Mantua report Friday 12th

[bigpapafish]

Well I finally made it to Mantua yesterday morning with my 3 1/2 yr old son. We got there about sun up and started fishing by the boat ramp. I thought the sandy beach would be easier for him to walk on and cast but the weeds are really thick there. After about half an hour of weeds and a few small 3" perch we moved over on the rocks, past the docks to the floating 10'x10' platform. Not so many weeds.

We were using small bits of nightcrawler on the very tip of the hook. I tried bigger pieces of worm and bigger hooks to keep away smaller gills but they would just steal the bait. Well I don't know about big bluegills but there certainly a lot of little ones...It was pretty much nonstop. [laugh] That kept Nathan happy[].

At about 11:00 o'clock I was ready to go...But Nathan said "We can't go, we're still catching fish."About 1:00 he finally said "papa I'm tired,Lets go."

Well we managed to bring home about a two dozen that were worth cleaning, at least Nathan thought so...

But the important part is we both had a great time, and I was pretty tired too after six hours of keeping a 3 1/2 year olds hooks baited, fish unhooked and untangling the rats nests he can put in the line just by looking at it(maybe someone can explain this to me). Boy is it going to be fun when his younger brother is old enough to come with us.[crazy]

Maybe someone can clue me into how to catch some larger gills and keep away some of the dinks while still keeping the kid happy and interested.

Bigpapafish & Bignathanfish[]
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[whit210]

Thanks for the report Papa. Good job baitin' them hooks. It will pay-off big someday.
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[leaky]

That's a great report big! I personally feel it beats the "top gun" reports all to heck.[pirate] Keep it up.
Leaky

[Troll]

I had a simular day with my son last week. He was having a blast with the little ones but to catch bigger ones I was slip bobber rigging a breel maribou 1/16 oz jig with a small piece of crawler on it. I had to use a slightly bigger slip bobber than the 1/16 oz size so that i could add a couple split shot to make the jig sink faster. I think it was sinking fast enough that it went past the little ones and down where the bigger fish had a chance at it.

The weeds are indeed a problem at Mantua, whats up with that. Thats that milfoil isn't it? We've got to be careful not to let that spread.
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[DKStroutfitter]

Thanks for the report bigpapafish. Your information will help a lot of us that love to take the little ones fishing.
It soundes like you were fishing with a bobber. Am I correct in thinking that? I want to take my 3 year old grandson to Mantua and knowing where and how to hook up with any fish for him will make his trip!
Thanks again for sharing your information with us, Grandpa D.
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[Troll]

Do as was posted above and you'll do fine. If you are ok w/ little fish a piece of worm 3' below a bobber cast out over by the outlet that will do the trick. Bring a sun umbrella as there is no shade in that area. Worms are available at the campground store and the store is known for it's selection of penny candy. Be sure to take the grandson in for a sweet. You can walk through the gate and campground right behind the south beach area.
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[bigpapafish]

Hey DKS

Yes we were using bobbers, its easier for Nathan to see he has a bite that way. The easiest way to hook'em was a single hook under the bobber about 3-4' down and no weights. Also just put the smallest piece of worm on the very end of the hook or they will steal it every time. Just a piece about 1/2" long right on the very end.

I wound up using a #10 baitholder hook, but I wish I had brought some bigger hooks to reduce the number of swallowed hooks. They didn't seem hookshy in the least. Try different sizes and see what works best.

Also it seemed to me that the larger ones were caught little closer to shore, 10-20' rather than farther out, but that could just be coincidence. We really didn't get any slab gills. But it was fast and furious.

Like I said before I'm open to sugestions for larger gills. Maybe you can try what Troll suggested with the maribou jig with a piece of crawler.[size 1] [black]Sounds like it might work pretty good.[/black][/size]

Good luck and most importantly have fun[].

Bigpapafish
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