We caught fish consistently from minutes after launching at 7:45 right through 10:15 when the fishing shutdown pretty quickly and stayed locked down thereafter.
During the feed, we spent all of 25 minutes on our first two areas (vicinity Area 1137), then saw the distant “flashes” of topwater feeding fish throwing spray into the air as they pursued shad to the surface.  Since Area 1137 was giving up primarily small fish, we hoped for better size as we moved toward that topwater action.

Over the next two hours or so, we made only 3 short “hops” from the initial area where we spotted the topwater action, and stayed on top of abundant, aggressive, although smallish, white bass and hybrid striper.  We used spinning gear rigged with TNT 180 slabs in ¾ oz. white to do the job.

During this time of year when the variety of techniques and species is more limited than in the summer months, I focus on quantity over quality whenever younger children are on board.  This offers both instant gratification and consistent engagement over the majority of the trip.  Intersperse that with an occasional task, snack, livewell check, fish release, or boat relocation, and many kids can make 4+ hours.  Braden, at just 5 years old (and a young 5 at that) did extremely well, largely because he was enthused about being able to touch, hold, and release the fish that Tony and Chris were catching.  He also contributed to our tally, mainly reeling in fish that I had assisted him in hooking.

TALLY = 127 FISH, all caught and released

TODAY’S CONDITIONS/NOTES:
Start Time: 7:45a
End Time: 11:30p
Air Temp: 51F at trip’s start.
Water Surface Temp: 70.8F
Wind: Winds were SSW2 at sunrise, slowly tapering up to SSW14 by trip’s end.
Notes: BA=10G; GT=40

Areas Fished with success:
**  1137/499
**  1137
**  1275
**  1276
**  1277