08-14-2005, 12:20 AM
[cool][#0000ff]Thanks to Carp_Punisher, Lincoln Beach has been whispered as being "cursed", since his trip there last week. I felt compelled to conduct an exhorcism and restore it to productivity, prior to the Gorilla Flotilla next week.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I originally planned to hit Lincoln Beach Friday evening, and to stay and watch some Perseid Meteors from the lake, after dark. CP's curse growled and sent clouds to cover the heavenly display, and a strong north breeze, forecast to be up to 15 MPH. Not good. Lincoln Beach and whitecaps from the north are not a good mix. We elected to wait until Saturday morning, and the forecast for light southerly breezes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It was calm, 70 degree air temp and 75 degree water temp when we launched our tubes off the south jetty at Lincoln Beach. We could hear the hum of bugs above us but were not bothered...other than the occasional swallowed midge. I worried, though, when I looked over the side of my tube and saw the floating green remnants of the curse on the calm water (see pic). Some might identify that stuff as algae, but we "seers" know the truth.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We hit the water at 5:45 AM. It was still dark, and we watched the lighted screens on our sonars as we sought out our targeted channel cat arena. TubeBabe had been zIpped (precurse trip even) on her last trip to Lincoln Beach, and was whining a lot about REALLY wanting to catch something this time. So, I avoided even putting bait on my hook, to let her score first. She couldn't tell in the dark anyway.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hallelujah! At 6:02 TubeBabe announced over our radios that she had just landed her first kitty, a small one around 2 pounds. Good. She had got rid of the skunk in her tube and the curse was on the run. I still avoided casting any bait yet (yeah, sure) to allow her to maybe pick up another fish or two, before I got involved. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]While I was taking pictures of another great Lincoln Beach sunrise, TubeBabe scored another small cat. Just to make sure, I shook off a couple of fish before she landed a third one...all before 7 AM. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Now I at least started throwing plastics. I got several hits throughout the day, casting plastics a lot, but did not stick anything on artificials. Nor did I see much evidence of surface feeding, as we had in previous weeks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finally, about 8 AM, I got down to business. Rigged up my two rods (yes, I got my permit) with bait. One had a half chub minnow and the other a strip of carp meat. The minnow claimed a two pounder fairly quickly, and then another slightly larger a half hour later. Then I got the first bullhead (mudder) I had taken in several trips. The curse was really on the run now.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just before 9, I got a pickup and strong run on a piece of minnow. While I was getting ready to set the hook, the line popped free from the holder on the second rod, with a piece of carp meat on it. I got a good hookup on the first fish and brought it to net while letting the fish on the second rod just take line and go wherever it wanted. After depositing the first fish in the basket, I set the hook on the second one and brought it in too. Two of my largest of the day. One was 23" and 4.6 pounds. The second was 22" and 4.2 pounds.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As we had agreed, we started working our way back toward the takeout point about 10. The power squadron was surprisingly sparse, but the air was full of ultralight aircraft (Big Skeeter Pic), helicopters and some small fixed wing craft. Lots of humming, like a swarm of big bugs.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe managed to get her largest cat just before we went in. It was a match to my 22" fish. I also got one more, about 3 pounds. We finished with 4 for her and 5 for me...after I spotted her the first 3. I ask you, how many fishing buddies (husbands) would do that for a fellow angler?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I didn't notice it while we were transferring the fish to the cooler from the baskets, but one of her fish was deformed. The odd hump on its back made it look like a spawning salmon...with rubber lips. It was perfectly healthy, and gave up a couple of nice fillets. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]During our last hour on the water, we watched a steady parade of bicyclists come around the point of the Lincoln Beach road, from the west, and ride down to the covered picnic area at the park. It was evidently a designated rest stop on a scheduled run. In short order, there were bikes coming and going in good numbers. Musta been a lot of them. We had to do some "creative" driving after leaving to go home, to avoid the bikes. They traveled in groups and didn't seem to care much about lanes and right of way and all that. Almost got a hood ornament a couple of times when one of them made a sudden veer over into the passing lane as I was trying to get by.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hey, CP, thanks for the challenge. Can't remember when I have had more fun performing the "juju" on a curse. You will be happy to know that there were actually some carp out there this morning, and before the breeze came up to blow the remnants away, those carp did their best to suck large quantities of that curse off the top of the water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]How about the Gorilla Flotilla next Friday night? It looks like there is going to be some evening "weather" for the latter part of this week. That would be the only thing that would ruin it. However, the typical pattern is for the wind to lay down over night and for floatation fishing to be good for a few hours the following morning. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We will have to watch the weather and keep it open for the possibility of having to make alternate plans. It ain't fun down there when it's windy, and definitely no place for someone who might not be completely comfortable with daytime fishing from a tube, much less fishing at night. Stay tuned.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]TubeBabe and I originally planned to hit Lincoln Beach Friday evening, and to stay and watch some Perseid Meteors from the lake, after dark. CP's curse growled and sent clouds to cover the heavenly display, and a strong north breeze, forecast to be up to 15 MPH. Not good. Lincoln Beach and whitecaps from the north are not a good mix. We elected to wait until Saturday morning, and the forecast for light southerly breezes.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]It was calm, 70 degree air temp and 75 degree water temp when we launched our tubes off the south jetty at Lincoln Beach. We could hear the hum of bugs above us but were not bothered...other than the occasional swallowed midge. I worried, though, when I looked over the side of my tube and saw the floating green remnants of the curse on the calm water (see pic). Some might identify that stuff as algae, but we "seers" know the truth.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We hit the water at 5:45 AM. It was still dark, and we watched the lighted screens on our sonars as we sought out our targeted channel cat arena. TubeBabe had been zIpped (precurse trip even) on her last trip to Lincoln Beach, and was whining a lot about REALLY wanting to catch something this time. So, I avoided even putting bait on my hook, to let her score first. She couldn't tell in the dark anyway.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Hallelujah! At 6:02 TubeBabe announced over our radios that she had just landed her first kitty, a small one around 2 pounds. Good. She had got rid of the skunk in her tube and the curse was on the run. I still avoided casting any bait yet (yeah, sure) to allow her to maybe pick up another fish or two, before I got involved. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]While I was taking pictures of another great Lincoln Beach sunrise, TubeBabe scored another small cat. Just to make sure, I shook off a couple of fish before she landed a third one...all before 7 AM. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Now I at least started throwing plastics. I got several hits throughout the day, casting plastics a lot, but did not stick anything on artificials. Nor did I see much evidence of surface feeding, as we had in previous weeks.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Finally, about 8 AM, I got down to business. Rigged up my two rods (yes, I got my permit) with bait. One had a half chub minnow and the other a strip of carp meat. The minnow claimed a two pounder fairly quickly, and then another slightly larger a half hour later. Then I got the first bullhead (mudder) I had taken in several trips. The curse was really on the run now.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Just before 9, I got a pickup and strong run on a piece of minnow. While I was getting ready to set the hook, the line popped free from the holder on the second rod, with a piece of carp meat on it. I got a good hookup on the first fish and brought it to net while letting the fish on the second rod just take line and go wherever it wanted. After depositing the first fish in the basket, I set the hook on the second one and brought it in too. Two of my largest of the day. One was 23" and 4.6 pounds. The second was 22" and 4.2 pounds.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As we had agreed, we started working our way back toward the takeout point about 10. The power squadron was surprisingly sparse, but the air was full of ultralight aircraft (Big Skeeter Pic), helicopters and some small fixed wing craft. Lots of humming, like a swarm of big bugs.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeBabe managed to get her largest cat just before we went in. It was a match to my 22" fish. I also got one more, about 3 pounds. We finished with 4 for her and 5 for me...after I spotted her the first 3. I ask you, how many fishing buddies (husbands) would do that for a fellow angler?[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I didn't notice it while we were transferring the fish to the cooler from the baskets, but one of her fish was deformed. The odd hump on its back made it look like a spawning salmon...with rubber lips. It was perfectly healthy, and gave up a couple of nice fillets. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]During our last hour on the water, we watched a steady parade of bicyclists come around the point of the Lincoln Beach road, from the west, and ride down to the covered picnic area at the park. It was evidently a designated rest stop on a scheduled run. In short order, there were bikes coming and going in good numbers. Musta been a lot of them. We had to do some "creative" driving after leaving to go home, to avoid the bikes. They traveled in groups and didn't seem to care much about lanes and right of way and all that. Almost got a hood ornament a couple of times when one of them made a sudden veer over into the passing lane as I was trying to get by.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Hey, CP, thanks for the challenge. Can't remember when I have had more fun performing the "juju" on a curse. You will be happy to know that there were actually some carp out there this morning, and before the breeze came up to blow the remnants away, those carp did their best to suck large quantities of that curse off the top of the water.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]How about the Gorilla Flotilla next Friday night? It looks like there is going to be some evening "weather" for the latter part of this week. That would be the only thing that would ruin it. However, the typical pattern is for the wind to lay down over night and for floatation fishing to be good for a few hours the following morning. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We will have to watch the weather and keep it open for the possibility of having to make alternate plans. It ain't fun down there when it's windy, and definitely no place for someone who might not be completely comfortable with daytime fishing from a tube, much less fishing at night. Stay tuned.[/#0000ff]
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