I don't think it's the summer doldrums, because on any summer day like yesterday, I'd have caught 20, 30 or 40 bass with good conditions like that. The low light conditions should have meant any fish holding on or near the ledges I fish, should have been less weiry and more prone to feed.
Even on a bright summer day, prior to last year, I'd have given you the title to my boat if I couldn't catch 10 fish by first light. When the sun got up higher, I might have to work a little harder, but 20 fish days were a given. Even during the dog days of July & August, I would routinely break 30 or 40 fish days. This isn't about heat, water temperature or even forage based on what I marked on the fish finder yesterday, it's about a lack of stripers. I didn't break 30 fish during June, a month that historically was always giving up 30, with many 40, 50 and even 60+ fish days.
I swear if I didn't have 3 boys still at home and too many other obligations, I might be considering a move out to Lake Powell. Out there they actually want you to harvest as many fish as you possible can in a day's fishing; there is no size or bag limits. Stripers are breeding like bunnies and they have a lake full of them, plus the lake features my other favorite the smallmouth bass. Can you guess where I'm thinking of retiring
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