10-02-2008, 12:31 AM
[cool][#0000ff]LloydE and I hit Willard north marina from our tubes this morning. Launched just after 7 AM. Lots of early skeeters in the warm 60 degree air. Air was calm, except for a light breeze a couple of times. Water temp was 65 at launch and 68 at noon. Clarity is getting better. Almost green instead of brown. Water level is the same as the last month or so. 7 feet in the channel.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Poor Lloyd. Started to launch without his rods. I got them off the top of the car and set him afloat. He got out past the marina entrance first but promptly got a hook in his head net. That kept him busy while I passed him on the way to the honey hole. Things didn't get much better for him.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My first minnow was promptly nailed and line went streaming off the reel. Set the hook and listened to the drag cry in protest. Sweet. No cookie cutter kittie this time. My first fish...within minutes of starting to fish...was a nice 21 inch wiperinski. 4.3# of hard fighting tasty goodness. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]It was over an hour before I got my next hit. But, Lloyd finally made it out and started fishing the right area...after I yelled at him to replace the batteries in his walkie talkie. I could hear him talking over the water but not the radio. Shortly after he cruised into the "zone" Lloyd went bendo on a nice wiper. But, inexperienced fish didn't know how to hang on. He let go at the tube. Whimper whimper. That was to be the high/low point of the day. No other hookups...ALL DAY. Bummer.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]On the other hand, I kept kicking north until I found another zone. I scored three or four quick cookie cutter kitties and called Lloyd to move down with me. Just as he was getting close, my minnow rod got another big bend in it. Another 21 inch wiper. Dang, I hate it when that happens. NOT.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We both worked around in that area and I caught about 10 cat-ettes...letting a couple go and keeping a limit for the fryer. Them Willard cookies is mighty tasty.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We might as well have gone home at 10:30...AGAIN. Typical of the way it has gone for us on several previous trips, the fish hit for awhile and then shut down. We saw plenty of fish on sonar...some indentifiable as PROBABLY wipers. But they were not eating minnows, crankbaits, spinners or plastics. Lockjaw city.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There were grundles of "toothless golden wipers" all over the surface of the water again today. Bajillions of cruising, sucking carp. I was ready to go get a machine gun to get even for all the ones that waited until I was almost on top of them before they made a big splash and rocketed away. Scared the stuffin' out of me more than once. On a calm morning, when you are half dozing while you kick slowly backwards...without looking...those sudden water explosions are a bit unnerving.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There were seven boat trailers in the lot when I got my car to load up our tubes. One boat joined us at the cleaning station and they had 3 wipers, taken trolling the west side...all under 18". All the boats we could see seemed to be moving around a lot and nobody was working any area with any degree of apparent success.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When we came back in, Lloyd wanted me to take a picture of his empty basket. He planned to claim that it was full of invisible fish...6 invisible walleyes, 6 invisible wipers and 8 invisible catfish. But, Lloyd being the honest angler that he is (a rare breed), he decided that would not be right. However, in the true fisherman's tradition, he uttered the words "Well, it was a great day to be fishing...and there will always be other days when the catching is better." Somehow that is always more credible when somebody says it without hissing it through clenched teeth.[/#0000ff]
![[Image: image.gif]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/images/gforum/files/image.gif)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40789"][#63626b]LLOYD AWAY.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (152 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40790"][#63626b]MORNING MIRROR.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (169 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40791"][#63626b]SNAGGED HEADNET.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (284 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40792"][#63626b]FIRST ABOARD.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (230 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40793"][#63626b]GOTCHA.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (219 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40794"][#63626b]NUMBER 2.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (185 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40795"][#63626b]SWEET SIXTEEN.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (194 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40796"][#63626b]BIGGER COOKIE.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (170 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40797"][#63626b]TOUGH TUBIN.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (189 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40798"][#63626b]CARP BETWIXT US.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (132 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40799"][#63626b]CARP SUCK.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (205 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40800"][#63626b]A TISKET A TASKET.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (270 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40801"][#63626b]TWOFER TD.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (279 KB)
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Poor Lloyd. Started to launch without his rods. I got them off the top of the car and set him afloat. He got out past the marina entrance first but promptly got a hook in his head net. That kept him busy while I passed him on the way to the honey hole. Things didn't get much better for him.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My first minnow was promptly nailed and line went streaming off the reel. Set the hook and listened to the drag cry in protest. Sweet. No cookie cutter kittie this time. My first fish...within minutes of starting to fish...was a nice 21 inch wiperinski. 4.3# of hard fighting tasty goodness. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]It was over an hour before I got my next hit. But, Lloyd finally made it out and started fishing the right area...after I yelled at him to replace the batteries in his walkie talkie. I could hear him talking over the water but not the radio. Shortly after he cruised into the "zone" Lloyd went bendo on a nice wiper. But, inexperienced fish didn't know how to hang on. He let go at the tube. Whimper whimper. That was to be the high/low point of the day. No other hookups...ALL DAY. Bummer.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]On the other hand, I kept kicking north until I found another zone. I scored three or four quick cookie cutter kitties and called Lloyd to move down with me. Just as he was getting close, my minnow rod got another big bend in it. Another 21 inch wiper. Dang, I hate it when that happens. NOT.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We both worked around in that area and I caught about 10 cat-ettes...letting a couple go and keeping a limit for the fryer. Them Willard cookies is mighty tasty.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We might as well have gone home at 10:30...AGAIN. Typical of the way it has gone for us on several previous trips, the fish hit for awhile and then shut down. We saw plenty of fish on sonar...some indentifiable as PROBABLY wipers. But they were not eating minnows, crankbaits, spinners or plastics. Lockjaw city.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There were grundles of "toothless golden wipers" all over the surface of the water again today. Bajillions of cruising, sucking carp. I was ready to go get a machine gun to get even for all the ones that waited until I was almost on top of them before they made a big splash and rocketed away. Scared the stuffin' out of me more than once. On a calm morning, when you are half dozing while you kick slowly backwards...without looking...those sudden water explosions are a bit unnerving.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There were seven boat trailers in the lot when I got my car to load up our tubes. One boat joined us at the cleaning station and they had 3 wipers, taken trolling the west side...all under 18". All the boats we could see seemed to be moving around a lot and nobody was working any area with any degree of apparent success.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When we came back in, Lloyd wanted me to take a picture of his empty basket. He planned to claim that it was full of invisible fish...6 invisible walleyes, 6 invisible wipers and 8 invisible catfish. But, Lloyd being the honest angler that he is (a rare breed), he decided that would not be right. However, in the true fisherman's tradition, he uttered the words "Well, it was a great day to be fishing...and there will always be other days when the catching is better." Somehow that is always more credible when somebody says it without hissing it through clenched teeth.[/#0000ff]
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40789"][#63626b]LLOYD AWAY.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (152 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40790"][#63626b]MORNING MIRROR.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (169 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40791"][#63626b]SNAGGED HEADNET.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (284 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40792"][#63626b]FIRST ABOARD.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (230 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40793"][#63626b]GOTCHA.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (219 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40794"][#63626b]NUMBER 2.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (185 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40795"][#63626b]SWEET SIXTEEN.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (194 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40796"][#63626b]BIGGER COOKIE.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (170 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40797"][#63626b]TOUGH TUBIN.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (189 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40798"][#63626b]CARP BETWIXT US.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (132 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40799"][#63626b]CARP SUCK.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (205 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40800"][#63626b]A TISKET A TASKET.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (270 KB) [url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=40801"][#63626b]TWOFER TD.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (279 KB)[signature]
]