I have been working some and have not had time to go and do some fun fishing. So, I had planned on going Tuesday and I was afraid the cold front would put a damper on things so, I waited until today. Overnight it got down to 30 degrees here on the lake, so I waited until 10 AM to go out, hoping the water would warm up. Got down to the boat and the water surface temp was 56.9 degree, Sunday it was 65 at my dock. That is a 8 degree drop and I figured that the cats would have lockjaw. I headed to the hot hole area and the surface water temp was 61 degrees at 10:15 AM, by 1 PM it was 66.5 degrees. I did not catch a cat until 11:30 AM and from then until 1 PM I caught seven eating size blues. I was using cut gizzard shad, some alive and some from the frig. Brother Price of the Carolina Catfish Club has a premise that LKN cats will not be in a good feeding mood unless they are in 60+ degree water and I am begining to believe he knows what he is talking about.
Thank you for the info and glad you hear some I love catching good eating size cats makes for one heck of a fish fry
Totally agree with the 60+ water temp. I went yesterday afternoon and got skunked and the only difference was the water temp. had dropped.
60 is the key, and in the spring following a brief cold spell I think it takes 24-36 hours to reverse the effects. They are in such a mood to feed and go that they rebound from a front quicker in the spring. I have seen these same results over and over again. This 60 degree pattern etc. will normally last until the 3rs week of May to Memorial Dy at the latest. After that for about a month you catch blues that are not sexually mature yet, and are the luckiest SOB on the lake if you catch a big one during that time frame. The exception would be a flathead that I do not think spawns until late June to the week of the 4th.
Just out of curiosity, what is the predominant depth you're catching bues at during this 60-70 degree spell? Also, we seem to catch the blues more consistently at Buggs when the water is 40-50*. It may just be that we're better at catching them in the winter as opposed to summer. Do the blues not bite well at Norman when the water is cold?
