Went to Ballinger to meet up with friend Pete, who is finally able to fish again after being laid up with a bad back. Arrived at the lake at 7:00AM and was fishing by 7:15. Night air was cold (45 degrees upon arrival) and the lake was absolutely flat. Saw some fish hitting the surface early, then very sporadic through the rest of the day. Water temp was 58 degrees at 10'. Started out fishing with worms and Power Eggs/or marshmallows. Pete had a bite about 20 minutes in... the start of a good day!???... not! Couldn't get any fish to bite on bait. I began spin casting various lures of varying colors... had one fish on about 9:00, about 12" Rainbow, threw hook on a spectacular leap, up close to the pier. Had perhaps a dozen more hits, with only one more hook-up about 2:00, same scenario... thrown hook on an aggressive leap out of the water.Silver seemed to be the attracting color on various spoons, spinners, etc. Tried plugs, all different colors of Power Bait, salmon eggs, everything in the tackle bag... nada!! Pete left at 11:00. Couple more fishermen came and went, no fish caught. Did switch up to a worm under a float in the afternoon, had one "bobber down"... and reeled in half of my worm.
Only fish I saw caught all day, was a fingerling bass caught by a Pied-billed Grebe that hung around the pier all day. Even the couple Cormorants I watched seemed to be frustrated by the lack of fish available.
Lake was as smooth as glass all day long. I know that the lake still holds plenty of fish, but they just weren't interested in biting. I try to observe and to learn as much as I can, every single time I go fishing... even when not catching fish. I remember a similar day of fishing at Ballinger this past Spring. It too happened a day or two after a heavy rainfall, and the water level of the lake had risen dramatically, as it has in the past couple of days. The water clarity was far less than it was when I fished here last Saturday in a wind storm... the reason I couldn't catch fish then was due to not being able to discern the bites I was having. Perhaps the heavy runoff into the inlet stream (which flows through a golf course and through the concrete jungle of various neighborhoods) carries enough silt (and maybe chemicals) to put off the bite until the lake can stabilize? Will bear watching... and learning. PTL!