[Neal/CO]

Spent four days there last week for the combined CWA/NWA tournament. Thursday started out good. I trolled just to try to get familiar with a 35,000 acre lake. I found some huge schools of Alewife's with lots of nice marks around them on my sonar. Immediately got into small eye's and white bass. Then I got blown off the lake by horrendous thunder storms. It rained all night. Friday the fishing was horrible with three out of the four boats in our group getting skunked. Warrens partner hammered a 30" plus fish at the end of the day

Saturday day 1 of the tournament we started out in a section of what is a million flooded tress to explore We immediately caught a 18" Eye and a five lb cat.. I thought we were about to click then nothing??? Sunday we started out in a sea of other boats in a section of tress that the Nebraska teams did very well on day one. We caught fish, but all but one were to small to weigh.

Pretty humbling experience!!! That place is so huge and flooded right now!! The Nebraska teams just smoked us! I learned a lot though and I will be going back several times this summer!

 

[36505]

That's a lake i would really like to learn.

 

[pistoldog]

Nice report Neal, thanks for posting it up.

 

[reel.eze]

Yea, I fished it few times this year and it has been inconsistent to say the least. There is so much water coming in. There are some nice fish in there when you get on them. Fishing the trees can be brutal!

 

[Neal/CO]

Yea, I fished it few times this year and it has been inconsistent to say the least. There is so much water coming in. There are some nice fish in there when you get on them. Fishing the trees can be brutal!

Two of my friends fished all day Saturday slip bobbering trees with not one bite. On like their 200th tree, lol. They nailed six keepers about an hour before weigh in!

 

[bobys]

Some people make it look easy out there! Definitely tougher fishing with the miles of flooded trees

 

[mattyt]

I learned a lot though and I will be going back several times this summer!

if you need someone to tag along let me know

 

[Rip Lip]

Big lake, crazy weather, and lots of flooded vegetation right now. Did you hear if a lot of the Nebraska guys were trolling big spinnerbaits? Probably one of the better ways to cover water effectively in the flooded trees and I know that is a popular method out there. I'd also imagine fish can be caught a number of different ways. A lot of areas hold fish, so having a few good spots that most others aren't fishing is a good idea, but takes time to figure them out, especially with the high water. There's always a few that get good bags of fish. That place is pretty incredible..

 

[Neal/CO]

Big lake, crazy weather, and lots of flooded vegetation right now. Did you hear if a lot of the Nebraska guys were trolling big spinnerbaits? Probably one of the better ways to cover water effectively in the flooded trees and I know that is a popular method out there. I'd also imagine fish can be caught a number of different ways. A lot of areas hold fish, so having a few good spots that most others aren't fishing is a good idea, but takes time to figure them out, especially with the high water. There's always a few that get good bags of fish. That place is pretty incredible..

Yeah some were. But most of the fish were tucked back on the inside of the timber. I lost five Big Eye spinnerbaits:-[ Finally I just tried what everyone else was doing. Slow trolling bottom bouncers over the tops of the flooded brush. Lost a ton of harnesses like everyone else! But I did catch some fish. When I tried trolling in open water and running my boards up right up to the timber all I caught was dinks, white bass and trees I couldn't see

 

[Zman]

Could you have pitched zoom flukes in alewive colors with a an 1/8oz (light) weighted swimbait hook? They are pretty snagless...

 

[Neal/CO]

Could you have pitched zoom flukes in alewive colors with a an 1/8oz (light) weighted swimbait hook? They are pretty snagless...

Yeah it is funny how you think of should of's after you get home.

 

[JohnnyO19]

Yeah some were. But most of the fish were tucked back on the inside of the timber. I lost five Big Eye spinnerbaits:-[ Finally I just tried what everyone else was doing. Slow trolling bottom bouncers over the tops of the flooded brush. Lost a ton of harnesses like everyone else! But I did catch some fish. When I tried trolling in open water and running my boards up right up to the timber all I caught was dinks, white bass and trees I couldn't see

That's why I really like to go to jigs this time of year. Not so bad only losing .50 cents a pop on a snag :thumb: Caught lots of nice fish jigging, plus it lets ya get tight to the cover.

 

[Zman]

Yeah it is funny how you think of should of's after you get home.

Oh I know I was just wondering if the trees there were like Glendo?...only fished the dam and nearby bays at BM... fishing Glendo a few weeks back with Bernie I wished I had them (was in his boat) since both in trees and rocks around town they have been pretty snagless and you can fish them slow and the eyes seem to get really duped by them...they swallow them...

 

[IFSHDOU2?]

Yep... That was the ticket 3 weeks ago at Glendo...
Started out (trying) to fish the edge of the sunken willows with 1/8 oz. jigs.
Quickly figured out that this wasn't too effective since every other cast got snagged up... even though We got a few nice Eyes.
Moved even shallower... like 3-4 ft. and pitched 1/16 oz jigs and leech to the "shadowy" side of a Cottonwood tree trunk... or "trunks"
THAT was the ticket.... still lost a bunch jigs (and some REAL NICE fish, THEY ain't dumb, You know....)
BUT.... still got more quality fish than any other trip up there...
Who'd a thunk it... BASS fishing for WALLEYES...

 

[Neal/CO]

Eric/Co and some of those Nebraska guys are really good at trolling big spinner baits there! Some how they do it without snagging up? But even in clear areas or consistent depth flooded brush I always run into the one tree that pops up out of no where I lost five of those Big Eye spinner baits before I gave up on it.

 

[Rip Lip]

Yeah some were. But most of the fish were tucked back on the inside of the timber. I lost five Big Eye spinnerbaits:-[ Finally I just tried what everyone else was doing. Slow trolling bottom bouncers over the tops of the flooded brush. Lost a ton of harnesses like everyone else! But I did catch some fish. When I tried trolling in open water and running my boards up right up to the timber all I caught was dinks, white bass and trees I couldn't see

Yeah, that's rough. We were there from June 6th to the 11th fishing for wipers and the res was about 7ft from full pool. The nature of rising water seems to push fish shallower or deeper in to cover, so it makes sense the fish were pushed up tight. The weekend of June 13 and 14 fished a small walleye tournament up at Glendo with same type of conditions. Most fish were pushed up way shallow in the flooded trees/ willows. Lots of people in the trees using slip bobbers and live bait. We were rigging on the edges mostly and got some fish, but were able to put together a decent jerk bait bite over the tops or along side the flooded cover. It's tough when you like to think you know what you are doing, and then conditions and fish location end up being different than usual. Every time on the water is a learning experience, right?

 

[Neal/CO]

Yeah, that's rough. We were there from June 6th to the 11th fishing for wipers and the res was about 7ft from full pool. The nature of rising water seems to push fish shallower or deeper in to cover, so it makes sense the fish were pushed up tight. The weekend of June 13 and 14 fished a small walleye tournament up at Glendo with same type of conditions. Most fish were pushed up way shallow in the flooded trees/ willows. Lots of people in the trees using slip bobbers and live bait. We were rigging on the edges mostly and got some fish, but were able to put together a decent jerk bait bite over the tops or along side the flooded cover. It's tough when you like to think you know what you are doing, and then conditions and fish location end up being different than usual. Every time on the water is a learning experience, right?

We threw jerkbaits in the openings and caught a one keeper and some shorts, but it wasn't a distinct pattern that we could rely on? The amount of flooded wood on Big Mac is just mind boggling!!!

 

[IFSHDOU2?]

Eric/Co and some of those Nebraska guys are really good at trolling big spinner baits there! Some how they do it without snagging up? But even in clear areas or consistent depth flooded brush I always run into the one tree that pops up out of no where I lost five of those Big Eye spinner baits before I gave up on it.

Hell, Thats the technique He used a couple years ago to place first in a tourney... If I'm correct at Oahe??? Maybe He'd chime in and correct Me if I'm wrong?

 

[bobys]

We threw jerkbaits in the openings and caught a one keeper and some shorts, but it wasn't a distinct pattern that we could rely on? The amount of flooded wood on Big Mac is just mind boggling!!!

You come across many floating logs and cattails? I had to be careful on the west end because of all the floating trees. They have no where to go so they just keep going back and forth with the current. I got myself into a whole field of floating cattails and had to stop my engine every minute or so to pull them off before continuing, needless to say I didn't go back through that stuff

 

[Neal/CO]

You come across many floating logs and cattails? I had to be careful on the west end because of all the floating trees. They have no where to go so they just keep going back and forth with the current. I got myself into a whole field of floating cattails and had to stop my engine every minute or so to pull them off before continuing, needless to say I didn't go back through that stuff

No floating cattails but some big floating logs!! There are whole new sections of flooded young cottonwoods that still have their leaves. They look really cool under the water!