OperationEagle

17-24 mph winds is the forecast this weekend. I've heard that this can stir the fish up to feed in packs. Its a no go however in a kayak. Stay safe out there.

Fish hugged close to cover in the shallows for me on SAT morn. Feeding on fry and other small fish I assume. Found them to aggressively hit weighted plastics. Light pumpkin colored did it for me. Tried deep for a while and came up empty. Could see them on the finder but couldn't get them to bite. More a reflection of my poor jig skills than anything I wonder....but no one else around me was slaying them deep either.

Last weekend found them in about 6-8 fow in the slop. Used weighted plastics...casted around heavy surface weeds and let them sink for a few secs. Black and blue baby brush hogs did it for me. I have not been able to find a consistent bite deep yet.

I also wear SunCloud's and think they are good for the money. Check out Sierra Trading Post or other similar retailers. You can typically get them for $25-$28 by looking for promo codes that knock things down further from their listed price of $50-$60. They are made by Smiths Optics. Their "more affordable" line but couldn't tell a difference when I was comparing in the store.

Wow...she's a beauty. Nice and fat! What did she measure in terms of length?

Was out tonight on a south metro lake tonight. Fished from 6-9:30. Fish were in the shallows...nothing over 17 inches. Got a few strikes deep but didn't see a ton deep yet. Would love to hear other's experiences as to where you are finding 'em.

Was out on a small lake in the south metro. Fish holding tight to structure. Strikes came in shallows near downed trees. Black and blue baby brush hog did the trick. Windier than expected. Bass became more aggressive with cloud cover. Cottonwood seeds were a pain in the rear to deal with. Nonetheless, I had a great day as the fish were biting. Put 10-12 bass in the boat with the largest being a 4lb 19+incher. All were 15 inches and longer.

Yes, I have fished O'Dowd a couple of times last season. Limited parking unless you have a trailer...but even with that only a few (but more) spots. I had limited catches during my trips but don't see why it wouldn't be a productive fishery. Quite a bit of shoreline as there are a few islands. Don't know the lake topo well enough to give you hot spot tips.

Just got back from my local DSG and picked up a Lew's SS1H for $34 and change. I couldn't walk away from that. No rods worth looking at though IMO. Thanks for the heads up.

All my reels are 6:3 or 6:4 but this thread makes me wonder about my choice...and why the 6 is most popular. I am constantly reminding myself (especially when jig fishing) to SLOW DOWN. I also see this as one of the most commonly given advice. I, therefore, find it strange that the slower reels aren't more popular...or at least more commonly suggested? Maybe the benefits of a 6 outweigh a 5? (but not sure what they are) Some people say (as posted earlier) they prefer a 6 as you can always slow down the presentation by reeling slower ...but the opposite is also true; you can get a 5 and always reel in faster if/when you need to? Puzzled at this one.

I have the NRS Chinook lifevest and it is comfortable with lots of pockets making it very useful beyond a PFD....definitely makes it less of a chore to wear it. On the way is a sleeveless wetsuit, the NRS Ultra John that hopefully will fit and be used this weekend. A good balance of comfort, utility, and safety. Thanks again for all of the great suggestions and well wishes...a topic well worth spending time on. Stay safe everyone.

I anchored on the side of the wind at first but moved my boat into position which placed me directly cross wind against the anchor line. I will never let that happen again.

Yes, another easy yet overlooked item to have is a set of dry clothes for these "just in case" moments. I left the lake soaking in my front seat with the heater blowing on me and my wet clothes. Better than nothing but getting the wet soaked clothes off and replaced w dry certainly would have been helpful. I am taking the advice to heart and are looking at wetsuits. The drysuits seem all to be >$500 whereas the drysuits are <$200. If the purpose to maintain core temp as long as possible, it seems the wetsuits will do the job? The drysuits might be less restrictive but a wetsuit without arms could be a good tradeoff? Open to suggestions. Lot of good discussion on this topic. Something I hope people are internalizing. Today now with more time to reflect, I realize how blessed I am that I had faithfully worn my PFD and others were there to assist.

Tom, yes I lost my rod and reel. To be honest, it has been easy to mentally let those things go as things could have been so much worse. A-jay thanks for that table...an eye opener for sure. Here is one last discovery. I am sore, achy, and exhausted. It seems the body expends a ton of energy to protect itself when placed under sudden duress. Thanks for all the well wishes....I am so glad I am ok. I just wanted to share my situation to prevent a tragedy from happening to others. This board has been so helpful in teaching me how to be a better fisherman. As I or we become obsessed with catching "the big one", its easy to overlook the simple or seemingly inconvenient aids that could keep us alive.

Boaters...and especially kayakers: Please wear your lifejackets at all times. I always do and today I am especially glad that I did. I was anchored up on the side opposite to the side the wind was blowing. With that you know where this is going...a wind gust and wave hit me hard enough that my anchored side pulled the kayak under enough that it flipped. Within seconds I was in the 50 degree water on the side of the anchor. Because the anchor was attached to the kayak, I couldnt flip the boat over. What's worse, the longer it remained flipped, the more water the kayak was taking on...making flipping it back over increasingly difficult. I tried to maintain composure but the longer I tried to work around my boat I could feel my body start to shiver. I was able to call over to another boat for assistance. I was very lucky as it was the only other boat on the water. By the time we reached shore, my lips were blue and I could not speak in complete sentences. Reading about hypothermia, I now understand what was happening...what really surprises me is how fast these symptoms came on. Needless to say, I am forever thankful to those boaters that helped a stranger in need. I am also thankful for my lifejacket which I will never take off no matter how uncomfortable or restrictive it may feel. If this post helps just one boater in the future I would be elated. Please wear your lifejacket. Tight and safe lines.

Tom, great post. The thing I do the night before is look at my lake topo map and try think about where the bass might be during that part of the season. This helps me become very targeted in terms of search zones. One question I have is in an area that is (for example) 15 ft deep, I sometimes will find bass suspended at 9 ft. Is the next step then to move to target areas that are 9-10 ft? Especially if using a bottom contact technique i.e. jig n pig?

TCBASS: Hope you got out there today. They were biting for sure. Used a black and blue terminator 1/4 oz jig with a black and blue baby brush hog as a trailer. Got 5 today all between 14-18 inches. Bite seemed to shut off around noon. All were in about 9 fow.

Texas rigged w a mid size (cant remember the wt) split shot. I used watermelon red(?). I got two other strikes; one I lost near the boat, the other broke my line. Boated 2 out of the 4...have had better days but worse also. Tomorrow looks like a beauty which means patience will be needed! Watched the pressure levels coming in from the SSE as the system has been coming from that direction. High but stable pressure remains...hope next week will be a bit lower. Good luck!

OP: Went out there this morn (SAT) until mid afternoon and landed 2 both one around 12 and the other 14. They were both shallow. Got 'em on brush hogs. Spent much of the time trying to get them to bite in deeper water to no avail. Overall a slow day. Barometric pressure remains high but I hoped the stability over the past few days would get them to bite more. Will try again tomorrow at a different lake.

tcbass: agree that the bite has been tough the past few weekends....I think it is the unstable and high pressure systems that have plagued us this fall. I am hoping we will get some relief this weekend. I try to watch what is coming across Montana on WED/THRS in prep for the weekend in MN. Last two weekends I predicted conditions would be tougher...beautiful days but not for the bite. From what I have been reading and my own experience, I predicted right. Hang in there, I am keeping fingers crossed that this weekend will be more like the fall fishing we have been waiting for...any improvement would be welcome from my perspective! Just makes it tough when the (open water) season is so short. Next year I think C&R season starts a bit earlier which is great news.

Kayakfisherman...what weight jig are you using? Also what do you use as a trailer? I have been going on two years and have not mastered fishing with a jig. Admittedly it might be more about where I am tossing them as fishing deep water has never been easy for me.

Been tough fishing today and last weekend. Hate all of this high pressure especially with the number of weekends winding down!! Almost smoked today but pulled a 16 incher in towards the end of my day. Hows it going for you guys? Whats working??

Yes agree...add in the fact that this weight is awkwardly distributed it makes lifting kayaks like these even more of a pain. I hope manufacturers are able to innovate and develop a plastic that is half the weight and twice as strong...thaty would be something to write home about!

Was out with my Patriarch this morn and thought of this thread. It is a solid and smooth reel. It is probably one of the undervalued brands out there. If you find a reel like this on sale, be confident in knowing you are getting a great workhorse for the money.

I have the chrome Patriarch Baitcaster that Cabela's clearanced out last year for $99. It is a solid and smooth workhorse. It is a beautiful reel to boot. So tough to gain brandshare in such a competitive reel market. Darn near impossible to differentiate an offering.