Fishing Forum

Just wanted to report on my own fishing experience at the Flotilla. I went out with brookie on his new boat. What a sweet ride. I was a little afraid to get any fishy stuff in it, but he assured me that that is what it is for. Turned out that he got a lot more fishy stuff in it than I did.

He told me that he hadn't done much catfishing before but that he knew his way around the lake. He had gone out and gotten some circle hooks at my suggestion and they paid off for him.
We started off dragging bait out from the springs. Right off, at 7:30, I was into a good fish. Turned out to be a 26.5"er. I said something about how it might be one of those days where you catch one right off, expect a great day, then have that be your one and only fish of the day. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why give fate an opening like that?! We "strolled" on around past the L and toward the orchards, but couldn't get anymore interest, so we headed for the island. A lot of boats were anchored up there on the north side near the cove. We joined the group. We could see a big rock sticking up out of the water so we gave it a wide berth. We eventually inched our way further toward the mouth of the cove. I could identify where we were from landmarks I noted from a couple of trips there last summer. We would go over holes that were 8 or 9 feet deep then have the water depth jump back up to under 3'. We took it easy and got quite a ways in. Then the fun began. John caught a big white bass and we didn't waste any time turning it into bait. He put a big old section of cut bait on and proceeded to kill them. At one point he had two fish on at once; I kept the second one entertained while he landed the first. The more torn up that piece of bait got, the better the cats liked it. He caught 5 in all while I, doo-tee-doo, was wasting my time getting hung up even though I was fishing under bobbers. He was casting toward shore and I was casting out. It may have been location, location, location, but I have to admit he just plain outfished me today. One of his fish was 27" long and won him second place in the big fish contest. Mine won second. Was a fun fishing day all around. And making a new friend was the best part of all. Isn't that why we do things like the flotilla anyway?
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How far out of the water is the island now and how big is it?
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I don't know how to describe it. The water is high enough to make the island a lot smaller than it was last June. Still plenty of birds on it. Maybe someone with more history with it will chime in.
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Thanks Craig, I had a great time working those big cats. That was my first time out to the island. Probably lucky that we didn't ding a prop or the underside of the boat. Must have been the excellent guide - kind of like Indiana Jones knowing just where to step. The hint of large hooks and large bait really made a difference as well. Guess even old fishermen can still learn new tricks. Craig said hooks up to 7/0. I looked at Sportsman's and the largest I could find were 4/0 - I thought are you kidding - I could put a rib-eye steak on here. Well the big cats like whitey rib-eyes I guess.

Also great to meet and BS with all the others - what a great group of friends. Thanks to Craig, Jeff and others (sorry I can't remember all your names) that planed, arranged, cooked, demonstrated, and otherwise put on such a successful event. Also thanks to the sponsors. Great times were had by all.
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Thanks John it was nice to visit. I also wanted to make sure and thank Ben for the wonderful meal he and his wife cooked up, but more especially for those heavenly hush puppies. Haven’t ever had that perfect of hush puppies. Had some good ones in Florida, but Ben and his wife are master chefs. Wow is all I can say. Anyone who missed it today, I’m sorry that was something not to have missed. Lynn did an excellent job with the contest, Craig hit a home run with organizing a great event. All I can say is thanks everyone. Lots of great other food there too. I’m still so full. Thanks Jeff
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The island is visible as you approach. Hard to say elevation above the water or guess the circumference but you won’t miss it. Just approach slowly.
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I don't know how much this photo will help, but from the north cove, we could almost see the waterline of a boat on the other side. The resolution of the photo, is not great, but my old phone did its best. The referenced boat is about 1/4 of the way in from the right. With so many birds standing on the island it is very difficult to estimate how far above the surface it may be.
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Thanks for posting Craig. Sure wish that several of the others, who joined in the fun, would post up a report.
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