05-05-2014, 01:07 PM
[#0000FF]The wind has died down a bit here too, but the forecast is not stable. "Fair and sunny with occasional hurricanes". I was hoping for a few hours of "mild" conditions...realizing that by mid morning it could be too windy for decent tubing. But I fish for enjoyment, not endurance. And I would rather stay home than drive two hours for only an hour of fishing...and then watch the whitecaps blow by.
Bigger cats are looking for spawning cover. That can be tangles of roots, holes in rocks or undercut banks. But they will not be making nests until the water temps bump up well over the sixty degree mark. 65 - 70 morning temps are best. If there are areas of riprap rock near the dam there will be big channels using it for spawning.
Until they actually spawn the cats are more interested in food and warmer water. If they can find a shallow protected cove or channel...that warms a few degrees more than deeper water...that is where they will be on warm afternoons. If the weather stabilizes for a few days the fish will be more predictable. Otherwise they move in and out and don't feed as actively.
In short, they can be anywhere at any time. And in the relative shallow waters you are fishing they can really move around a lot during any given day. Good timing and good luck are a big part of it.
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Bigger cats are looking for spawning cover. That can be tangles of roots, holes in rocks or undercut banks. But they will not be making nests until the water temps bump up well over the sixty degree mark. 65 - 70 morning temps are best. If there are areas of riprap rock near the dam there will be big channels using it for spawning.
Until they actually spawn the cats are more interested in food and warmer water. If they can find a shallow protected cove or channel...that warms a few degrees more than deeper water...that is where they will be on warm afternoons. If the weather stabilizes for a few days the fish will be more predictable. Otherwise they move in and out and don't feed as actively.
In short, they can be anywhere at any time. And in the relative shallow waters you are fishing they can really move around a lot during any given day. Good timing and good luck are a big part of it.
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