Arrived at the dam about 4:45 and was met by schooling fish out from the parking lot and over by the sail club. Of course, once I got the boat in the water they stopped schooling. We waited around a little bit and then headed on up around Pine Island and the fish were stacked in there. Stayed there a while and caught fish until it slowed down some and then moved on over near Hilton and they were stacked there too and we stayed on them until right before dark.
Didn’t really count or measure any fish, but I do know we had a double on 4 times…seemed like about a 50/50 keeper ratio and probably nothing over 24". Friend used a Hopkins and I used a Slammer, but it didn’t seem like one did any better than the other.
Gorgeous evening on the water with hungry fish, no wind at all, hardly any boats on the water and an absolutley beautiful sunset.
I was thinking the same thing. So far looking pretty good if the long range forecast is accurate. Things may change after that cold front comes through, but at least it will come through early in the week, so we’ll hopefully have a few days of stable weather before the weekend.
Would someone mind explaining what your looking for when looking for schooling fish? I am getting a humminbird 788ci installed on my boat this Friday and have never been taught how to read sonar readings. How do you determine if it’s a fish or just structure?
Its really a matter of getting out on the water and using it. You can tell someone what something looks like a million times but until they experience it for themselves on there own unit they will never get it.
That being said what you see above is a large school that appears to be “feeding”. Sometimes you will find the same similar look but without the chaos, which usally is a school not feeding.
Bait balls will look similar to that patch at the top of the screen, although this kinda looks like interference from when the jig went into the water. Bait that is tightly grouped and not being fed upon will look like a ball or mass. If there is enough of it and tight enough it will like the bottom but suspended. Bait thats being fed in will still look like a mass but wont be tight ball and will usally have streaks in it or coming in and out of it. Picture the above picture with a bunch more solid yellows and such.
After you get to know your graph you can start to get an idea of how big the fish are u are looking at. Bigger fish will send back a harder return, but if the fish are tightly grouped this can be misleading.
Also i think Hummingbird uses more reds,greens, and yellows, for there colors. This may be just an option but can cause problems if you are trying to look at someone elses pix to learn yours.
Lastly structure can fool you to thinking its bait on the bottom. Its really a matter of learning with time on the water. Go somewhere in the lake where u know there is a brush pile, sunken bridge , etc, and see what it looks like. Even the thousands of trees in the big pool and around spence are noticeable structure. You will even be able to see the fish or bait in the tops of them with enough practice.
Hope this helps some. I read and read looking for answers like this. Asked phin a thousand and one questions. But just getting out there on the water and using it has been the most help. I have the side/down imagining, it has been very helpful in identifying things that i couldnt seem to make
Pirate,
I have a 787 C2, which is probably similar to yours. I will email you some screen shots of fish, bait, and structure if i cross any. I’m heading out tonight. Not sure where yet. I was going to go to Steeverino’s spot, but Tim’s screen shot and report have me wanting to head down lake. Plus Eastern winds make for favorable night fishing by the dam
Also, what does it mean when the lake “turns over”. What does it do to the fish and the ability to catch fish? Is it worth fishing during this period and how long does it usually last? I’m still green when it comes to striper fishing so I’m trying to learn as much as possible.
The Oxygen rich surface water cool enough that it is more dense than the deep water with no oxygen. They flip and the deep oxygen depleted water comes to the surface. It scatters the fish. Within a few weeks it straightens back out. In my opinion it is always worth fishing, even if I don’t catch anything.
, etc, and see what it looks like. Even the thousands of trees in the big pool and around spence are noticeable structure. You will even be able to see the fish or bait in the tops of them with enough practice.