Thought you were just taking about this year.
[QUOTE=Thermodude;516852]Well whats been going on there the last couple years has had a huge impact on the lake as of right now. Low water conditions have changed parts of the lake...........that were once flats, into flats with large amounts of grass and saplings! Dry flats turn into fileds. No matter, Ive fished it the last 4 days and I answered my question.[/QUOTE]
Well if you were talking about the last four of five years then that makes more sense when you talked about the low water levels affecting the fishing. It takes time to kill off those small trees that grew on those open flats.
Actually though when the lake it down low it helps us fishermen find the fish as the fish have less room to hide and are more concentrated to a small degree.
Glad to see that you found some fish. That's what it's all about. Having some sport and fun out on the lake.
And when you do finally figure out a new lake or an old lake there is a feeling of satisfaction that no other sport can provide except maybe hunting.
Sometimes the bass just won't hit that bait
[QUOTE=Thermodude;516866]Thanks Moveon...........Im looking forward to getting back out there later this week. With more rain in the forcast that should help keep some color in the water and the surface temps cooler. As of yesterday it was 82.4 according to my dial. Most of the other boats that I saw were casting soft baits slow...............the Husky Jerk proved to be the thing for me though. One thing I do want to add, bass were busting the shad balls throughout the morning hours and we tried topwater baits over and over with only two strikes..........that kinda surprised me.[/QUOTE]
I can remember a time down at KY lake in the back of this small quiet cove where bass were busting shad all around my boat. I threw about everything at them that I could think of and didn't get a hit. Some times they are so focused on one type of food that they ignore all other. I would think that bass busting a shad ball would fall prey to a shad looking bait that was falling down though the water column at a slow rate. But you have to watch your line carefully and have a tight line to feel a hit. Some times they can inhale the bait and spit it out so fast that you never knew that you had a bite. This must happen to me a lot unless I fish down wind and have the line tighter by using a heavy weight. But then I can't get the bait to go down slowly like a dying or injured shad might.
I see a lot of shad ball on my side scanning sonar but my screen is hard to see in the sunlight and my eyes are not so good anymore. I can't always see the bass below the shad balls in the SI screen shots. Only later when I bring the SDHC card into the house and put it into my computer and play back some of the images on my computer can I see the fish better. I should have a tent over the top of my boats cockpit to put it in the dark so that I can see the SI screen easier in the dark. I already have a sun shade over the screen and a small umbrella over the cockpit but that's only helps a little bit in bright sunlight.
1198 Yea I'd like to have one of them babies
[QUOTE=SteveM4A1;516921]You could just buy an 1198 and you won't have that problem;)[/QUOTE]
I've been looking for a battery operated screen that would plug into the 898 and allow me to see the data better. But they might cost as much as the 1198.
When I got my 898 I didn't know that they made the 898 at the time. I thought that the price had suddenly dropped on the 1198 and I was the luckiest guy in the world. Then it dawned on me that this was not the bigger model and that's why it cost 1/2 of what the bigger screen model cost. Drats! Still it was too good of a price for me to refuse so I jumped on the 898 right then and three. I should have waited another two or three years right? But hey I waited for about 3 years after these first came out before I finally made the leap to get me one.
But I've seen the bigger screen in operation and it's much better. And I can only imagine the quality of the new LED Back lighted 1198 screens. My friend has an 1198 and I've used it a few times while fishing with him. I Like the submarine sounds that it has.