Location: 2nd Creek, Wheeler Lake

Time: 7:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Air Temperature:
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 
Weather Conditions:

Didn’t take very good notes today. Started out my day fishing underneath the bridge for crappie with minnows and jigs but didn’t have any luck. I moved on to some of my brush piles and fished vertically and also didn’t have any luck. I looked at some deep water felled timber and still couldn’t find the fish. I tried spider rigging some flats and a couple locations and couldn’t even get a bite. Finally at the end of the day I went back to the bridge in fished vertically and caught one bluegill and six drum. Absolutely nothing to brag about, but at least I didn’t get skunked.

First Day Back Since My Son Was Born

Location: Shoals Creek, Wilson Lake

Time: 6:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Air Temperature: 36F on Arrival, warmed to about 59F
Water Temperature:
Lake Level: 506.57 ft - Still operating at summer pool.
Weather Conditions: Calm to slight E wind


Today was a good day - Today was the first day I've been back on the water since my son was born in May. I've spent my downtime since January with my wife and then my son upon his arrival. I can't wait until he is old enough to get out there with me. However, today was nice and although I didn't break any fishing records, I had a great day on the water.

I went to Shoals Creek on Wilson Lake today. It's sort of my "old trusty" when I don't have much time to plan or get creative. I set out to try to pick up some crappie.

I hit my normal spots this morning and started out under the bridge. However, other than a few bites, there was no real action in any of my spots.

As the temperature picked up and the sun came out, I decided to try out my new bimini top that I recently installed. You can find more information about it on AMAZON. I must say it was pretty easy to install and I am very pleased with it.

Before heading back home, I decided to give the bridge another try. This time, I decided to fish on bottom vs suspension. This finally produced fish, although no crappie today.

Using minnows on a bottom hook and a black/chartreuse curly tail jig on a top hook, I managed to pick up 12 fish under the bridge pretty quickly. I used the Lowrance unit to specifically target bridge columns holding fish. I pick up around 3 bluegill, 2 drum, 2 catfish, and the balance was a mix of white and yellow bass. I had a lot of fun and even pulled a double with a white and yellow bass combination.

I can't wait to get out there again!

And So The Adventure Begins...

And So The Adventure Begins...

Location: Shoals Creek, Wilson Lake

Time: 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Air Temperature: High of 70 Degrees
Water Temperature: 49 Degrees
Lake Level: 505.14 ft - Pretty normal for the time of year.
Weather Conditions: Calm to slight S-SE wind

I was joined by Todd Whatley today.  We set out to target crappie primarily.  We launched off of the Shoals Creek ramp @ HWY 72 and talked to a guy that was leaving as we were putting in.  He said he had caught 10 but it was pretty slow-go.  He did say he had caught 21 the day before.  His main tactic was fishing suspended under the bridge.

When we launched, the bridge was covered up in boat traffic, so we headed out to deeper water structure.  We fished all the normal places and saw good fish holding structure, but struggled to get anything to bite.  We fished anywhere from 16' to 45' deep today.  We ended up catching two crappie in deep water holding structure around 32' to 44' deep.  It was very odd as I've never caught crappie that deep before.  We fished the old railroad bridge on our way back in and caught one small blue cat.  The fish we caught today were all on minnows, none on jigs.

Overall, fishing was slow, but it was a beautiful day and great company.  I think we could have done a little better, but traffic and fishing pressure was very high since it was the first pretty day in a long time.  I'm ready to go back...