The bite has slowed down some with the water temperatures falling into the low 50s. Our water temps to start each morning have been in the 50-52 degree range, and have only warmed up to 53-54 late in the day. Water level as of this writing is 398.86 or 4.14 feet below normal pool. The water is very stained in many areas of the lake and slightly stained in others. We have some hydrilla trying to make a comeback in some areas, but it is all in less than 3 feet of water.

Most of our fish this week have been caught on a 1/2 oz or 3/4 oz black and blue Santone jig, but we did catch a few on a Camo colored Santone jig. I am throwing the 3/4 oz jig along the deeper creek channels in 10-14 ft of water, and I'm switching to the 1/2 oz jig when we're fishing less than 10 ft deep. One thing that has been a key for us is to slow WAY down. I haven't been able to trigger them to bite by fishing the jig aggressively. We are basically having to crawl it along the bottom and banging it into any available cover. If you're not feeling the wood, you're probably not going to get bit. The Santone jig hangs up less than most jigs because of the shape of it's head. Being flat on the bottom, the jig doesn't roll over on it's side when coming through the brush like some other jigs do. Less hang-ups equal more fishing time and better hook-ups because the hook is almost always in position to stick the fish in the top of the mouth.

Once we get a bite, we are being even more thorough as there will be multiple fish in that section of creek. Sometimes, we are pitching to the same stumps 4 or 5 times before we finally get a bite. It's not easy fishing, but it can be very rewarding.

Having quality fishing line can be critical when fishing the heavy cover here. I have seen and used lots of different brands of fishing line over the years, but I'm convinced that the best I've ever used is Seaguar Invizx. I use 20 lb Invizx for jigs and most soft plastics, and 15 lb Invizx for crankbaits and jerkbaits.

The weather over the next few days is going to be a little cooler than what we'd like to see. The highs are supposed to be in the low 50s and the lows are supposed to be in the low 30s. This isn't going to bring our water temps up any, so the jig bite should continue to produce the best results for the big bite. If you need to get bit, you might try a shaky head in the same areas. Sometimes there are fish that won't bite the bigger bait, but they'll eat the finesse worm. I know I'll be throwing it a little more this week.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to use the comments section below. Best of luck on the water!