Jeff's guest is his son Haydn of Williams Guide Service. People are already posting deer pictures; the first half of the year everyone's crazy about fishing, the last half about hunting.
White Bass
Haydn says it's been a really good year, and he doesn't remember ever catching as many big ones. They're still on a lot of humps around the islands from Sailboat Bridge to the Drowning Creek area, really all through the lake. Other guides report great White Bass fishing up Elk River. Haydn stays around Shangri-La, where he launches his trips, plus the Horse Creek and Goat Island areas.
Technique
He's been throwing spoons for the last month or so. On days they won't hit the spoon, he ties a double rig using a Fish Lucke Tie2 jig: a 1/16-ounce jig or something much smaller than the spoon right above it. Even on busting or schooling fish, try a swimming minnow on that rig; the extra weight sinks it faster to get down to them. Jeff adds that the Tie2 ahead of a Dinner Spinner (or an inline spinner) keeps line twist out. Tie it to your main line by the top loop and a dropper off the bottom.
Crappie
Haydn went looking for some to eat after a White Bass trip around Shangri-La. He caught about a limit off one brush pile, but the next day there wasn't a fish on it. There are definitely Crappie in the lake. When the lake drops a bit more and clears up, it could be a different story, and it'll be main-lake structure, as always this time of year.
Contact
Haydn's guide website is fishgrand.com.
Dealers
Area dealers that handle Fish Lucke products, especially Littlefield's.