The little breeze that I saw as I got the boat ready at my house turned into a strong and consistent wind by the time I got to the lake - but regardless, I hit Downs this morning with visions of big bass filling up my boat. It was really difficult to navigate the lake with the trolling motor and the wind was so strong that it blew me all over the place - even with my anchor down.

I heard that fishing the shore - or as close as you could get to it - was the way to find the bass but I found it to be a really bad day. I fished the north and south sides of the lake all day, using darn-near every lure in my box. The most action I got were some nibbles on a crawdad fat rap and a blue/black spinner bait from what looked to be 6-8-inch trout. One of them was actually hooked but it spit the hook when it jumped out of the water. All in all, i saw my lures get hit only about 5-6 times and I saw another 2-3 fish follow it up to the boat only to turn away.

I talked to three other boats on the lake and it sounded as if they were having the same experience as me. It was a hot day (89 when I got off the lake at about 2:30) and combined with the wind, that was apparently enough to keep the fish at home today. I did get a nice sunburn though.

This was my first trip to Downs and won't be my last. However, I'll stay home or try another spot if the flags are moving at all