4/3/15 - Now even Nature is crowding my spots!
Apr 4, 2015 17:39:27 GMT -5
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widgeon3 likes this
Post by mwardncsu on Apr 4, 2015 17:39:27 GMT -5
Weather: Beautiful spring morning - temps in the low 60's, mostly clear, no wind 
Water: 54-55, visibility of just a few feet
Techniques: Money-maker & larger gizzards on freeline planers - 3 against the bank, 1 on the deeper side. One freelined alewife and one lightline alewife
Time Fished: 6:45a - 9:30a
Made my way up to the lake early for the weekend - slipped out at lunchtime to try and catch some bait. 2 hours later of throwing in 20+ mile winds I had a pitiful bait tank to show for it....
Wrapped up my calls and headed back out at 5:30 - the wind was worse..... love those 40 mph gusts...
I knew better than to try and throw into the wind - the wind was so bad it made just loading it a challenge. At one point when I thew the net with the wind at my back the wind grabbed it and took it almost the full distance of the rope away from me before it hit the water.....
Threw in several creeks - tore my shallow-water net so had to use my deep-water net - not so good in <10' - so I tried to find some deeper bait. Threw till after dark and around 8:30 I was finally able to catch some... in the next hour I loaded around 24 baits in the tank and then topped it off with a couple dozen small alewifes.
Working Friday but might as well get a few early hours in. Was thinking of heading up the lake to where some numbers are and reports of breaking fish have been, but decided to give my own creek a try for a little while. Set out just before 1st light and started pulling. Hooked up pretty quickly and ended up just staying there all morning.
Love a sun-rise striper!
Biggest fish of the day.... 30" and 13 lbs
Picked up a few more over the course of pulling the banks, and had a few swirls and one blow-up that the fish missed...
Along one pull I noticed an Osprey overhead - and he made a pass at one of my baits. I yelled at it and it waved off - for that pass. Came back for a 2nd pass and dive-bombed my bigged bait - fortunately it missed the bait. It made another pass on the deep-side planer - connecting with that one but not getting it out of the water..... Then it made one more pass back on the bank-side.... swooped and missed the bait, but as soon as it took off the board got nailed by a fish... no hook-up for me - hook turned into the bait....
I guess that fish was following the baits and had them pushed up to where the Osprey though it could get easy pickings.... Sucks when even nature is crowding you on your spots....
Bleeding out......
Picked up a few more - with size dropping as I caught until the last one - an inch and a pound shy of my 1st at 29" / 12 lbs.
Headed to the dock about 9:30 with a few hours of peaceful, no wind fishing behind me, having landed 5 fish, missed connects on a few and had one come off on the way to the boat.... not a bad morning at all.....
Water: 54-55, visibility of just a few feet
Techniques: Money-maker & larger gizzards on freeline planers - 3 against the bank, 1 on the deeper side. One freelined alewife and one lightline alewife
Time Fished: 6:45a - 9:30a
Made my way up to the lake early for the weekend - slipped out at lunchtime to try and catch some bait. 2 hours later of throwing in 20+ mile winds I had a pitiful bait tank to show for it....
Wrapped up my calls and headed back out at 5:30 - the wind was worse..... love those 40 mph gusts...
I knew better than to try and throw into the wind - the wind was so bad it made just loading it a challenge. At one point when I thew the net with the wind at my back the wind grabbed it and took it almost the full distance of the rope away from me before it hit the water.....Threw in several creeks - tore my shallow-water net so had to use my deep-water net - not so good in <10' - so I tried to find some deeper bait. Threw till after dark and around 8:30 I was finally able to catch some... in the next hour I loaded around 24 baits in the tank and then topped it off with a couple dozen small alewifes.
Working Friday but might as well get a few early hours in. Was thinking of heading up the lake to where some numbers are and reports of breaking fish have been, but decided to give my own creek a try for a little while. Set out just before 1st light and started pulling. Hooked up pretty quickly and ended up just staying there all morning.
Love a sun-rise striper!
Biggest fish of the day.... 30" and 13 lbs
Picked up a few more over the course of pulling the banks, and had a few swirls and one blow-up that the fish missed...
Along one pull I noticed an Osprey overhead - and he made a pass at one of my baits. I yelled at it and it waved off - for that pass. Came back for a 2nd pass and dive-bombed my bigged bait - fortunately it missed the bait. It made another pass on the deep-side planer - connecting with that one but not getting it out of the water..... Then it made one more pass back on the bank-side.... swooped and missed the bait, but as soon as it took off the board got nailed by a fish... no hook-up for me - hook turned into the bait....
I guess that fish was following the baits and had them pushed up to where the Osprey though it could get easy pickings.... Sucks when even nature is crowding you on your spots.... Bleeding out......
Picked up a few more - with size dropping as I caught until the last one - an inch and a pound shy of my 1st at 29" / 12 lbs.
Headed to the dock about 9:30 with a few hours of peaceful, no wind fishing behind me, having landed 5 fish, missed connects on a few and had one come off on the way to the boat.... not a bad morning at all.....
...... he got the bait about a foot out of the water and I was already starting to process what the heck I was going to do with osprey talons on the boat... looking for my towell Fortunately he dropped it without getting "stung".... 