08-04-2021, 01:21 PM
Despite some technical difficulties I did get some video of the big one: https://youtu.be/zUzK7D7C0OY
ES: I fished out of Lincoln harbor 7/31/2021 from a little before 6 until just before 2 P.M. the first hour was at the ramp and produced 3 whites about 7” and 7 about 3”. Water temp in the main lake was 75 degrees when I left the harbor and almost 81 by 2 P.M. Winds were less than 5 MPH except right at sun-up and then only about 8. This trip averaged 1 fish short of 9 cats/hour and produced two personal bests, the most cats landed in a solo trip and my heaviest ever at 16.5 pounds and 31.5 inches. The cats ranged from 18 to 31.5 inches with most of them over 25 inches. They hit strolled WB on FLAITS fished from 3.5 to 6 FOW at speeds between 0.3 and 1.1 MPH. The preferred depth and speeds were 4 to 4.5 feet and 0.8 to 1 MPH. I fished both fresh and thawed WB with the fresh accounting for 2/3 of the cats. What a day!
FS: The last month has been a lot of fun fishing with grandkids. Today they were leaving town to visit the other grandparents in WA State. I decided to put in a long day, both to cover a good stretch of water and unwind from the trying to keep up with 4 youngsters in the boat. Last trip I had noticed that the two largest fish had hit larger baits with larger attractors indicating a more aggressive feeding pattern, so this week I planned to only fish larger attractors and baits. Sometimes plans can be carried out and sometimes you have to just wing it.
I got to the ramp at a little before 6 and the lot was empty. A couple of cars were parked at the end of the south dike and I could see the lights from a group night fishing about halfway down the channel. I backed the boat down to the end of ramp and uncovered it, then I got out my two ultralights and started working on bait for the day. I had hits almost every cast on the fly and bobber rig, but nothing on the spinner. After missing about 10 hits I finally hooked a tiny white on the #16 midge larva pattern. No wonder I missed so many hits and couldn’t hook them, they could barely get that little fly in their mouths. I have some #22 bare hook rigs for tiny bits of crawler, but in the dark I decided not to tie one on. Besides, I was hoping for 3 or 4 adults to cut up to fill my larger bait rigs.
Almost an hour later I had found no adults, only 7 of the 3 inch variety and 3 that were about 7 inches long. They would have to do. To my surprise no other boats had come to launch. I always worry the fishing is slow when I seem to be the only boat around, but not today!
I had decided to try the west side today and headed over there and ended up south of the knolls. The water was a little choppy from the transition winds, but it soon flattened out. I had the gear in the water by about 7 A.M. and the trip started just like the last 3, the first cat hit within 10 minutes and it was 26 inches long and feisty. The last couple of trips there was as good bite for the first hour or two yielding 6 to 8 cats/hour and then things gradually slowed down. Today started out faster with 9 or 10 in the first hour. The best fish was 28 ¾”, standard for me for the last month since I needed at least 29” for a contest bump. However, I had a good feeling about today.
About 9:30 or so my count was in the mid-twenties and Julie called. I get caught up in the catching sometimes and forget to make course corrections. Julie is good at getting me re-focused. I said it was a great morning and I’d already caught well over twenty cats, but no monsters. “If you aren’t catching the big ones, you should move to where they are,” she told me. She had also told me the day before that I had to catch one 31 ½” for her!
I had been keeping the boat in water 3.5 to 4.5 feet deep because it had produced well the last few weeks and the overall low water level made me think the fish were using the same areas that were 6 to 7 feet deep last year. I decided to follow her advice so I moved out and started keeping the boat in between 5 and 6 FOW.
The catch rate usually slows when I leave active fish to go deeper, but the average size usually increases. The next few fish supported both observed trends with 3 in a row 27 or larger and then I hit a flurry of 4 quick ones 24 to 26”. Maybe there just weren’t any big one around!
Just about 11 I hit another flurry of cookie cutters and realized that the catch rate hadn’t slowed like the last few trips. At the tail end of the flurry I was in the mid-thirties for the total count and had just netted one at 26 ½ inches when a fish hit on the far back rod. It seemed to hook up solidly so I left the rod in the holder and focused on unhooking the netted one for release. Just after measuring it on the board I heard the drag start singing from the rod holder. The fish was making a long run. “That looks like a good one!”
While I was staring at the line peeling off the reel still in the holder the fish in my hand twisted hard and fell to the floor. It would have to wait. I wrestled the rod free of the holder and started the battle. Just after I picked up the rod the run ended and I started working the fish toward the boat. When it was still 75 feet out it started another run. Not peeling line off the reel, but going mostly parallel to the boat, the line slicing through the water as it went and went and went and went.
I remember having to raise my rod so the line would go over the ends of the spare rods sticking straight up on the stern. I was in awe when I realized it had gone around 180 degrees from where it had been when it hooked up. Next thing I knew I was lifting the rod to get the line over the camera tripod mounted in the bow. And then I was back where I had started. It went all the way around boat in a circle with a 75 foot radius. “I’ve never had a cat run that far that fast before,” I thought.
The rest of the fight was mostly bulldogging and then I got it in the net. What a relief!
As I fastened down the net handle I remembered the camera. It had shut itself off twice for what I thought was overheating and I had set it on the dash and put a spare hat over it to allow it to cool. I hooked it back up started it. I held up the cat that was still on the floor and said: “We’ve been off the air for a while. Here is a cat 26.5” which is a really nice cat, but there is one it the net that is a monster!”
I released the smaller fish, put a gripper on the big one and laid it on the bump board. As I did, the screws holding the two parts of the board together pulled out. It was so heavy it broke my board! I had weighed two cats over 14 pounds on that board last year and this one broke it! After a short period of panic I saw that the screws had pulled out and realized I had longer screw somewhere on the boat. I quickly weighed it. 16 2/3 pounds with the gripper, so it was 16.5, a new personal best!
I had to get length measurements and pics for the contest, but I knew the cat needed to be in the water. With my net fasted down, about half of it was in the water so I put the fish back in the net while I found the longer screws and reattached the end of my board. I was finally able to measure, photograph and release the fish. 31.5”, a little short for 16.5 pounds, but I finally had one over the 30” for this year and I was pumped!.
The rest of trip was lots of fun, but a little anticlimactic. No more monsters, but lots more fish. Unlike other recent trips where the first hour or two saw 8 or 9 cats/hour and then things slowed down to where the overall trip average was more like 6/hour, this trip they just kept coming.
I had planned to fish until 2 P.M. and then call it a day, but Julie called about 1:30 to say that the grandkids hadn’t left on their vacation yet and I should come home and tell them goodbye. I caught one fish while she was on the phone and then flipped a back-up rod out while I unhooked it. Just after that I agreed I would quit and come home. Before I got the recent one released I had another one on. When I landed that one I didn’t put another bait back in the water, but the last rod hooked up while I was finishing that one. I think I might still be catching them if I hadn’t agreed to go home!
I did get home in time to say goodbye to my son and his family, but what a day. I had caught my heaviest cat ever and almost 20 more cats than my previous best for a single day.
I’ll be out of town next weekend and the grandkids will be back to following weekend. Things will be back to normal but I doubt I will ever get 2 personal bests like that in one day again! I’ll get a much needed chance to rest my arms though.
![[Image: Glassy-Sunrise.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/1z5p55q/Glassy-Sunrise.jpg)
![[Image: Tangled.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/k2r7bTW/Tangled.jpg)
![[Image: 16-5-Pound-Cat.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/XWRbPMN/16-5-Pound-Cat.jpg)
![[Image: Today-s-Toad.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/BjkS3gX/Today-s-Toad.jpg)
![[Image: Last-Double.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/hcrPPms/Last-Double.jpg)
![[Image: Baby-Bullhead-Cloud.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/jb5wfKr/Baby-Bullhead-Cloud.jpg)
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ES: I fished out of Lincoln harbor 7/31/2021 from a little before 6 until just before 2 P.M. the first hour was at the ramp and produced 3 whites about 7” and 7 about 3”. Water temp in the main lake was 75 degrees when I left the harbor and almost 81 by 2 P.M. Winds were less than 5 MPH except right at sun-up and then only about 8. This trip averaged 1 fish short of 9 cats/hour and produced two personal bests, the most cats landed in a solo trip and my heaviest ever at 16.5 pounds and 31.5 inches. The cats ranged from 18 to 31.5 inches with most of them over 25 inches. They hit strolled WB on FLAITS fished from 3.5 to 6 FOW at speeds between 0.3 and 1.1 MPH. The preferred depth and speeds were 4 to 4.5 feet and 0.8 to 1 MPH. I fished both fresh and thawed WB with the fresh accounting for 2/3 of the cats. What a day!
FS: The last month has been a lot of fun fishing with grandkids. Today they were leaving town to visit the other grandparents in WA State. I decided to put in a long day, both to cover a good stretch of water and unwind from the trying to keep up with 4 youngsters in the boat. Last trip I had noticed that the two largest fish had hit larger baits with larger attractors indicating a more aggressive feeding pattern, so this week I planned to only fish larger attractors and baits. Sometimes plans can be carried out and sometimes you have to just wing it.
I got to the ramp at a little before 6 and the lot was empty. A couple of cars were parked at the end of the south dike and I could see the lights from a group night fishing about halfway down the channel. I backed the boat down to the end of ramp and uncovered it, then I got out my two ultralights and started working on bait for the day. I had hits almost every cast on the fly and bobber rig, but nothing on the spinner. After missing about 10 hits I finally hooked a tiny white on the #16 midge larva pattern. No wonder I missed so many hits and couldn’t hook them, they could barely get that little fly in their mouths. I have some #22 bare hook rigs for tiny bits of crawler, but in the dark I decided not to tie one on. Besides, I was hoping for 3 or 4 adults to cut up to fill my larger bait rigs.
Almost an hour later I had found no adults, only 7 of the 3 inch variety and 3 that were about 7 inches long. They would have to do. To my surprise no other boats had come to launch. I always worry the fishing is slow when I seem to be the only boat around, but not today!
I had decided to try the west side today and headed over there and ended up south of the knolls. The water was a little choppy from the transition winds, but it soon flattened out. I had the gear in the water by about 7 A.M. and the trip started just like the last 3, the first cat hit within 10 minutes and it was 26 inches long and feisty. The last couple of trips there was as good bite for the first hour or two yielding 6 to 8 cats/hour and then things gradually slowed down. Today started out faster with 9 or 10 in the first hour. The best fish was 28 ¾”, standard for me for the last month since I needed at least 29” for a contest bump. However, I had a good feeling about today.
About 9:30 or so my count was in the mid-twenties and Julie called. I get caught up in the catching sometimes and forget to make course corrections. Julie is good at getting me re-focused. I said it was a great morning and I’d already caught well over twenty cats, but no monsters. “If you aren’t catching the big ones, you should move to where they are,” she told me. She had also told me the day before that I had to catch one 31 ½” for her!
I had been keeping the boat in water 3.5 to 4.5 feet deep because it had produced well the last few weeks and the overall low water level made me think the fish were using the same areas that were 6 to 7 feet deep last year. I decided to follow her advice so I moved out and started keeping the boat in between 5 and 6 FOW.
The catch rate usually slows when I leave active fish to go deeper, but the average size usually increases. The next few fish supported both observed trends with 3 in a row 27 or larger and then I hit a flurry of 4 quick ones 24 to 26”. Maybe there just weren’t any big one around!
Just about 11 I hit another flurry of cookie cutters and realized that the catch rate hadn’t slowed like the last few trips. At the tail end of the flurry I was in the mid-thirties for the total count and had just netted one at 26 ½ inches when a fish hit on the far back rod. It seemed to hook up solidly so I left the rod in the holder and focused on unhooking the netted one for release. Just after measuring it on the board I heard the drag start singing from the rod holder. The fish was making a long run. “That looks like a good one!”
While I was staring at the line peeling off the reel still in the holder the fish in my hand twisted hard and fell to the floor. It would have to wait. I wrestled the rod free of the holder and started the battle. Just after I picked up the rod the run ended and I started working the fish toward the boat. When it was still 75 feet out it started another run. Not peeling line off the reel, but going mostly parallel to the boat, the line slicing through the water as it went and went and went and went.
I remember having to raise my rod so the line would go over the ends of the spare rods sticking straight up on the stern. I was in awe when I realized it had gone around 180 degrees from where it had been when it hooked up. Next thing I knew I was lifting the rod to get the line over the camera tripod mounted in the bow. And then I was back where I had started. It went all the way around boat in a circle with a 75 foot radius. “I’ve never had a cat run that far that fast before,” I thought.
The rest of the fight was mostly bulldogging and then I got it in the net. What a relief!
As I fastened down the net handle I remembered the camera. It had shut itself off twice for what I thought was overheating and I had set it on the dash and put a spare hat over it to allow it to cool. I hooked it back up started it. I held up the cat that was still on the floor and said: “We’ve been off the air for a while. Here is a cat 26.5” which is a really nice cat, but there is one it the net that is a monster!”
I released the smaller fish, put a gripper on the big one and laid it on the bump board. As I did, the screws holding the two parts of the board together pulled out. It was so heavy it broke my board! I had weighed two cats over 14 pounds on that board last year and this one broke it! After a short period of panic I saw that the screws had pulled out and realized I had longer screw somewhere on the boat. I quickly weighed it. 16 2/3 pounds with the gripper, so it was 16.5, a new personal best!
I had to get length measurements and pics for the contest, but I knew the cat needed to be in the water. With my net fasted down, about half of it was in the water so I put the fish back in the net while I found the longer screws and reattached the end of my board. I was finally able to measure, photograph and release the fish. 31.5”, a little short for 16.5 pounds, but I finally had one over the 30” for this year and I was pumped!.
The rest of trip was lots of fun, but a little anticlimactic. No more monsters, but lots more fish. Unlike other recent trips where the first hour or two saw 8 or 9 cats/hour and then things slowed down to where the overall trip average was more like 6/hour, this trip they just kept coming.
I had planned to fish until 2 P.M. and then call it a day, but Julie called about 1:30 to say that the grandkids hadn’t left on their vacation yet and I should come home and tell them goodbye. I caught one fish while she was on the phone and then flipped a back-up rod out while I unhooked it. Just after that I agreed I would quit and come home. Before I got the recent one released I had another one on. When I landed that one I didn’t put another bait back in the water, but the last rod hooked up while I was finishing that one. I think I might still be catching them if I hadn’t agreed to go home!
I did get home in time to say goodbye to my son and his family, but what a day. I had caught my heaviest cat ever and almost 20 more cats than my previous best for a single day.
I’ll be out of town next weekend and the grandkids will be back to following weekend. Things will be back to normal but I doubt I will ever get 2 personal bests like that in one day again! I’ll get a much needed chance to rest my arms though.
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