Post by mwardncsu on Jan 16, 2016 22:46:43 GMT -5
Weather: Overcast in the AM with temps in mid 30's rising quickly into the 407s - light & variable till late morning when front blew in - changed to partly cloudy with winds 5-10 from NW with gusts to 15-20
Water: 45-47, visibility of 2-5'
Techniques: Medium to Mongo gizzards on freeline planers (3 bank-side, 1 on the neglected side, 1 3/8 oz light-line back about 50'), pulling creek banks
I had gone out on Friday am with the goal of chasing birds and casting to schooling fish, but while I and 20 other boats found the birds they didn't seem to be doing a lot. I had run up the lake following some birds and watched them in one creek - and marked a bunch of big bait, but it was still freezing so I didn't want to be throwing the net yet - figured I'd come back later and get them after chasing the birds - well, by the time I gave up on the birds without ever casting a rod, I went back and the bait was gone
So, I headed to another creek and found some smaller pods and threw for a while, netting 20 or so money-makers and a couple of larger baits to use Saturday AM.
I went back out to the main channel looking for deep bait and had a hard time remembering where I had seen it earlier. Marked some bait (I thought) deep......
Gave the net a toss and slid the StructureScan backwards and then forwards over it...... had plenty of time to kill......
What to you net at 55'? Flatheads apparently
Jumped on with Tyler in the evening, but he can report on that..... Saturday AM I ended up going out solo. Decided I'd just pull bait vs. chase birds and waste a lot of gas and play bumper-boats. Started in my own creek right as it got light. A bit of a slow start, but eventually found 32" 11 lber that put the skunk away for the day that hit the inside board with a money-maker.
Mid-morning I moved up the lake in search of some mongos - and succeeded in getting a bunch of money-makers along with some big boys- handed a dozen baits over to Gator that happened to be in the creek looking as well to give them some options.
Decided with so much bait in that creek there had to be some fish there too - pulled a stretch and had a roll and then a pull down with a missed hook-up, and stole one of my biggest baits - a bait with a stinker - sneaky fish
Doubled back and was talking to some guys that were throwing artificials when the middle board with a l10" or so bait got absolutely slammed - this one around 12 lbs / 33"
It was about 11am, and we had the Meet & Greet at 1pm, so I decided to head over to the creek where we were Meeting & Greeting and fish that till lunch at 1..... it was the dead sea - not sure if there were no fish or if the bite died as the front moved in over the previous hour and the wind picked up.....
Took a few hours off for lunch and the SML Fishing Forums Meet & Greet - good to see some old friends and put faces to names for some new ones..... Was trying to decide what to do after - the wind was blowing a bit, but when Brian was emptying his tank to head home, and he handed me this 14.5" giz-zilla, there was only one choice.... go fish.
I went down the lake to a creek I'd not fished in a month of so - the wind was terrible until a turned a point and got somewhat out of it. Giz-zilla was bank-side for about 100 yards out of the wind when he was eaten. Eaten by a tree 
I doubled back out of the creek with no action so I started to work back up the lake - hitting a mid-lake creek where I'd had some luck in years past in early Jan when water temps were in the upper 40s' - in the past the fish had been in the back on a point and sure enough - right on schedule, pulled 1/2 the creek with no action, then when the baits crossed that point - whamm..... Biggest of the day - a little over 33" and right at 14 lbs on my Bogas.... and I did't get a pic for some reason - thought he was going to be an "upgrade" for our Striper Club Fish Ladder but when I saw he wasn't I got the fish back I the water without a pic....
Decided I'd caught the one fish in that creek so daylight was fading I headed back to my creek for one last pull...... Pulled fora while with one or two half-hearted chases - Thought I had missed the window - and light was getting low - as well as the bank to pull - I was within 100' of the end of my pull when a inside board with a money-maker buried. Smallest fish of the day - 8 lbs and 26 or 27" - but ended the day with a win..
4 fish for the day - with most coming on the money-maker gizzards - biggest at 14 lbs.... 32", 33", 33.5", 27" - and a great sun-rise, then some good conversation & meeting some new folks over lunch - a nice day in any book.
Water: 45-47, visibility of 2-5'
Techniques: Medium to Mongo gizzards on freeline planers (3 bank-side, 1 on the neglected side, 1 3/8 oz light-line back about 50'), pulling creek banks
I had gone out on Friday am with the goal of chasing birds and casting to schooling fish, but while I and 20 other boats found the birds they didn't seem to be doing a lot. I had run up the lake following some birds and watched them in one creek - and marked a bunch of big bait, but it was still freezing so I didn't want to be throwing the net yet - figured I'd come back later and get them after chasing the birds - well, by the time I gave up on the birds without ever casting a rod, I went back and the bait was gone
So, I headed to another creek and found some smaller pods and threw for a while, netting 20 or so money-makers and a couple of larger baits to use Saturday AM.I went back out to the main channel looking for deep bait and had a hard time remembering where I had seen it earlier. Marked some bait (I thought) deep......
Gave the net a toss and slid the StructureScan backwards and then forwards over it...... had plenty of time to kill......
What to you net at 55'? Flatheads apparently
Jumped on with Tyler in the evening, but he can report on that..... Saturday AM I ended up going out solo. Decided I'd just pull bait vs. chase birds and waste a lot of gas and play bumper-boats. Started in my own creek right as it got light. A bit of a slow start, but eventually found 32" 11 lber that put the skunk away for the day that hit the inside board with a money-maker.
Mid-morning I moved up the lake in search of some mongos - and succeeded in getting a bunch of money-makers along with some big boys- handed a dozen baits over to Gator that happened to be in the creek looking as well to give them some options.
Decided with so much bait in that creek there had to be some fish there too - pulled a stretch and had a roll and then a pull down with a missed hook-up, and stole one of my biggest baits - a bait with a stinker - sneaky fish
Doubled back and was talking to some guys that were throwing artificials when the middle board with a l10" or so bait got absolutely slammed - this one around 12 lbs / 33"It was about 11am, and we had the Meet & Greet at 1pm, so I decided to head over to the creek where we were Meeting & Greeting and fish that till lunch at 1..... it was the dead sea - not sure if there were no fish or if the bite died as the front moved in over the previous hour and the wind picked up.....
Took a few hours off for lunch and the SML Fishing Forums Meet & Greet - good to see some old friends and put faces to names for some new ones..... Was trying to decide what to do after - the wind was blowing a bit, but when Brian was emptying his tank to head home, and he handed me this 14.5" giz-zilla, there was only one choice.... go fish.
I went down the lake to a creek I'd not fished in a month of so - the wind was terrible until a turned a point and got somewhat out of it. Giz-zilla was bank-side for about 100 yards out of the wind when he was eaten. Eaten by a tree
I doubled back out of the creek with no action so I started to work back up the lake - hitting a mid-lake creek where I'd had some luck in years past in early Jan when water temps were in the upper 40s' - in the past the fish had been in the back on a point and sure enough - right on schedule, pulled 1/2 the creek with no action, then when the baits crossed that point - whamm..... Biggest of the day - a little over 33" and right at 14 lbs on my Bogas.... and I did't get a pic for some reason - thought he was going to be an "upgrade" for our Striper Club Fish Ladder but when I saw he wasn't I got the fish back I the water without a pic....Decided I'd caught the one fish in that creek so daylight was fading I headed back to my creek for one last pull...... Pulled fora while with one or two half-hearted chases - Thought I had missed the window - and light was getting low - as well as the bank to pull - I was within 100' of the end of my pull when a inside board with a money-maker buried. Smallest fish of the day - 8 lbs and 26 or 27" - but ended the day with a win..
4 fish for the day - with most coming on the money-maker gizzards - biggest at 14 lbs.... 32", 33", 33.5", 27" - and a great sun-rise, then some good conversation & meeting some new folks over lunch - a nice day in any book.
