Willard south, trip #3

[Tin-Can]

I didn't get out yesterday as early as I would have liked, or as early as I should have. Got to the south marina gate about 10 a.m. waited for the young lady to deal with a couple boaters, then got in to line of boaters waiting to be AIS checked. Questioned more than checked.

 

Got launched and out on the water about 1040. Light breeze making almost perfect Walleye chop and keeping the bugs down to zero. Perfect conditions, so I headed north-west ish. Got my lines with cranks out. 1 Fire tiger, and one that looks a bit like a perch. Was heading generally towards  an area between the island and the light pole. Had my lines out, speed and heading set just about 10 minutes, and line with the Perch rat-l-trap started pulling out. Not like a wiper hit, more like a steady snagged drag. Started bringing it in and about half way in, I noticed the wind increasing, and shifting a bit. Had to sit down in the bow seat to keep from getting rocked overboard and bring in the fish.  Not a huge one, but a nice way to break a WB skunk with a Walleye.  



By the time I got fish into the boat, took a quick photo, got him into the live well, and put the boat back on course, the wind was coming pretty steady out of t he south-west. Weather app on my phone says it was 17 to 25 mph. Well that was a bit too much for me. So headed back to marina with hopes I could wait out the wind and it would calm down. Well I did, but it didn't.
I did sit anchored in the far west pocket of the marina and have lots of free comedy entertainment. 

      

I made a very astounding but not unexpected correlation discovery: For about 85% of the boats I watched launch or recover, the bigger the boat, the younger the operator, the more late teen to early 20's on the boat, the more ignorant they were or at least acted.  The few smaller fishing boats that came or went during the 2 hours I sat there soaking worms got on with whatever they were doing and got in the water and out the channel, or on their trailers and off the ramps with no wasted movement. 

I finally decided that the wind out on the bay wasn't gonna ease up, so I saw a break in the mass confusion on one of  the docks and stuck the Tin-Can in a open spot and went for the trailer.  And of course, it just proved there is at least 1 in every crowd or at every boat ramp. 

    

Someone always waits to get on the ramp before they get all their covers off, trailer straps unhooked, plugs in, or lean on the bow and have a conversation. 
I finally got out of the parking spot, got the boat on the trailer and pulled off the ramp. Took my one token skunk breaker that I had to show for about 30 minutes actually out on the bay, used the cleaning station, and headed home. 
I think that was the most full I have seen the south parking lot in several years.  
Mr. Eye fillets went into the fridge and will make couple great fish tacos for dinner Sunday. 

       

[wiperhunter2]

Congrats of getting the eye and the skunk off Forest. You are one brave guy to hit Willard late, on a Sat, at this time of the year.

[Tin-Can]

Congrats of getting the eye and the skunk off Forest. You are one brave guy to hit Willard late, on a Sat, at this time of the year.

   Thanks Curt. But more desperate to go fishin than brave......       
    It was packed with power squadron boats, but most of them were behaving out on the water, at least around me.  Different     story in the marina and on the ramp.  I was more worried about the wind than the big boats  

    Gonna have that eye in some fish tacos tonight.