Submitted by RandyB #10478

Date Fished: 5/23/2008
Water Temperature: .75
Water Clarity: 1 foot

It was probably my best day ever on JPP. I caught between 20-30 largemouth and felt that I had figured out the pattern and could repeat it at will.

Conditions: all day (7am-5pm) late spring, partly cloudy yield to sunny, air temp from 61-78, surface water temp from 65-78 as the day went on, mild breeze (water almost flat).

I'd say most of the fish are late post spawn (feeding again) but not yet moved to a summer pattern. I saw a number of big cruising fish in 1'-2' of water (late spawners?).

The pattern I figured out was: protected secondary coves (not the main lake/river) with hard bottoms - preferably with big boulders. The flatter the bottom the better (not steep banks). Depths of 2'-6' with small fish around 3' and bigger fish 5'-6' (on the best nearby structure or cover like a point/dropoff or laydown on at the cove mouth). Fish were active.

Best bait was a smaller (2.5?) charteuse/white slender body crankbait (mine was a berkley frenzy suspender 7'-9' diver so it would hit the boulders regularly - fished mostly stop and go, or slow retrieve. 6" green pumpkin straight tail worm t-rig took lots for my partner and my best fish (out of a thick laydown at a cove mouth) - maybe 3.5#.

A number of fish swallowed the worm directly so set the hook quickly.

A 1/4oz charteuse rat-l-trap was also taking lots of fish but it would get hung up very easily between rocks. I should have gone to a smaller size to avoid hangups (or a Cordell Spot which rides a little higher) but I got on the crankbait and never looked back.

A 3/8 white/blackback tandem spinnerbait with a lg willow blade (& sm colorado) took a couple but wasn't reliable. A c-rig with a paca craw brown/orange never produced. A charteuse green 4.5" jerkbait never produced.

Areas that produced: the 2nd cove on the right in Spring Creek (3rd cove produced some but was slower), the Lamar Hill area where there is a rockfield (on the right, pretty far past the ramp but not the very back).

Best fish: in Lamar on the little dropoff/point near the back (classic postspawn recovery location), maybe 6#, but it was a jumper and those small hooks on the small crankbait didn't hold on, lost her on the 3rd jump despite putting the rod tip in the water and maintaining steady pressure. Best fish landed: 3.5# mentioned above.

Worst decision of the day: casting at a group of 5-6 big gar fish, snagging one in the tail, and then losing the little berkley crankbait!

Best decision of the day: remembering the boulder field in Lamar and figuring that it matched what was working. That area is pretty big and flat and you could cast in any direction (not just the bank) and get bit.

Well, I've been out of town most of the year, but I wanted to write a really good fishing report and hold nothing back. I wish you good luck on the Priest!

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