What am I doing wrong?

[bchase44]

This summer has been hard, I fish Lake Conway AR and the last 5 times I've been I've been skunked.

 

Today I got on the water about 4pm and fished till dark.  I specifically went to one of the deepest spots I know of.. There is a creek channel under a bridge about 12 ft deep.  There is small sections of rip-rap under the bridge and weedy shore-lines on either side.  Water goes from 12ft to 3ft as you move out of the channel and further down the banks.

 

I fished the entire area.. bridge pilons, riprap, and nearby shore lines + a few scattered docs nearby.

 

Water temperature was high 70's a couple weeks ago but a warm spell has brought it back up to 86 degrees this afternoon.

 

Shad is predominant forage, from a Kayak I cannot look far and wide in a 6700 sq ft lake for shad, but I didn't believe they'd be in the creeks yet with the water temp still that high.

 

I fished a 3 inch shad money paddle tail with a weighted 3' hook and I also drop shotted mostly with a nose hooked zoom fluke jr in ice color.

 

Not a single bite besides what I believe were a couple blue gill taps

 

Any suggestions on what I should have done different?

[Russ E]

26 minutes ago, bchase44 said:

This summer has been hard, I fish Lake Conway AR and the last 5 times I've been I've been skunked.

 

Today I got on the water about 4pm and fished till dark.  I specifically went to one of the deepest spots I know of.. There is a creek channel under a bridge about 12 ft deep.  There is small sections of rip-rap under the bridge and weedy shore-lines on either side.  Water goes from 12ft to 3ft as you move out of the channel and further down the banks.

 

I fished the entire area.. bridge pilons, riprap, and nearby shore lines + a few scattered docs nearby.

 

Water temperature was high 70's a couple weeks ago but a warm spell has brought it back up to 86 degrees this afternoon.

 

Shad is predominant forage, from a Kayak I cannot look far and wide in a 6700 sq ft lake for shad, but I didn't believe they'd be in the creeks yet with the water temp still that high.

 

I fished a 3 inch shad money paddle tail with a weighted 3' hook and I also drop shotted mostly with a nose hooked zoom fluke jr in ice color.

 

Not a single bite besides what I believe were a couple blue gill taps

 

Any suggestions on what I should have done different?

sometimes fishing reports and local bait shops can give you a little advice.

I did a quick search for lake Conway Arkansas and this came up.

 

Craig D. Campbell Lake Conway Reservoir

Bates Field and Stream (501-470-1846) said bream are beginning to respond nicely to worms and crickets. The anglers aren’t fishing very deep for them, just a couple of inches behind the cork. Crappie continue to be good in the usual spots. Bass are active around the shoreline, with white spinnerbaits working well. Catfishing is good, and flatheads are on the bite now. River fishing is great around the banks and lily pads, they say, in about 8 inches of depth. The redear are really doing well.

[bchase44]

WeedWhacker, yea I read that report sometimes but failed to last week!

 

I just felt like I have been where they aren't.. but that's just a feeling.  It seemed to me they'd be by the shore next to the deepest parts.