Kettle Creek Smallmouth Bass

The morning turned out to be a little chilly and windy but the fish were at least somewhat willing. I managed to land 7 smallmouth bass and my partner in crime landed one. Three fish were in the 14-15 inch range while all the others were around 12-13 inches. The smallmouth were in a fairly neutral mood today probably due to the colder than normal weather the past few days. We missed close to as many fish as we landed. I was able to get a visual on several of the fish as they hit our baits. Most just held the bait in their mouth while moving off with it rather than inhaling it.

Pattern
Most fish were caught in 5 plus feet of water. Most around large submerged rock boulders and some came from submerged wood.

Baits
I tried a soft plastic jerkbait for some time. I did get several followers but no takers. I switched over to a Yum Dinger. The most successful size by far was the 4" Dinger. We tried fishing the baits with a small splitshot but that seemed to turn the fish off. We ended up fishing the bait texposed with no wait.

Water Conditions
Very clear. Water level about normal for this time of year. Based on the cold weather, the recent rains, and the fishes mood the water was certainly colder than normal for this time of year but exact temp is not known.

Weather Conditions
Sunny with some clouds. Very windy with air temps in the mid 60's most of the day

Time of Day
7:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon