Yes, I have been gone for a while. Was busy with Wounded Warriors practice and fishing. And last week was another whole different story. Ok, I'll tell you. I went out on my first night fishing adventure last Wednesday night. Started at 6:30pm and trolled around looking for fish somewhere. Stayed between R28 and R30 cause I'm most familiar with this area. Went and looked up Hales Creek and near sundown saw WHOLE BUNCHES of bait balls. Surely the stripers would follow.
By dark the bait was at the shorelines doing its thing and I could hear them. I cast a bunch of stuff in several places. NOTHING! Never heard any big splashes either. Moonset was 2:30am. Damn, it got dark! Stayed out a little longer and then quit. I think I need lessons on this night stuff. I was wiped-out on Thursday. I was going to get the temps that night until I remembered my unit is solar powered (solar=the sun, get it?). I had also gone out the Friday after WW, thinking the fish were there and I should get more, right? Wrong! Nothing all day. Didn't even mark any on sonar. So, the temps for today. I did them early before the wind blew up.
So today I started just before dawn and checked around the CG area. Nada. Crossed over to the other side and more nada. Came back across and headed up river past Bridgewater and under the bridge. Hung a right in front of CQ and wammo! the first fish at 6:30am. A nice 25". Where's all those 27"-32" when you need them? Saw a dock floating near the bridge but couldn't think of a use for it til I got home. I'll go back for it on Wednesday. (yes, a dock, at least 4' wide and 12' long) Kept working up river til R33. Marked some solo/2/3 fish but no takers. Pulled lines and ran down to Betty's.
Tried the condos first, the outside line and then the inside line but saw nothing. Kept moving into Betty's. Started seeing more fish, and small groups too. No big schools. Saw plenty of fish between the gazebo and the big white house with the stone wall. Yipeee, got the second fish there. Only a 23" and I debated tossing it back for a bigger one. Good thing I kept it, cause that was it. Still marking fish in there but no more takers. Beyond the white house the water got fairly stained and I marked no fish back there. Since I had two in the box I started to experiment with muskie lures. Not real big, just 6". Score for muskie baits = one 12" smallmouth and one 2lb largemouth. I haven't figured that out yet. I made a pass through Becky's and saw nothing til right outside the No Wake markers in back. Marked but no bites. By now the wind was starting to blow so I called it a day.
Later Joel
By dark the bait was at the shorelines doing its thing and I could hear them. I cast a bunch of stuff in several places. NOTHING! Never heard any big splashes either. Moonset was 2:30am. Damn, it got dark! Stayed out a little longer and then quit. I think I need lessons on this night stuff. I was wiped-out on Thursday. I was going to get the temps that night until I remembered my unit is solar powered (solar=the sun, get it?). I had also gone out the Friday after WW, thinking the fish were there and I should get more, right? Wrong! Nothing all day. Didn't even mark any on sonar. So, the temps for today. I did them early before the wind blew up.
So today I started just before dawn and checked around the CG area. Nada. Crossed over to the other side and more nada. Came back across and headed up river past Bridgewater and under the bridge. Hung a right in front of CQ and wammo! the first fish at 6:30am. A nice 25". Where's all those 27"-32" when you need them? Saw a dock floating near the bridge but couldn't think of a use for it til I got home. I'll go back for it on Wednesday. (yes, a dock, at least 4' wide and 12' long) Kept working up river til R33. Marked some solo/2/3 fish but no takers. Pulled lines and ran down to Betty's.
Tried the condos first, the outside line and then the inside line but saw nothing. Kept moving into Betty's. Started seeing more fish, and small groups too. No big schools. Saw plenty of fish between the gazebo and the big white house with the stone wall. Yipeee, got the second fish there. Only a 23" and I debated tossing it back for a bigger one. Good thing I kept it, cause that was it. Still marking fish in there but no more takers. Beyond the white house the water got fairly stained and I marked no fish back there. Since I had two in the box I started to experiment with muskie lures. Not real big, just 6". Score for muskie baits = one 12" smallmouth and one 2lb largemouth. I haven't figured that out yet. I made a pass through Becky's and saw nothing til right outside the No Wake markers in back. Marked but no bites. By now the wind was starting to blow so I called it a day.
Later Joel