Fishing the Turnover....

[Triton Mike]

Thought I would share my outing this morning with ya.  We are experiencing some turnover in the creeks as of late.  Some creeks seem to be worst than others.  At the same time we are going through our annual lake drawdown where the lake drops 17ft each year which creates a combustion chamber fishing wise ~. 

At low pool our creeks are high and dry.  This drawdown forces the fish out of the creeks and towards the main lake.  While at the same time the shad are migrating from the main lake into the creeks.  So where they meet is where the combustion chamber takes place  :newyear:  :newyear:

The best way to find these areas is to go into the creeks and start looking for deep holes in the creeks.  Once you find the deep holes look for the bait using your SI.  Once you find bait you need to pay attention to subtle clues that tell you fish are present.  Alot of times these fish are stuck to the bottom so what your looking for looks something like alot of tin cans on the lake bottom on your SI.  You won't see many shadows if any.  A really good clue is you see just a few fish suspended about a foot off the bottom.  If you get all of these variables lined up your in for a fire drill.  If not keep looking in other creeks till you find all of these variables.  They usually use these areas year after year but it's a timing thing with the water levels and the fall shad migration.  Honestly alot of times On the first drop you are dropping on a blank screen (no fish).  By the time your spoon gets halfway down you will see your unit black out with fish rising up to meet your spoon on the way down.  I wish I could get this phenomenon on video one day as it's a hoot to see that on your screen.  YOu actually see the bottom come alive as the fish come off the bottom to meet your spoon as it comes down and not 1 second earlier your screen was white as snowflake and no fish in sight. 

So here are some shots from today.  Got 35 fish this am by myself.  2 crappie, 2 whites and the rest were chunk spotted bass all on the spoon. 

I am strictly vertical fishing for these fish.  Mostly split screening Sonar with SI.  There are several techniques that I use to "call" the fish.  Sometimes I make short pitches with my spoon and bring it back which brings fish under the cone of the sonar to where I can hypnotize them (for the lack of a better word).  I also do big sweeps with my spoon to cover alot of depth vertically.  By doing this I can interest a fish at different depth levels.  If you concentrate spooning at 30 to 25 feet you tend to overlook the fish that are at 15 to 20 feet.  So by dropping your spoon to the bottom then reeling it up to 15ft then dropping it back down your covering more water and expanding your strike zone.  So once I get the fish inside the cone I can work them.  Then if I catch one and I need to refind the school I spin the trolling motor head to refind the school using SI.  I usually make a short pitch of the spoon in the general direction and try for a second fish.  Most of these schools you get 1 maybe 3 fish out of a school.  So the schools are fly bys which means you have to be on your toes when they fly by. 

You will see alot of turnover (45 degree lines) on my images.  Anything that isn't 45 degrees is more than likely fish. 

Here is one image where the creek hasn't quite started turning over yet.



Here is a hook up



Here I am bringing the entire school to the bottom following my spoon.



Requesting fly by (you can also see some turnover here)



Here they come..  Do you see me hooking up? 



Spaghetti Junction


Some turnover here. 45 degree lines are turnover air bubbles rising to the top...



Lots of fish right under the boat per FISH ID.  Yellow fish are directly under the boat.  Blue fish are off to the side. 





More Turnover.

[DougV]

  Even I learned some new tips here! Thanks for sharing Mike! This should help everyone put a few more fish in the boat! Great Work and love those Humminbird Screen Captures!

[Mike Cork]

Man I miss fishing like this. Oriville in Nor Cal was a blast this time of year.  50 fish days were very common!

The screen shots and tutorial are excellent thank you for sharing.

[tsmith35]

Here I am bringing the entire school to the bottom following my spoon.

LOL I love it!

[Bassinkorea]

Excellent post 

So seeing those 45 degree line means turnover huh??   I didn't know that before