Fishing Conditions and Hatches: Fair-Good

Since the boats are off the lake, we are not getting much information, considering the weather forecast if you're going to be out there I recommend looking for the protected waters. Fishing has gotten tougher as the cold snap and winds have dropped the water temperature down close to 50 degrees. It's been harder to pinpoint fish this week, they seem to have scattered, possibly starting to move back to deeper water. The perch are still producing for people stripping streamers but hanging it under an indicator has not been as effective. Remember that unless you are ready to immediately cast to a boil there's no point in worrying about it. Those fish are flushing Perch fry off the bottom and then going right back down. Also some of the smaller looking rises are actually bigger fish than you thought, they just happen to have caught the fry below the surface. Don't be afraid to throw streamers up against the banks, you'll find fish in water 1-2 feet deep.

When midging I haven't seen that any one color is working better than others but I have done well with larger flies on the bottom smaller above. For the bottom fly I've been using red early and black midday. McGee Bay has slowed way down, the fish have to be somewhere if you want to explore the area. Well, people have done the exploration and they found fish between McGee and Sandy Point. The north end has picked back up and everywhere it seems 6-16 feet is best. Big and Little Hilton have had their moments as well, mainly midday. If your fishing near stream mouths try a perch fry imitation under an indicator and bump it along the bottom.