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  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Albertville, Al
    Posts
    4,686

    Clinton report ?

    Hows the bite on Clinton?

  2. Member Philly's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Clinton Lake, IL
    Posts
    4,617
    #2
    I have been dealing with ruptured spinal discs and I've not been fish'n nearly as much as usual. I (foolishly) tried to fish the NBAA Tounament on Clinton this past Saturday. I went straight to the back end of Houseboat (all the way back past where it makes the left turn) because there are normally some late bed fish back there. I started flipp'n the laydowns with a 5/8 ounce black jig and I caught a 4.3 lber within the first 30 mins, but my back and right leg were already on fire by that time. I saw another 4over on a bed and worked on her for about 20 mins and then moved on with the intention of coming back to her. I stuck a really nice fish 5lbs + on the jig and she got me wrapped up in a lay down. I was fish'n by myself and I literally could NOT bend over to grab the fish and my efforts with the net were futile and she ended up pulling off. By that time I was about physically shot and it was only about 0800 hrs. The water was perfect color in the back of Houseboat. It was 65.7 degrees back there and the water was up about a foot, so all of the laydowns and bushes had good water on them. My back and leg were hurting so bad that I decided to go idle some deep post-spawn stuff to see if I could maybe find a school, catch 2 more(3 fish limit) and just go to weigh-in and wait it out. I found a little school on the roadbed that runs out of Jungle, dropped a waypoint, and turned around to throw on them. 1st cast with a Carolina Rig...THUMP! It was at this point that it dawned on me that there was NO WAY that I could pivot at my hips and sweep-set the way that I normally do with a C-Rig..lol. Anyhow, I sort of half-ass reeled into the fish and she pulled back and then proceed to come straight up out of 23' water, head shake, and throw my Brush Hog right out of her mouth. That fish was a long,skinny post spawner that was probably around 4 lbs. That ended up being my last fish of a very frustrating day. I thought for a minute about going back to Houseboat to work on that bed fish for awhile, but I just didn't feel like dealing with the long idle through all of that standing timber to get back there. I went in early, weighed in my one fish and went home.
    I'm certain that there were a lot more fish in the back end of Houseboat and I'd bet that there are probably some in the back of Jungle and Rt. 10 cove as well. Water temps were high 60's all over the West Side of the lake. I haven't been up above DeWitt at all in the past couple weeks, so I couldn't tell you much about what is going on up there, but I'm pretty sure that the Carp probably have the bank all tire to check up there right now if it is anything like it normally is this time of year.