Post by mwardncsu on Feb 22, 2017 22:11:57 GMT -5
Weather: mid-50's, light rain on and off all day - overcast if not raining. No wind to speak of
Water: 50-52, visibility fo 4-5'
Techniques: Freeline planers with 8 - 14" gizzards (3-4 bank-side, 1-2 deep-side) and a freeline float with a dollar-bill gizzard
Time Fished: 8:15a - 12:30p
Last day of what was an extended fishing break taking advantage of the unseasonably warm temps - today excluded.... I decided that I'd take a bit of "field trip", and go check how Gator, Lund1/2 and Cohesion have been treating my "stringer" which I keep over there. I left the dock about 7:15 and stopped to add a few gizzards from the shed tank to what I had still in my bait-tank and headed on down lake. On the way I had a whim to try a lower-lake creek so I spent about an hour pulling that creek - no action to be found unfortunately so I picked up and moved on to my target area on the other side of the lake.
I had a lot of water to cover - had pulled for probably 45 min or so without as much as a bait coming to the surface. This happened to be an area I fished last spring and landed my PB at the time - an 38.25" / 25 lb striper in March. I had just texted Tyler that I should have probably stayed over on my side of the lake - but that there was hope as I had not yet come to the area where we caught that fish last year.
I kid you not - within feet of where the fish hit last year - the planer board went flying - the third board from the bank with a big bait. I picked up the rod and started to reel - having to work the rod under the back two rods and try and keep tension on the line. About the time I got the rod clear it felt as if the fish had spit the bait / hook - I didn't want to reel in hopes it would come back - but I reeled a bit and then the rod loaded back up - the fish had been swimming at the boat.... it then turned and ran out to the deeper water and was pulling drag - I could feel by the weight that this was a good fish. I had the drag a little loose so I tightened it down a click or two..... it was about then I felt that dreaded "pop" - of a hook pulling..... reeled it in, heart-broken - to find that the stinger hook had bent open a bit.
I kept on pulling - hoping to put that behind me - a ways on down the pull I had something roll fairly violently on one of the deep-side free-line boards with a dollar-bill - and then came back and hammer the bait and managed to run off without getting the hook in the process. Fortunately - just a minute or so later the bank-side board with a dollar-bill buried and in short-order I had a fish to the boat that I think went 33" although it was only 9-10 lbs. At least the skunk was off for the day......
I pulled all the way to the back of one finger of this area and then started to work around a rocky point to another finger when I managed to get all my boards tangled up - had to cut & retie a few and re-set for the pull..... a couple hundred feet into the pull one of the boards found a submerged tree and hung - and just at that moment the other board went down - great.... two hangs I though..... but when I picked up that rod it pulled back - and not like a limb.... Fish On!
This one did not want to head to the deeper water - but tried to head back to the bank-side timber so I had to give it a little more heat - worrief the whole time I was going to pull the stinger or bend it or whatever.... (if it was hooked by the stinger....)
As so often happens - when I got my 1st look at the fish I did not think it was all that long - until I got it in the net and saw it's girth. She was a bit beat up - looked like a fish during the spawn - thought it is very early for that...... not sure if something else was going on with this one or not... She went 37.75" and 21 lbs - I would have thought it would have been heavier based on the thickness of that fish - but guess it was not all that long.
I pulled on around without any more action there - headed back out to where I lost the 1st fish to see if it was back home - not too far from where I lost it I hooked up again - another good fight but this one another 33" - though it weighed closer to 15 lbs....
Packed it up at that point and headed off to try and find some more big bait.... not a lot to report on that front other than some sore muscles.......
Good way to wrap up a good few days of fishing - with my 2nd citation of 2017..... And y'all say the Blackwater doesn't have any good fish......
Water: 50-52, visibility fo 4-5'
Techniques: Freeline planers with 8 - 14" gizzards (3-4 bank-side, 1-2 deep-side) and a freeline float with a dollar-bill gizzard
Time Fished: 8:15a - 12:30p
Last day of what was an extended fishing break taking advantage of the unseasonably warm temps - today excluded.... I decided that I'd take a bit of "field trip", and go check how Gator, Lund1/2 and Cohesion have been treating my "stringer" which I keep over there. I left the dock about 7:15 and stopped to add a few gizzards from the shed tank to what I had still in my bait-tank and headed on down lake. On the way I had a whim to try a lower-lake creek so I spent about an hour pulling that creek - no action to be found unfortunately so I picked up and moved on to my target area on the other side of the lake.
I had a lot of water to cover - had pulled for probably 45 min or so without as much as a bait coming to the surface. This happened to be an area I fished last spring and landed my PB at the time - an 38.25" / 25 lb striper in March. I had just texted Tyler that I should have probably stayed over on my side of the lake - but that there was hope as I had not yet come to the area where we caught that fish last year.
I kid you not - within feet of where the fish hit last year - the planer board went flying - the third board from the bank with a big bait. I picked up the rod and started to reel - having to work the rod under the back two rods and try and keep tension on the line. About the time I got the rod clear it felt as if the fish had spit the bait / hook - I didn't want to reel in hopes it would come back - but I reeled a bit and then the rod loaded back up - the fish had been swimming at the boat.... it then turned and ran out to the deeper water and was pulling drag - I could feel by the weight that this was a good fish. I had the drag a little loose so I tightened it down a click or two..... it was about then I felt that dreaded "pop" - of a hook pulling..... reeled it in, heart-broken - to find that the stinger hook had bent open a bit.
I kept on pulling - hoping to put that behind me - a ways on down the pull I had something roll fairly violently on one of the deep-side free-line boards with a dollar-bill - and then came back and hammer the bait and managed to run off without getting the hook in the process. Fortunately - just a minute or so later the bank-side board with a dollar-bill buried and in short-order I had a fish to the boat that I think went 33" although it was only 9-10 lbs. At least the skunk was off for the day......
I pulled all the way to the back of one finger of this area and then started to work around a rocky point to another finger when I managed to get all my boards tangled up - had to cut & retie a few and re-set for the pull..... a couple hundred feet into the pull one of the boards found a submerged tree and hung - and just at that moment the other board went down - great.... two hangs I though..... but when I picked up that rod it pulled back - and not like a limb.... Fish On!
This one did not want to head to the deeper water - but tried to head back to the bank-side timber so I had to give it a little more heat - worrief the whole time I was going to pull the stinger or bend it or whatever.... (if it was hooked by the stinger....)
As so often happens - when I got my 1st look at the fish I did not think it was all that long - until I got it in the net and saw it's girth. She was a bit beat up - looked like a fish during the spawn - thought it is very early for that...... not sure if something else was going on with this one or not... She went 37.75" and 21 lbs - I would have thought it would have been heavier based on the thickness of that fish - but guess it was not all that long.
I pulled on around without any more action there - headed back out to where I lost the 1st fish to see if it was back home - not too far from where I lost it I hooked up again - another good fight but this one another 33" - though it weighed closer to 15 lbs....
Packed it up at that point and headed off to try and find some more big bait.... not a lot to report on that front other than some sore muscles.......
Good way to wrap up a good few days of fishing - with my 2nd citation of 2017..... And y'all say the Blackwater doesn't have any good fish......
