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Got out to Mantua last Tuesday with my three boys in the boat. It was a very nice day and only 2 other boats on the water with a couple of tooners. We moved 3 times before we found a productive spot, then all heck broke loose. By the time we left the water we had 30 gills and 1 perch in the cooler. We threw back about twice that amount of gills that just needed to grow a bit more. My 5 year old really slayed them, beating my 8 year old and almost outfishing my 11 year old.
I finally got to try out my new electric fillet knife on them. All I can say is "Why haven't I had one of these for years?" It was a breeze, making short work job. I was done in a 1/2 hour with a nice pile of boneless fillets. We didn't cook them up until yesterday but they were sure tasty with oven roasted potatos, garlic cheese biscuits and vegetable. Even my wife, who isn't a great fan of fish, thought that it was very tasty. Just sauteed in butter with a little garlic salt.
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Hey,
What were you guys using and where do I look for the fish??
I was just at Mantua today. We caught about 15 keepers, but we were there all day. Oh, and that was my first time fishing there, are there usually that many weeds?
Thanks for the info,
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Spawn is thinning out there, most beds are empty. Look for the summer gill patterns, yes it is always that weedy if not even more so. The drawdown killed some of the thick stuff next to shore in some shorelines. Summer patterns are suspended gills in holes within the thick weeds. Find a hole and drop something small down and it will get hammered. The weeds always have numerous holes and pockets. Get away from the shorelines as they have been pounded lately. Boats cruise up and down the shores and bank tanglers everywhere. The late warmup messed up the spawning big time this year. It wasn't even a quarter of duration and numbers compared to last year. Size was substantially up though. Lots of 8 inchers.
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We used small jigs tipped with a piece of worm. I usually take the boat around and look for gaps or large open spaces in the weeds. These can be anywhere from 10 to 15 feet across or larger. These gaps usually go clear to the bottom and the fish like to hang out in them. We found a very large hole, probably 50 feet wide and 25 feet long in 14 feet of water about 3/4 the way across the lake from the launch to the east side point. You can see the gaps just by looking over the side of the boat, or use your sonar. I just anchor the boat in the middle of it and drop it right over the side, or cast and reel slowly in. Either way, the fish loved it. We found the fish to very picky by the point on the east side, looks like it gets hit really hard.
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Thanks for the Info. I will have to go back and try it out again.
I have been trying to get out and fish more often, but I am not a great fisherman by any means. So I usually come back with few to no fish and end up empty handed and sunburned. But I love the peace and quiet. and the great outdoors.
So Thanks again, hopefully I will learn and be more successful in the future.
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[cool]Hey, I'm the wrong person for this as I'm currently working two jobs, but there's lots of very knowledgeable fishermen on this board that have time to fish right now that would be more than happy to take you out and show you some tricks on the waters, so don't be shy. Most just require half gas. Good luck next trip out.
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Thanks,
I even have a boat with downriggers and trolling motors and a bimimi top.
I just want the knowledge of what to use, how to use it and where to go.
Thanks for the Idea.
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