07-14-2016, 09:06 PM
[#0000FF]Took my new red ride to Willard north marina this morning for a test run on some of the new modifications...and maybe to catch a fish or two. Did okay on both counts.
I was the only one in line for the gate opening at 6. Air temp 54, water temp 73 at 6:30 launch. Several boats followed me out and went off in different directions. One was an early morning water skier. He stayed a respectful distance away but his big hull threw up steady surf action for a while.
Calm conditions. But did not see anything that looked like wiper activity. No boils anyway. Did see a few terns picking up random shadlets from the surface. And there were several groups of grebes diving on the bait balls...and smacking their lips/beaks after every dive.l
Bait balls? As in years past there were clouds of young shadlets in many places...both inside and outside the marina. See pics of sonar screens.
Did my usual S turns...dragging a minnow on one rod and alternating between plastics and Gulp minnows on the other. No love for either as I worked out into the 20' depths. Only when I had worked back into shallower water did I go bendo. No wipers or walleyes. Just cookie cutter kitties. But that's okay. Mo bettah than skunk. Kept three for a fambly fish fry.
Just before 10 I decided to work back up into the marina to check depths and see if there were any active fish inside. Holy stuff! A mob of power squadron sized craft had taken over the marina. They were apparently there for some kind of social thing...as I saw some of the boats loading up numbers of other folks from the docks.
After I managed to do some good broken field motoring...through the power squadron...I put out a minnow on one line and started flinging a Gulp minnow on one of my new "Pistol Pat" spinnered jig heads. Had a couple of tentative pop and drops on the minnow in a half hour of dragging.
I was codgertatin' about just takin' my 3 cats and boogying...chalking the day up to R&D for my tube mods. Then, on my "last" cast with the Gulp minnow something tried to take it away from me...and the rod I was fishing with. Yee hawwww. 20" wiper with an attitude.
After getting my new friend to pose for a couple of pictures I resumed casting with a bit more optimism. But I shoulda just gone home anyway.
Another half hour of whipping the water to a froth produced nothing but exercise. Well, I need more of that anyway. And fishing is the best way I know how to get it.
Had a "head-scratcher" at the toll booth on the way out. Stopped to renew my annual geezer pass, which expires at the end of the month. I renew it before it runs out every year so I don't get caught having to pay an exhorbitant day use fee when it expires and there is nobody at the gate to let me get a new pass. The chunky young miss at the gate, with plenty of piercings, seemed totally unaware that people can buy new passes before their old ones expire. She said I had to wait until the end of the month. I tried to explain that I had already paid until the end of the month. Just give me a pass and clip it for August. It will still work the next two weeks. She insisted she couldn't do that. Sheesh. Today's young people. I didn't get my pass. Too torqued to stop at the main office.
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[signature]
I was the only one in line for the gate opening at 6. Air temp 54, water temp 73 at 6:30 launch. Several boats followed me out and went off in different directions. One was an early morning water skier. He stayed a respectful distance away but his big hull threw up steady surf action for a while.
Calm conditions. But did not see anything that looked like wiper activity. No boils anyway. Did see a few terns picking up random shadlets from the surface. And there were several groups of grebes diving on the bait balls...and smacking their lips/beaks after every dive.l
Bait balls? As in years past there were clouds of young shadlets in many places...both inside and outside the marina. See pics of sonar screens.
Did my usual S turns...dragging a minnow on one rod and alternating between plastics and Gulp minnows on the other. No love for either as I worked out into the 20' depths. Only when I had worked back into shallower water did I go bendo. No wipers or walleyes. Just cookie cutter kitties. But that's okay. Mo bettah than skunk. Kept three for a fambly fish fry.
Just before 10 I decided to work back up into the marina to check depths and see if there were any active fish inside. Holy stuff! A mob of power squadron sized craft had taken over the marina. They were apparently there for some kind of social thing...as I saw some of the boats loading up numbers of other folks from the docks.
After I managed to do some good broken field motoring...through the power squadron...I put out a minnow on one line and started flinging a Gulp minnow on one of my new "Pistol Pat" spinnered jig heads. Had a couple of tentative pop and drops on the minnow in a half hour of dragging.
I was codgertatin' about just takin' my 3 cats and boogying...chalking the day up to R&D for my tube mods. Then, on my "last" cast with the Gulp minnow something tried to take it away from me...and the rod I was fishing with. Yee hawwww. 20" wiper with an attitude.
After getting my new friend to pose for a couple of pictures I resumed casting with a bit more optimism. But I shoulda just gone home anyway.
Another half hour of whipping the water to a froth produced nothing but exercise. Well, I need more of that anyway. And fishing is the best way I know how to get it.
Had a "head-scratcher" at the toll booth on the way out. Stopped to renew my annual geezer pass, which expires at the end of the month. I renew it before it runs out every year so I don't get caught having to pay an exhorbitant day use fee when it expires and there is nobody at the gate to let me get a new pass. The chunky young miss at the gate, with plenty of piercings, seemed totally unaware that people can buy new passes before their old ones expire. She said I had to wait until the end of the month. I tried to explain that I had already paid until the end of the month. Just give me a pass and clip it for August. It will still work the next two weeks. She insisted she couldn't do that. Sheesh. Today's young people. I didn't get my pass. Too torqued to stop at the main office.
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