Hey, I got here on time this week for the report. Anyway, lake level is at 613 and it looks like the really cut back on pulling water today. Not sure of the significance of that. I think Iowa got hit with a heavy rain again so maybe the river was flowing high again. The crappie are scattered again, and the bite yesterday was off due to the weather that came through. we didn’t get much rain out of it though. Same old story, fish the piers, the trees on the channel especially where it comes close to a bluff, and still reports of some dandy fish coming from shallow water. It won’t be long before the pattern starts to shift to a more fall pattern, but for now stick with what is working for most. We had some dandy crappie come in for pictures this past week as you can see in the pictures. Right now it seems minnows are the hot ticket, though we went through a lot of Crappie Rockets again this past 2 weeks. —— The cats are starting to move again. We had that 45# blue last weekend and Mary said another 40 some pound blue and 48# flathead came in since Tuesday. I will post those pictures on Friday when I get home again. The ones this week came from lines while the one last weekend was on a rod and reel. It looks like they are getting them in the main channels.—-Have a great Labor Day weekend, and remember, it will be crowded on the water so play it safe!!

Sorry this update is so late. Mary and I were in Minnesota as my mom passed away last weekend. Lake level is at 617 and falling.  Crappie are still biting pretty consistently.  Keep your bait just above the thermocline which is at 12′-14′ down. Check the pictures to see the 2# crappie brought in this morning. Fish the same summer haunts that have been producing but still don’t be afraid to try some of the shallow water cover as we have heard of some good fish coming out of 8′ water as well.—– Check the picture of the 45# blue brought in today. This fish was caught on a rod and reel. What a great fight. Obviously there are cats on the move.

Lake level is at 618 and coming down. It sounds like they are going to be working on the re-reg damn so I assume they won’t be able to pull any water during that time.  Water is pretty clear. —-Crappie bite was tough yesterday, but reports today are much better. Same pattern, fish the bluffs, the trees just off the main channels and still don’t be afraid to try around any shallow willows that might still be in the water. there is going to be a lot less of that cover available with the water level down. Also try any of the bridge piers. I am betting you can also pick some up on the riprap.—No reports on white bass, and of course the black bass fishermen never tell us anything. Also no reports on catfish this week.—–This weekend is Crappie Master tournament time. I haven’t heard for sure but I would guess there will be about 120 boats involved with that. The tournament weigh in is at the 107 ramp. They fish until 2:30. Come on out and watch the weigh in. It is surely something different to see.

Lake level right now is 623.5. The Corp is pulling water pretty hard right now, to the tune of over 12,000 cfs. That is a lot of water heading down the river. It will sure be great to have all the ramps open again, as I assume they will be by this weekend.—– The crappie continue to eat anything that gets in front of them. As before, you will catch a lot of smaller fish in order to catch a limit of 9″+ fish. I would sure rather do that than have to work like heck to catch 15 fish in a day, even if they were all keepers. The bite is pretty much a typical summer pattern. Fish the deep trees on the edges of the channel, the bluffs, and the bridge piers. Change it up and try the willows in shallow water. You will likely find less fish there, but they should be bigger. Add a crappie nibble or the new GULP baits. —-  White bass are traveling in schools and feeding up as well. Have a rod rigged with a white and silver spinner of some sort. Fish the islands, or as seen in one of the comments on the last post, on the concrete boat ramps. —–There have been a few cats come in and that should improve in a month or so.

Sorry for the late post. Been a crazy week. Lake level is at 628 this morning. We will still be on high water ramps through this weekend.—–Crappie are still biting like mad. Lots and lots of smaller fish. If you are persistent you should be able to keep plenty to eat of 9-12″ fish. If you really work it you can find a few bigger ones to. Piers and standing timber are good places for lots of action. You will find fish in the freshly flooded willows as well. Depth is erratic so work the water column until you find them, just don’t bother going below the thermocline. As I have not been to the resort since Tuesday I have not heard anything on catfish action. Please take a look at the replies to the last post as there is some good information in them on ramps and such. Have a great weekend.

Lake level is at 628.25 and on the way down again. It looks like it is dropping about 6″ per day, dependent, of course on the amount of rainfall we get each day. We should be on regular ramps by next weekend I would guess. Not this one, but next one.—– Has been a hot humid week around here, but I gotta say, the fish don’t care to much. Odie and I went out and had a great time on Monday, catching fish all day long. Well, at least until the rain chased us off the water. We caught fish on trees anywhere from 3′ down to 14 feet down. Also on the bridge piers. There is no doubt you will have sort through a lot of smaller fish to get a limit of keepers, but it can be done. It looks like we had another hatch of shad as we saw a lot of shad about 1.5″ long busting the surface. Minnows is definitely what they want to eat right now. Trouble is, you can hardly have enough in the boat as they will just eat them as fast as you throw them in the water. Fun stuff, and just think what the fishing will be like this fall and into next year with all those smaller fish growing.——Per some of the other posts you should be able to find some white bass late in the day. Fish the islands and points.—— Have no report on cats this week.—— The trick to tackling the ramps is to get out early and time getting off to stay away from the rush periods. If you get hit with a downpour you are just plain screwed as you will end up waiting. Be courteous, even though that is a challenge when you are stuck on the water while someone dallies around. It only makes matters worse to blow up, and your blood pressure won’t like it either. Sometimes it is fun to just sit back and enjoy the show.