Can someone analyze my Conditions?

[airborne_angler]

Went out for the first time this year today. Was pretty breezy,and the wind kept shifting,blowing my boat all over the place.

The highest the water temps got according to my Graph was 52*.

Based on those water temps,would it be safe to say the bite is still gonna be off?

People were catching trout,and the bait store operator said "some" LMB had been caught in deeper waters. Is this typical for these water temps?

At what temps will the fishing generally pick up?

[Gatorbassman]

The largemouth bite usually begins to pick up between 53- 55 degrees.

[Team9nine]

Really just depends on your particular lake. Ice just came off the local reservoir here this past Thursday and the bite is already "on" pretty good. Each lake and locale is different and you need to try and figure out what makes the fish "tick" in your lake. One word of advice I would give you though is don't just blindly accept a slow bite regardless of water temp or season. It's frequently a lot better than most guys believe or experience.

-T9

[Chris]

Fish it and fish it hard you should have staging fish. Find places that are a roadway from deep water to shallow spawning areas. It might be hunt and peck but when you find the right area you could load the boat. Don't get discouraged by the low 50's surface temp just keep a mental note that you need to slow down. Bites are not going to be bone jarring so use baits that you stay in contact with to detect bites. I know fighting wind stinks but it can be worth it.

[WRB]

Where in AZ are you still finding water in the lower 50's? Fish the major points near the spawning flats, there should be staging bass there. Also check out the spawning areas for early buck bass or any cruisers, the LMB can't be more than a month off, if that.

WRB

[fishfordollars]

Grap you a trap and get after it.

[airborne_angler]

Where in AZ are you still finding water in the lower 50's? Fish the major points near the spawning flats, there should be staging bass there. Also check out the spawning areas for early buck bass or any cruisers, the LMB can't be more than a month off, if that.

WRB

Im fishing Parker Canyon Lake in SE AZ.

[airborne_angler]

Grap you a trap and get after it.

I was throwing an Xcalibur XR50 and all I did was haul water,weeds and algae. Of course the wind didnt help much either,it was pretty chilly.

[WRB]

Nice lake located just north of the Mexican border, however at 5,138 ft alitiude. This means colder nights that slow down the water warming process. This lake should be in pre spawn. Small lake, do you have a boat to fish it? or walking the shoreline?

A Little study indicates the lake has big water level draw downs, that affect the trout fishing. The lake should have an areation system near the dam.

I would buy yourself a 6" Huddleston trout swimbait #5 weedless and fish the marina area early and late.

Next; fish all the points and check out the back ends of the coves. Use plastic worms; T-rigged, slip shot and drop shot rigged. 6" curl tail Roboworms in Oxblood/red flake, MMIII and Aarons Magic/red flake should produce results for you. A spider jig in dark green/red flake twin tail Hula grub on a 3/8 oz football head will also work in the deeper rocky areas.

After the spawn, then a spinnerbait, jerk bait, small punker and the worms should produce. If the lake is open at night, give 7" to 10" T-rigged worms a try.

Good luck.

WRB

[airborne_angler]

WOW-WRB...you are all over it.

This lake is having trouble warming up. I gave things a rest on Wednesday and went back yesterday(Thursday) to see if things would change.The water temps were at 53* when I first turned my Graph on and then I monitored it and the highest reading I got was 52.3*

The wind was way worse. I have a 10' flat bottom Jon Boat and I  couldnt stay in one spot at all.The wind blew me all over the place.I mostly just cruised(drifted) around,did some observations.The wind frustrated me so I packed it up and went home.Ill give it a week and maybe go back then.

[WRB]

Get yourself a pair of anchors and learn to double anchor. The wind is often a problem and makes boat control difficult in a small aluminum boat.

A plastic milk create makes a great container to hold the rope and anchors.

Bill Murphy's book "In Pursuit of Giant Bass" has a few chapters on anchoring and making anchors, well worth reading. Until you get the book and read it, you can use 1 gallon paint can filled with cement, a large eye bolt for the rope tie and 2 (1/2") rebar pieces about 12" long. The rebar pieces go through the bottom of the can and stick out about 3", 4 places in an X pattern.

Remove the handle from the paint can, poke the rebars through the can side at the bottom, fill the can with ready mix and put the eye bolt with a nut and large washer into the wet cement and let dry.

Cheap anchor that works well for small aluminum boats. A pair of 15 lb navy style anchor works well.

Put out the front anchor about 50 feet above where you want to end up, let out about 75' of rope as the wind blows you back and tie off. Then drop the rear anchor, go back to the front anchor and slowly pull the boat forward until the rope angle is about 30 to 45 degree angle (scope) and tie off. Now tighten the rear anchor and tie off. You can move the boat between the 2 anchors without re anchoring, depending on how deep it is and how much rope you have out.

100' of 1/2 anchor rope with an anchor on each end should work for your lake.

This will give a good solid fishing platform to fish plastic worms from.

The other option is troll deep diving crankbaits into the wind and keep the boat close to the same depth the lure dives; DD14 will run down about 10' to 12', DD22 about 15' with 75' of 12 lb line out at slow walking speed.

Good luck.

WRB

[airborne_angler]

I tried anchoring off this boat off the transom last year during a windy day(BIG MISTAKE).

The waves were crashing over the transom,I sit in the back to run the TM and I was by myself and the only person on the lake. The battery well area(between where I sit and the TM) started to fill up with water,and when I pulled up the anchor it got stuck in the rocks.

I pulled and pulled to free the anchor,all the while dipping the transom lower and lower,allowing more and more water in until the boat got swamped and I had to "jump ship"

Luckily I was in shallow enough water (7 ft) to recover everything that went overboard.I destroyed my TM while trying to pull the boat ashore and had a super hard time fighting the wind and the broken TM mount and Prop while limping back to the boat dock.

Instead of double anchoring,I think I just need a bigger boat,or I just need to stay off the water when its real windy.

[Randall]

When anchoring in strong winds I always have a sharp knife with me just incase. You can always cut the rope off at the boat and come back and try to free the anchor later. Better to lose an anchor than go swimming.