Hopes of catching bass at Bull Shoals seemed to be blowing in the wind at today's takeoff. It certainly didn't feel like good weather for fishing, with a northwest wind gusting from 10 to 20 miles-per-hour, which flapped the American flag and spun the windmill atop Bull Shoals Boat Dock.
But, as early catches have shown, this lake is getting primed for it's spring explosion. The water surface temperature in the boat dock was 60 degrees yesterday and had cooled to 54 degrees this morning.
That slight, brief cooling isn't going to stop the spawning process. And it's going to get increasingly warmer the rest of the way.
Predicted highs and lows for Bull Shoals:
Friday – 57 high, 34 low
Saturday – 68 high, 43 low
Sunday – 70 high, 43 low
Monday – 71 high, 51 low
It's forecast that there will also be some wind each day, shifting to the south-southeast over the weekend.
This is setting up as a "perfect spawning storm."
Often when you try to predict the weather or fishing, you'll find yourself horribly wrong. So keep that in mind.
But the 12 Elite Series anglers that qualify for Monday's final may be extremely happy that B.A.S.S. officials postponed Day 1 of the Ramada Quest yesterday. The clouds and warm weather that all 100 anglers craved Thursday are predicted to be there Monday, with a SSE wind at 8 mph.
And it would come after a three-day warming trend. The fireworks may just be started at Bull Shoals.