By Roger Tarin
I recently had the opportunity to make the 5 ½ hour trip to Lake Don Pedro for the opening Best Bass Tournament of the year. It’s always nice to get out and knock the rust off early in the year. Let me tell you, I was like the Tinman in a field with no oil. It had been 5 years since I last fished Don Pedro and I had fond memories of the lake. Well, this trip wasn’t one of those memories.
The morning we launched it was 36 degrees with the wind blowing 5-10 mph. The water temperature was 53.5 and didn’t really change all day. The clarity was 1-2 feet at best and stained. The sky was filled with black clouds and the forecast was for rain early.
Well the weather report was spot on. As we waited for our boat number to be called, the rain started just in time for a nice rain pelting boat ride. We spent most of the day in Middle Bay, Rogers Creek and Big Creek Arm fishing a variety of structure trying to determine what the fish where doing.
First, we fished the standing timber with 3/8oz. tubes and had some luck but nothing of any size. We slowly and methodically worked our way to the back of the creek thinking the fish might be following the bait. Once we realized this wasn’t the case, we moved on.
Next stop was on a long shallow flat on a main lake point that was adjacent to deep water. We worked the point for some time marking bait but no fish. We then decided to start ripping. The wind was up and it was raining so this seemed like the perfect option. We started fishing points but realized the fish were on the flats in 10-15 feet of water. We were able to produce several fish this way, but the rain stopped and so did the bite. Back to square one.
The remainder of the day we threw “A” rigs, drop shot, darter heads, rip baits and jigs in 3-40 feet of water with limited success. We spoke with some other anglers after the tournament and it seemed that a lot of people where fishing in the 40-60 feet range with some success.
Most anglers where using the drop shot or darter head. The winning weight was just over 13 pounds. I think with the multiple storms back to back and the rising water had most of these fish suspending and unwilling to feed. The lake is still 142 feet from capacity.
The fishing will pick up just as soon as the weather stabilizes a little. This is a great place to fish,.. We just had a slow day.
I recently had the opportunity to make the 5 ½ hour trip to Lake Don Pedro for the opening Best Bass Tournament of the year. It’s always nice to get out and knock the rust off early in the year. Let me tell you, I was like the Tinman in a field with no oil. It had been 5 years since I last fished Don Pedro and I had fond memories of the lake. Well, this trip wasn’t one of those memories.
The morning we launched it was 36 degrees with the wind blowing 5-10 mph. The water temperature was 53.5 and didn’t really change all day. The clarity was 1-2 feet at best and stained. The sky was filled with black clouds and the forecast was for rain early.
Well the weather report was spot on. As we waited for our boat number to be called, the rain started just in time for a nice rain pelting boat ride. We spent most of the day in Middle Bay, Rogers Creek and Big Creek Arm fishing a variety of structure trying to determine what the fish where doing.
First, we fished the standing timber with 3/8oz. tubes and had some luck but nothing of any size. We slowly and methodically worked our way to the back of the creek thinking the fish might be following the bait. Once we realized this wasn’t the case, we moved on.
Next stop was on a long shallow flat on a main lake point that was adjacent to deep water. We worked the point for some time marking bait but no fish. We then decided to start ripping. The wind was up and it was raining so this seemed like the perfect option. We started fishing points but realized the fish were on the flats in 10-15 feet of water. We were able to produce several fish this way, but the rain stopped and so did the bite. Back to square one.
The remainder of the day we threw “A” rigs, drop shot, darter heads, rip baits and jigs in 3-40 feet of water with limited success. We spoke with some other anglers after the tournament and it seemed that a lot of people where fishing in the 40-60 feet range with some success.
Most anglers where using the drop shot or darter head. The winning weight was just over 13 pounds. I think with the multiple storms back to back and the rising water had most of these fish suspending and unwilling to feed. The lake is still 142 feet from capacity.
The fishing will pick up just as soon as the weather stabilizes a little. This is a great place to fish,.. We just had a slow day.