Post by greywalls on Dec 27, 2017 10:35:17 GMT -5
Weather: 40 dropping to 30 (pretty dang chilly at 50mph in a bass boat)
Water Temp: 51
Technique: 4 downlines, 2 boards, 6"-8" gizzards
Time: 5:30am - 11:30am
A buddy and I headed out on Christmas Eve in his boat to try our luck for a few hours in advance of family festivities. We met up at New London at a very early 4:30am, and were in the water at Hales Ford around 5:30am. Thank goodness that he had an extra Cabelas parka and bibs, as my setup was not nearly adequate for the boat ride (and I now know what I'll be buying with Christmas funds!).
We ventured into the back of a creek, and immediately found a monster bait ball in 20 FOW. Three tosses with a 10' Cracker and we had two dozen frisky 6" to 8" gizzards in the tank, well before any signs of dawn.
Eventually we headed up the lake and started putting out lines once the sky lightened enough to see. First time experimenting with planer boards, so it was interesting to try a new technique. We had just started letting out the second board, when the first board went under - bam. Came undone nearly as quickly though, with nothing to show but a stolen bait. That was the only board action for the day.
About 20 mins into fishing, we connected on a downline and boated a pretty 27" fish. A few minutes later, another rod got hit - but we missed the fish. Then, drifting across a point, a rod got nailed at 15', and I was surprised to see the fight quickly come to the surface -- I boated a 5lb 0oz LMB, with my 8" gizzard swallowed head first! After this, another downline got hit, and I wrestled with a nice fish that unfortunately came unbuttoned right at the boat -- interestingly, another striper was following behind the hooked one, and both flashed back down to the depths. A half hour later, another fish on -- and we boated another 27" fish that was identical to the first. We managed to get hit several more times, but didn't catch anything else.
Beautiful day, no boat traffic, and tons of fun. I plan to go out again before New Year's, for sure.
Water Temp: 51
Technique: 4 downlines, 2 boards, 6"-8" gizzards
Time: 5:30am - 11:30am
A buddy and I headed out on Christmas Eve in his boat to try our luck for a few hours in advance of family festivities. We met up at New London at a very early 4:30am, and were in the water at Hales Ford around 5:30am. Thank goodness that he had an extra Cabelas parka and bibs, as my setup was not nearly adequate for the boat ride (and I now know what I'll be buying with Christmas funds!).
We ventured into the back of a creek, and immediately found a monster bait ball in 20 FOW. Three tosses with a 10' Cracker and we had two dozen frisky 6" to 8" gizzards in the tank, well before any signs of dawn.
Eventually we headed up the lake and started putting out lines once the sky lightened enough to see. First time experimenting with planer boards, so it was interesting to try a new technique. We had just started letting out the second board, when the first board went under - bam. Came undone nearly as quickly though, with nothing to show but a stolen bait. That was the only board action for the day.
About 20 mins into fishing, we connected on a downline and boated a pretty 27" fish. A few minutes later, another rod got hit - but we missed the fish. Then, drifting across a point, a rod got nailed at 15', and I was surprised to see the fight quickly come to the surface -- I boated a 5lb 0oz LMB, with my 8" gizzard swallowed head first! After this, another downline got hit, and I wrestled with a nice fish that unfortunately came unbuttoned right at the boat -- interestingly, another striper was following behind the hooked one, and both flashed back down to the depths. A half hour later, another fish on -- and we boated another 27" fish that was identical to the first. We managed to get hit several more times, but didn't catch anything else.
Beautiful day, no boat traffic, and tons of fun. I plan to go out again before New Year's, for sure.
