.
But sometimes too much of a good thing can be detrimental to the fishing. When we have frog-strangler after frog-strangler and the lake rises quickly, I believe it upsets the balance of things, especially in the early spring. Fish that spawn in eight feet of water are still going to spawn in eight feet of water, but rising waters change the landscape of what’s down below. A rock pile or long point that always produced spawning bass, is now in twelve feet of water, instead of eight. That grassy bank that was a great spot for spawning shellcrackers is now completely submerged.
What do you do? First, don’t give up. Think back a few years ago, when a similar weather pattern occurred. What did we do? We adjusted, adapted to the conditions and we caught fish. It may have been a little more challenging, but fish still got to eat and still have to spawn. It could be that Mother Nature simply tells them to hold off for a couple weeks to let the crazy weather subside.
In these turbid waters, slow down your presentation a bit and select baits that work for the conditions: darker baits for dark water and slower presentations for cold water. If you’re using live bait, shorten your leader so the minnow doesn’t have as much leeway to run away from a sluggish, but hungry, striper.
As I found on a recent charter trip, the distinct ‘thump’ wasn’t there on the strike. Instead, it was a slow easy pull, almost like they were just tasting the bait. You have to really be aware of what your bait or lure is doing and be ready to set the hook, and you have to be patient. The rain was so heavy that morning, it just shut the bite down. I knew there were fish there, and we simply waited them out.
When the weather is as awful as it’s been lately, there will be days when you go ‘fishing’ instead of ‘catching’. This is the time to pull all the tricks out of your bag. It’s a great time to try something new like dropping shiny spoons instead of purple worms or exploring new areas looking for clearer water because your usual honey holes are totally stained.
We were able to turn lemons into lemonade that day in the nasty weather. I’m sure you can too.
By the time this article makes it to the newsstand, the weather will be better, so go fishing!
Tight Lines and Calm Seas with Capt. Cefus McRae, 201 Woods Lane, Hartwell, GA 30643. Connect with Capt. McRae on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nutsandboltsfishing.