Coffee Pot has a lower water level for this time of year then it has in recent years. It is three feet down from the historical highs shown on the cliff walls, and two feet down from just a month ago. To make passage into the farthest third of the lake you actually need to get out of the boat and push through the weeds. The weeds are too thick for even a shallow set electric trolling motor. In fact, for all practical purposes, it is no longer possible to get to the back section.
Water temperatures are also colder then normal for this time of year, with surface temperatures around 72 degrees in the morning, climbing to about 78 at night. The alge is starting, but normally the lake is so thick it looks like pea soup; not this year.
Having said all of this, the main lake thermocline is at 19 to 21 feet, and the trout are sitting in it. Except for rare occations, the trout were always in this zone. We C&R'd some nice ones, unclipped fins. The LMB were also hungry, but most of the fish were small, again C&R'd.
Some one had been targeting perch. They had dumped 30 or 40 filleted out remains near the dock, along with the remains of a nice bass (5 or 6 lb?) I don't know when they did it, but I saw no signs of crayfish in it yet, so they must be pretty fresh. The perch appeared to be about 8".
Oh ya, forget to mention one rattle snake killed by a local farmer near the camp spots. You must watch your kids and pets if you are at Coffee Pot!
In summary, we did pretty well on Friday and Saturday, but the fishing is pretty much into the hot dog days of summmer mode for now.