Cold, Water Down, And The Good Skunk

Cold, Water Down, and The Good Skunk

Dec 8, 2018

Location: Lake Murray, SC
Conditions
Air Temp: low 40's
Water Temp: high 40's
Wind NNW 8-10 mph
Skies: low, heavy cloud
Precipitation: Steady rain

Tackle & Technique
Daiwa 6-6 spinning rod
Shakespeare Sigma reel
8 lb test line
Dropshot Drag-A-Worm Rig

The fishing sucked today, which is another way of saying it was non-existent.
The wind was blowing, and temps were down 10 degrees over last week. Its been raining since last night, and the water is murky everywhere.  
A hard cold front is blowing through from the north; we've dodged snow, but the upstate of SC is getting it.
Kinda miserable.

I'm reminded of this old fishermans adage:

Wind from the West - fishing made best
Wind from the South - blows bait into fishes mouth
Wind from the East - fishing made least
Wind from the North - Stay home; don't go forth

Okay, yeah, I ignored the last line and went anyway. 
Hey, I've vowed to not let weather stop me and to go when I can - not when I prefer.

The Water Down
The lake is being drawn down to low level through this week and next. I was recently told by a marina owner that this is done every 5-6 years for maintenance, and inspections, of the dam and power generating system. 

There are a few more feet to go, in fact.

Some are upset by this lowering, but its pretty revealing, in my eyes. I get to see and document things that will be under 5-10 feet of water by summer.

 

 

 

 

The Temps

I normally try to examine and record the temps when I get to the water. Most activities in a fishes life are driven by water temp. Its a good idea to get a feel for what these are, and relate them to fish activity.

Air Temps

Water Temps

Gratuitous Truck Pic and Shameless Plug  

Freshwater Gastropod, aka, Snail

If this was the ocean, I'd call this a "whelk." This appears to be Bellamya japonica, a non-native whorled snail. These deep water crawlers are seldom seen, so its kinda cool to find one.

Do fish eat them? Yes. See the next pic for more

Shell bank

The entire shore is littered with these clam banks - indeed the entire lake bed is. When the water is low like now, you get some idea just how extensive these shell beds are. These, and the snails mentioned above, are food for the famous Lake Murray, "shellcracker" aka, red ear sunfish. 

All the flats seen here, to either side of the channel and in the distance, will soon be back under water. Then, I will be the only one who knows where the creek channel runs...bwahahaha!

Little channel cat, dead in the cold

Slinky Dropshot Drag-A-Worm Rig

Materials

- slinky weight

- snap swivel 

- hook

a. The slinky weight is a string of ball bearings, joined in tandem by soft wire. I have a can full of these bearings and they work nicely for this.

b. The weight is attached to a length of  3-4 lb. monofilament, with a loop tied at the end.

c. The snap swivel is tied to the end of the main line with a Palomar Knot,d. The weights' connector loop is clipped into the snap swivel,

d. The hook is clipped to the snap swivel, and baited with a PVC worm. 

Once cast out, the slinky weight is dragged across the bottom, fast or slow, with the worm trailing along. 

The length of the mono that joins the weight to the swivel determines how high above the bottom the worm will swim and bounce. Today, the worm was about 18" above the slinky weight.

When you stop dragging it, the weight holds enough tension on the line so you can "bounce" the worm with the rod tip - subtle, tail waggling action results. 

Uncommon Rod and Reel

This was my dads "custom" Daiwa Procaster. He was a life member of the North American Fishing Club, and the rod was obtained through them. It has the NAFC Life Member badge near the butt, and his name in script. It's a pretty nice rod, really, at least by my normal, penny-pincher standards. 
I don't normally fish it, but took it out today as a remembrance to him.

The Daiwa rod came with a very nice Daiwa 2500 reel, which I replaced for the trip with this Shakespeare Sigma reel. 

The Sigma is a "pickers reel" - I picked this reel for $2 from a bargain box! 

The knob was missing from the handle when I got it - an easy fix. 

Its also 2500, mid-sized reel, and runs very strong and smooth. 

The Sigma series was never considered a big deal, but I'm calling it a great deal for two bucks!

Was it a good day? Yes, and no.
No fish, but some good experiences. I'm calling it a worthy skunk, this time.

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Thanks and Tight Lines,

David,

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