Rich Lingor May Report Finds San Antonio's Lake With Plenty Of Water
Lake San Antonio's reopening greeted anxious visitors with plenty of water and pretty good results for hopeful anglers. There is about one hundred feet more depth and ten miles more length from the low of 45 feet in depth and 3 miles in length when it was at 3% of capacity. Fish are spread out over a much greater area. While instant water does not mean instant fish, the vagabonds migrating into their newly refurbished housing will look for the familiar elements of cover and structure that provide security, comfort and adequate forage. Offspring from spawning efforts will find ample security and cover. Flooded brush is ubiquitous. The good fishing should continue to improve over time.
My opening day field research trip with my guest Bill Seward found morning water surface temperatures to be unexpectedly low compared to observations at the neighboring reservoirs. When the water warms about 10 degrees,we can expect the shad spawn to kick into gear and be the next straw to stir the activity. May brings the the heaviest shad traffic to the shallows for spawning and the game fish follow them like a herd of cows behind a hay wagon. Most of the shad will move back to deeper water when the mid-day sunshine brightens, lifting morning fog or clouds, shifting seasonal migration to time of day migration.
Bill and I managed 14 Small Mouth bass, 1 Catfish and 1 Crappie. Slow presentations in spawning zones were the key ingredients. Other anglers reported catching a couple of Large Mouth bass. Trollers passing by targeting striped bass reported no sucess, while others had connected early while the morning shadows were still on the water.
April "field research" with Rob Johnson found spotted bass and white bass at Lake Nacimiento spawning in some parts of the lake and actively chasing shad in other zones.
Tight Lines !
