11-21-18 Pre-Thanksgiving Hunt
Nov 22, 2018 13:36:13 GMT -5
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BentRod, jb4sml, and 6 more like this
Post by R22 on Nov 22, 2018 13:36:13 GMT -5
SeaJay and got a later start to the morning, heading out at 8:30, to hunt for bait, expecting our chances of success to increase after the sun was up for a bit. Sleeping in proved to be a good move as we would need the extra rest.
After 5.5 hours of a bait search, we had a grand total of zero baits in the tank. We searched everywhere, shallow and deep in almost every creek. Peanuts everywhere we went. As the morning faded into afternoon SeaJay and I were doing our best to find opportunities to stop without the other thinking the other was a quitter. We were both hungry and agreed to check one more creek at 3 pm before stopping for a mid-afternoon lunch.
Finally, we found some decent bait in 30 feet of water. 45 minutes later, we had 40 baits that we planned to put in the home tank for use later in the weekend. It was at that point, that SeaJay became a hostage on my boat. We split a piece of ham and a beef jerky and decided we would at least fish our way out of the creek.
The next hour turned out well. We immediately found fish. Our first hookup looked like some mutant sort of fish. We lost it just short of the boat. We both hot a good look at the fish. It looked like a catfish that was shaped like a turtle. It must have been a foot wide and maybe eighteen inches long. I wish we could have gotten into the boat for a picture.
A few hundred yards into the pull we had fish blowing up our baits but no hookup. We made a loop and went through again picking up a nice fish at 32 inches.
We ended up circling back and going through the same spot 6 or 7 times. Caught 3 fish and missed another 4 or 5.
The day turned out to be decent after all. Always a good time with SeaJay and when it was all over we both felt good about persevering when the easiest thing to do was quit.
For those heading out for a Thanksgiving weekend fish, I hope bait gets a little easier.
I haven't been fishing as long as many of you. The last 5-6 years striper fishing on SML have been some of the best times. I am thankful for each of you. A special thanks to Travis Patsell for your never ending willingness to help me. You get little in return but I sure appreciate you. To SeaJay, we make a good team. Thanks for your help and your friendship. To JohnK, it has been my pleasure to get to know you and your wife. I do not take your willingness to share lightly. Mike Ward, I appreciate all that you do for the striper fishing community at SML. And to the rest, thanks for your willingness to share your knowledge. Without all of you, I am not sure I may have persevered when times are tough.
Happy Thanksgiving!
After 5.5 hours of a bait search, we had a grand total of zero baits in the tank. We searched everywhere, shallow and deep in almost every creek. Peanuts everywhere we went. As the morning faded into afternoon SeaJay and I were doing our best to find opportunities to stop without the other thinking the other was a quitter. We were both hungry and agreed to check one more creek at 3 pm before stopping for a mid-afternoon lunch.
Finally, we found some decent bait in 30 feet of water. 45 minutes later, we had 40 baits that we planned to put in the home tank for use later in the weekend. It was at that point, that SeaJay became a hostage on my boat. We split a piece of ham and a beef jerky and decided we would at least fish our way out of the creek.
The next hour turned out well. We immediately found fish. Our first hookup looked like some mutant sort of fish. We lost it just short of the boat. We both hot a good look at the fish. It looked like a catfish that was shaped like a turtle. It must have been a foot wide and maybe eighteen inches long. I wish we could have gotten into the boat for a picture.
A few hundred yards into the pull we had fish blowing up our baits but no hookup. We made a loop and went through again picking up a nice fish at 32 inches.
We ended up circling back and going through the same spot 6 or 7 times. Caught 3 fish and missed another 4 or 5.
The day turned out to be decent after all. Always a good time with SeaJay and when it was all over we both felt good about persevering when the easiest thing to do was quit.
For those heading out for a Thanksgiving weekend fish, I hope bait gets a little easier.
I haven't been fishing as long as many of you. The last 5-6 years striper fishing on SML have been some of the best times. I am thankful for each of you. A special thanks to Travis Patsell for your never ending willingness to help me. You get little in return but I sure appreciate you. To SeaJay, we make a good team. Thanks for your help and your friendship. To JohnK, it has been my pleasure to get to know you and your wife. I do not take your willingness to share lightly. Mike Ward, I appreciate all that you do for the striper fishing community at SML. And to the rest, thanks for your willingness to share your knowledge. Without all of you, I am not sure I may have persevered when times are tough.
Happy Thanksgiving!
