Anyone doing any good?

[Deleted]

Been a while since I last posted and I am just wondering if anyone is having any luck at Hopewell lately? I still go all the time but the action sure has settled down. In May I caught over 100 bass outta that place; now for June and July I am at about 80 combined. However; my last two visits I left with 3 bass one day and 2 the next. The fish dont seem to be hitting real well in the shallows with the warm weather; plus EVERYBODY is out there throwing Senko's or Dingers into the wood etc. I still see/hear of a nice one being caught every now and then.....two weeks ago a guy pulled a 5 pounder from shore right by the boat ramp. I latched onto a semi decent one last weekend but it wrapped me around a HUGE clump of pads. By the time I got the boat into the pads he was gone. I have been tryng to fish offshore alot more and thats where I seem to catch my bass.....although the islands tend to give one or two up still. I have been searching and searching for the proper bait to hit all of the milfoil on the lake and I will once again try another approach this coming weekend. I find it VERY difficult to find a weed edge in there as the milfoil is just taking over alot of the lake. The fish are very hard to find in those weeds although the electronics show they are in there. Is anyone else having any success in the milfoil? If so......what have you been using. I also decided to head to Scotts Run for an hour after Hopewell last weekend; that lake is awful right now with all the weeds. I talked to a guy who caught a 17" bass out of there that day on a live minnow....but other than that......that is a real tough lake. Last year I could easily head over there with a buzzbait and tear up on the pickeral.....not even a single strike on Sunday. I found the channel/weed edge with my electronics and ran everything I had along the edge.....not a single strike. So I hope everyone else is having alot more luck than I have recently. I have been thinking of heading to Marsh Creek; but I have NEVER been there; wouldnt even know where to start. I sure would love to change it up for a day and catch a muskie though.

[fishncool]

I like to keep records too. I havent been to Hopewell this year but reading youre reports makes me and a few hundred others want to think about it or act upon it. lets face it, The fish get pressured, they get hooked and yanked around. they get injured and have to recover. fish have senses we will never understand fully. sometimes they get fooled easy and you think how could this fish get so big and be so stupid. most times they will ignore the lure. some people including myself are catching fish all summer at Marsh. (not as many as you have at Hopewell)the reason 1) experience 2) water clarity is favorable for the angler ie: the water is not as clear as most years. try something new, be it presentation, lure or time of day. the ol'weedless spoon might be the ticket for ya. some of these new frogs are better than ever too

[Deleted]

Believe me....Hopewell is anything but good right now. It had some very nice bright spots earlier in the year....but now...not so much. I have been trying to hit 200 bass for the season for weeks now; everytime I go I get to add 2 or 3 to the count. If this was back in May; I'd be up to 250 by now. I know fishing always gets tougher in the heat of summer and I expect to catch less; its just been a rough summer. I'm not crying though (haha); a day on the lake with even one fish is certainly better than the best day at work. I am just struggling right now to catch the quantities that I know I can. As far as the milfoil; its real rough to fish....at least to me it is. I have thrown buzzbaits; spooks; Koppers Live Target Frogs; Wake Baits.....you name it; they just dont seem to want to come up for anything. I WILL figure it out and will be rewarded for that...its just taking longer than I had hoped. I also do not consider myself to be a finesse style fisherman; but thats what seems to be working rightn now......I am not necessarily a person who enjoys fishing in the deepest part of the lake either.....but; in order to catch fish you need to stay versatile......thats what I am doing for now.

SERIOUSLY GUYS.....I am not crying at all......I just want to know how to pull those darn Bass out of the dang milfoil....haha!

[aaronjeffries]

I'm with you Frogman. I started fishing Hopewell last year and was very frustrated during the summer. I ended up fishing other bodies of water over the summer. At the same time it seems like a waste giving up on such a nice lake for several months.

I admire your persistence, Frogman. Somebody out there knows where the bass go during the hot months.

Does anyone know if they are feeding more at night during the summer? Where do they hang out on hot days? Could they be extra skiddish from all boat rentals?

[Deleted]

Went out to Hopewell again on Saturday (7/16). A better day than the previous 2-3 trips. I ended up bringing in 8 bass on Saturday. 7 of them were average size 12-13" but I did catch one that was 2-1/2 lbs.....not huge; but I was certainly happy. All bass were caught on a finesse shakey head except the larger one was caught on a jig-n-pig. All bass were caught in 9-13 feet of water. I was fishing the "ledge" off to the left of the dam. As I expressed in an early post; I am certainly not a finesse fisherman...but I broguth the spinning gear along just-in-case and that seemd to be the ticket. It was a full moom though so they may have contributed to my "success". I iwll keep at it though and keep trying to hook up with one of those charmed days. A nice day of about 20 bass would be awesome....I will keep looking and keep changing tactics til I found what works. But as aaron had stated as well......Hopewell gets VERY TOUGH over the Summer.