Aug. 30, 2010
Well this past week we had our first north wind since last spring. For me, that is the official sign of fall in the air. It will take a couple of weeks until the water begins to get into the 70's, but it won't be long until the fish put on the feed bag and get to work.
Currently the lake water temps are in the mid 80's. Recent rains associated with the small front did manage to increase the Lake Amistad's water level a foot or so and it is currently at 1118 ft.
We had a great week on the water maintaining the quality of bites even though the quantity is typical for late summer.
As I mentioned in my last report "The Frog bite should start heating up soon. Stay tuned,,,," well the bite has begun although not really strong just yet. The Rio Grande river above marker 17 and in the big mexican creeks is still a fairly stained water color. I have been concentrating my efforts from Box Canyon and toward the east al the way to the mouth of the Devils River.
Current Patterns -
Shallow: Topwaters frogs, like the El Grande Lures Sapo, have been productive in the early morning hours and the Zara Spook or Pop-R produce some fish in the low light conditions around the duck weed grass and the salt cedar flats. It has become a fairly consistent bite day after day and we have landed some Lake Amistad mules on those baits right now. I have been switching to El Grande Hatch-Match sticks or very light finesse worms when the sun comes up and continue to catch some quality fish in the duck weed grass around the 8-12 foot range but it is still very sporadic and spot specific.
Mid-Depth: I have been working 10' worms around the 20 - 30 foot drops that still have green hydrilla on them and continue to catch some bass although this bite seems to be disappearing fast. If you can find fish on your graph in the mid-depth zones you can catch some chasing bait using spoons or drop-shots lowered right down in the may-lay. I have had success slightly more shallow in the 10-15 foot range as it appears fish are suspending, in-active or moving out of the 20-30 foot zone. There are some areas in and around the San Pedro Flats that have some really nice hydrilla that can be probed with grass punching methods. These areas are yielding some nice fish, but it is not consistent day' in and out.
Deep: The fish on the drop-shot are still available in the 30-50 foot range and continue to be on the smaller side, but you can get surprised every now and then and reel in some solid fish. I am seeing lots of suspended fish over this depth in the 10 -15 foot range but have not had much success with techniques they will react to.
See you at the Lake,
Kurt
