10-19-2003, 11:42 AM
[cool]Okay, JR...with all the personal questions. Compared to fishing the ocean, or some other lakes, we do fish what some would consider to be shallow. But, when the fish are out in deep water...as deep as 60 to 80 feet...they usually either suspend or lay on the bottom in neutral or inactive mode. I would too if I was stressed from heat and water skiers.
In short, they come shallow to feed. If they had been there, we would have caught some...theoretically. When the surface temps cool off, the shad move into that big cove area to use the weeds as cover and feed on the abundant algae and zooplankton in the fertile shallows areas. The big fish follow the forage and bingo...you have a food chain...with me at the top.
There are times when everything comes together...including trout plants beginning in late November...when12# to 15# bass cruise the shallows like corbina looking for sand crabs. They herd shad and trout into tight spots and then take turns busting them. If you can find such a slaughterhouse, and have the right tackle, you can have some serious enjoys...if your heart can stand it.
The good fishing in less than 15 feet of water happens usually from about mid October until about mid December. When the water gets about 50 degrees, our wimpy AZ largies go back to the depths...where we spoon them off the tops of underwater humps at about 30 to 60 feet. That is work and requires a good sonar unit to find those small spots and keep you over them. Ten feet off and you do not get bit.
I do not like getting out on those spots in my tube because they are outside the no wake zone and Saguaro Lake can be wall to wall power squadron...with operators that usually care more about the number of beers left in the cooler than "speedbumps" (float tubers).
There were quite a few fishing boats on the water yesterday, but they blasted off at daybreak and headed for the far eastern part of the lake, where fresh water comes in from one of the other reservoirs...Canyon Lake. The water coming out of that dam is cooler and more oxygenated so a lot of the fish gravitate up there in the hot summer.
Got it?
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In short, they come shallow to feed. If they had been there, we would have caught some...theoretically. When the surface temps cool off, the shad move into that big cove area to use the weeds as cover and feed on the abundant algae and zooplankton in the fertile shallows areas. The big fish follow the forage and bingo...you have a food chain...with me at the top.
There are times when everything comes together...including trout plants beginning in late November...when12# to 15# bass cruise the shallows like corbina looking for sand crabs. They herd shad and trout into tight spots and then take turns busting them. If you can find such a slaughterhouse, and have the right tackle, you can have some serious enjoys...if your heart can stand it.
The good fishing in less than 15 feet of water happens usually from about mid October until about mid December. When the water gets about 50 degrees, our wimpy AZ largies go back to the depths...where we spoon them off the tops of underwater humps at about 30 to 60 feet. That is work and requires a good sonar unit to find those small spots and keep you over them. Ten feet off and you do not get bit.
I do not like getting out on those spots in my tube because they are outside the no wake zone and Saguaro Lake can be wall to wall power squadron...with operators that usually care more about the number of beers left in the cooler than "speedbumps" (float tubers).
There were quite a few fishing boats on the water yesterday, but they blasted off at daybreak and headed for the far eastern part of the lake, where fresh water comes in from one of the other reservoirs...Canyon Lake. The water coming out of that dam is cooler and more oxygenated so a lot of the fish gravitate up there in the hot summer.
Got it?
[signature]