Oops, I’ve been guilty of neglecting my blog since that great two days of fishing at Lake Athens four weeks ago. The fishing since then has been much tougher, both at Athens and at Cedar Creek Lake. I’ve only managed 10 or 15 fish a trip since then, whether I went to Athens or Cedar Creek, and whether I was mainly fishing for bass or crappie.

There are still some bedding bass at Athens, but just a few stragglers. And they are tough to catch, and not all that big. I’ve only caught one four pounder at Athens since that great week, and nothing that big at Cedar Creek until yesterday. I’m not sure why Athens is this tough. Last year, I found some really good fishing in the post spawn period, but not so much this year. At Cedar Creek, I usually try to mix in some bass fishing and crappie fishing at bridges and docks. I’ve posted before about how my more shallow bridge spots are much tougher with the low water (Cedar Creek is still almost 3 1/2 feet low), and the same is true of dock fishing.

Some docks that have been good in the past are just too shallow for either bass or crappie now. And even the deeper docks are tougher. There seem to be a lot fewer crappie on the docks, and with the more shallow water under them, crappie are holding more shallow, and it’s tough to work a swimming jig slowly enough to interest them, without dragging the bottom. And dragging the bottom is not a good way to get them to bite. They tend to hold off the bottom. I posted before about how I solved that problem at my bridge spots by using a jig and bobber setup, rigged deeper than I normally use that kind of rig. The same solution has worked on the docks.

I’m still not catching the numbers of crappie off docks that I would expect in a normal year, but I seem to catch several really nice ones with a jig and bobber set for 3 to 3 1/2 feet deep. And of course, fishing a Ned rig around docks will catch some big crappie, in addition to the bass that bite it. Than happened yesterday at Cedar Creek. First thing in the morning, I caught a 4.50 pound bass on a Ned rig, then 10 or so casts later, caught the second biggest crappie of the day on the same bait. It’s a good reminder of why I love those baits.

I also saw quite a few of these very different looking ducks yesterday. I’d never seen them before on Cedar Creek.

It turns out they are black bellied whistling ducks. Their natural range didn’t used to be this far north, but they are here now. I always enjoy the great variety of wildlife I see on my fishing trips.

I caught this nice chunky 4.50 pound bass first thing yesterday morning.

A really nice size crappie from yesterday afternoon.