Good Wind, Good Cloud Cover, Good Fishing – 68 Fish, 07 March 2011, Stillhouse Hollow Lake






I anticipated very good fishing today based on the wind direction (SSE), the wind speed (12-15mph), and the fact that we were to have overcast skies. The forecast fell right into place and although it was a little darker a little longer than I thought it might be due to the heavy cloud cover, the fish did turn on strong once the skies (still overcast) brightened a little right around 11:15am and then began slowly clearing.

By way of comparison, I boated 35 fish from 7:00am to 11:15am (that’s a catch rate of 8.23 fish per hour), and then boated 33 more fish from 11:15am to 12:35pm (a rate of 24.81 fish per hour) — that’s a 3x increase in activity driven by increasing wind and light intensity.

I saw Henry N. of Sure Strike Guide Service on the water prior to this “turn on” and he reported similar, fairly slow results on largemouth.

My best fish today, a 22.125 inch, 6.125 pound largemouth came out of 23 feet of water and was ghosting along amidst a school of small white bass. I would not be surprised if the bulge in this fish’s belly is a short 5-7 inch white bass.


Today’s action took place in the following areas: Area 734 at 17-21′ off the channel shoulder (10 fish), Area 888 at 17′ in the gut (1 fish), Area 410 at 26-28′ (24 fish), Area 545 at 25-26′ at the base of the breakline (12 fish) and Area 735 at the base of the breakline (21 fish). Every last fish came on a 3/8 oz. TNT 180 slab. When fish were active, a jigging technique and a slow smoking technique worked best. Once the fish slowed down, an easing technique did better.

TALLY = 68 FISH, all caught and released


Today’s Conditions:

Start Time: 7:00a

End Time: 12:40p

Starting Air Temp: 48F

Water Surface Temp: 57.6F

Wind: SSE11 at trip’s start increasing steadily to S20 by trip’s end.

Skies: 100% cloud cover the entire trip; with brightening at 11:15am on.