PAH and I shot up to Margarita for a little sight fishing Saturday morning. Got up there with a little help from a pot of coffee and we arrived prior to the crack of dawn (man, that's tough!). We launched a little before 6am and began with a new "ticka" in the engine. Ahh, now what is it? Anyway, we began by going over to the marina cove but no one was home. I felt a hit in a cove on the east side but he never came back to try again. The sun came up while we were there and at that point we were able to begin seeing the bottom and everything to go with it. We found a couple bass back in one of the coves on the west side, but they didn't stick to their beds. What they would do is leave the area, but after a minute or so would cruise back and check on the nest from a distance, then leave again. They were not interested at all at anything we offered.
We then went around the corner and fished the south shore between the Marina and White Oak. I was able to pick up a 2.3 pounder using the 7" M.S. Slammer in about 1-2 feet of water. After cruising the flats there, we went over and checked out the westerly cove in White Oak. Again we saw bass in the back of the cove but they weren't interested in what we were offering (and boy did we have a deal for them!!).
Since things were looking slim, we shot over to the right most cove in the Salinas Bay area. Again, the fish were moving and no one was staying on beds. In one of the smaller coves I was able to pick up a 1.1 pounder on the Slammer again, and PAH picked up a 3.2 pounder using a "Luhr Norman Lil 'Un" (I think that's what they call it) in a bright blue-ish green color. Boy that fish of PAH's was trying to be a bird as it was constantly launching out of the water. Very spectacular. As we worked our way back to the main channel, PAH got hit with something big when we were on a point. Again he was using his crank, and that fish was peeling line like there was no tomorrow. Then, it turns around and make a bee-line going the other way! Smart fish because he was moving so fast that PAH couldn't reel the slack fast enough, and the fish threw the hook. It was exciting to see to say the least. We then tried the east main point entering the Salinas Bay and fished that line past the cable closure for the dam into the first finger to the right of them. I managed to get a 1/3 pound baby bass on the Slammer, and from what I could tell the bass must have hit the Slammer, and when I felt the bump I pulled, setting the hook above his gills. Kind of a snagged fish if you will. After that, it was midday and time to get back home.
All in all, it was a beautiful day up at Margarita. The temperatures got up into the mid 80's while we were there and it was a good chance for us to see what was going on down below without the needs for underwater cameras and the like. It also gave us a chance to see how some of our equipment functioned and what we needed to do in order to fine tune our presentations. The water was about 65 degrees and like Pete said in his report, very clear. I would say water visibility where we were was probably in the 15 foot range. Of the areas we fished, we couldn't find any bass holding tight to beds. We also made close attention to the tails of the fish for signs of making beds, but all had clean tails (so to speak). When we were trolling along watching the bottom for beds and bass, we found they weren't as skiddish as we originally thought. As the boat slowly moved forward, they wouldn't move until we were about six feet away. Finally, I think someone asked in an earlier post what area of Margarita is closed off for spawning. By a (somewhat) reasonable level of deduction, I would have to say the areas back where the group sites are located is closed off this year becasue the areas near the dam are open.
It was a busy day up at Margarita. Both parking areas at the ramps were full and Mr. Ranger was on the lake keeping an eye on the Yogi's and Boo-Boo's making sure no one was taking picnic baskets. Now all I need to do is figure out what's making noise in the bell-housing of my engine. Hrumph.