Crying over lost bait - 11/22

[deerview]

My wife and I decided to come up Friday evening to get away before we prepare for all the family get togethers this week. I wanted to do a little fishing Sat. morning before finishing up some leaves and other chores. I turned my dock light on and cast a net on a neighbor's light and came down several times to get some nice ales and some peanuts. I stored them in my bait tank summerged at the dock and left the top open. Sat. morning, I woke up to 22 degrees and fog on portions of the lower lake. I loaded the rods and tackle, filled my bait tank on the boat and raised the bait tank at the dock and all my ales were gone! What was left were a few half ales. I have never had this problem before. The tank is four feet deep and I thought ducks had gotten to them. One of the neighbors said a family of musk rats had taken residence a few docks up. I wanted to cry, but I pulled my big boy panties up and laughed it off and headed out anyway.

AT 22-24 degrees
WT 54-55 degrees

7:00am to 10:30am

I headed out looking for birds and breaking fish. I did see hundreds of birds during the morning, but no breaking fish. I fished several coves with just a few fish in them. I did find a large school in some trees. I lost some jigs and spoons in the trees, but did hook up to a nice fish before it broke off in the trees. With the wind whitecapping, I looked in some other areas that was calm, but finally decided to head back about 10:30am. I could not get the skunk off the boat, but I enjoyed the morning and the quiet time on the lake.

[mwardncsu]

Did they chew through your cage or get in from the top? Nothing worse than finding hard-caught bait gone.....

Weird on the wind.... we were fishing on the upper Roanoke side of the lake and it was slick as glass till after lunch, but my buddy talked to one of his other friends that was fishing down in Bulls Run on on the Blackwater side somewhere and he also said the wind was bad and the lake was whitecapping... you would have never known it where we were.....

[deerview]

I had the top open. I have not had a problem before. I figured it was ducks or the rats. If it was the rats, they could have chewed through. Some of the guys will lock the tops down and sink the cage a couple of feet below the surface. They had raccoon problems several years ago.

On the wind, it was a westerly wind. I would motor to an area and let the wind push me across the tree tops. I could not sit still enough to jig straight down. When I came up by R3, water was splashing over the side of my pontoon.

I still had a great time.

[catsnstripers]

Otters