7-4-12 Wed

7-4-2012 Wed (6:00 AM – 12:30PM)
Weather:
S 10, sunny, 95˚, 29.81 falling
Water:
8.75 falling, 71.8 kcfs, 82 ˚, very clear to fairly clear
Location:
Mississippi R. Pool 8
Caught:
LMB (14) 12 – 18 “, SMB (3) 11 – 14”, pike 20”
Partners:
myself
Comments:

This morning was an early morning scouting trip down to the Stoddard area. I had fished this area with Scott on Sunday and we had done alright. I got out early because the furnace (summer heat was projected to top out at over one-hundred degrees).
All the fish came from areas that had some type of current. All the large mouth came from weed edges and all the small mouths came from areas that had rock. The northern are practically non-existent. I caught one small one and lost another that was small. One tactic that I have not used this year and that was very productive for me today was the use of a buzz bait. I also caught fish on a swim fig, but the fish I caught on a buzz bait were definitely bigger.

Observations:

There was a humungous fish fly hatch last night and their bodies were actually accumulating in balls in the main channel. I explored the area of the Brownsville Islands today and I discovered it is a very large and diverse area. The majority of the area is rather shallow and weedy, but the water was clear. There also are some huge rice patches. One thing I did find in one of the dead channel with some depth was an overabundance of gar. These fish were everywhere and they were attacking my swim jig. I think some day in the future I am going to try and fish for them. One other thing I saw which I have never seen before was sheep heads feeding on fish flies floating on the waters surface.