05-21-2018, 10:38 PM
[#0000FF]Had hatched a plan with BLK to try to sneak a quick trip in between Mama Nature's hissy fits. Got an email from him last night...weeping and wailing about a big thunderstorm going on down there in the evening...saying he might be only bank tangling.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I drove up to the Lincoln Beach Ramp about 6ish...as promised. No BLK. I prepped to launch and here came BLK in a boatless truck. He wimped out and did not bring the kidless boat. So he headed for a shore venue whilst I launched the TD Maru.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Air temp 49...clear and calm. Water temp 64 at launch and warming to 68 by noon thirty departure. Depth at least 3.5 feet all the way out the channel.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Wondered how last night's blow might affect the fish. Seemed to have blown them all south to Lincoln Beach. My jigs were attacked by whities on my first casts around the end of the south dike. Even got some on whole minnows or fligged minnows soaked for cats later.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Cats? My first LHBE minnow had not completely settled on the bottom before some wacko kitty snarfed it, put the line over its shoulder and boogied across the flats. And then it got better.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Nonstop cat action on chub minnows, white bass, carp meat and even jig and worm...with and without the deadly fligs. That storm last night musta stirred up a powerful hunger in them fishies. Absolutely ruthless. At least I didn't see Ruth so I'm guessing she wasn't there.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]By 8:30 I quit trying to count fish...when I had one or two over ten. Then, about 9 or a little after, a north breeze came up and fishing dropped off...as it usually does with a north wind at Lincoln. My radio snarled at me and I recognized BLK's lovely voice inquiring as to my success. I let him know that I probably had caught about 15 by then, but that the breeze was making fishing difficult...and the fish didn't seem to like it much either. He said he had only caught one at his spot, but it had been about 25 inches...nice but no major contest points.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Lynn bagged it and boogied. As the breeze got stronger I considered making an early day of it myself. So I started beating my way slowly back toward the channel. Then...the breeze died down and the fish came back to play.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I caught at least another dozen before I emptied both bags of minnows and most of the white bass and carp meat. And I had over-funned. Just ain't got the stamina I used to have.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]Today's biggest was right at 25 inches. Smallest was a little over a footlong. If I could have caught a couple more and strung them together I coulda had a 36. Right? Average was a healthy 22-24 inches and full of fight. They all punched over their weight classification. Much fun.[/#0000FF]
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[#0000FF]I fished exclusively on the "flats" between the end of the dikes and the opening of Benjamin Slough. Had to chuckle as I looked up into the mouth of the slough and saw the hordes of fish-eating birds ambushing the whities as they went up and down that shallow inlet.
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[signature]
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[#0000FF]I drove up to the Lincoln Beach Ramp about 6ish...as promised. No BLK. I prepped to launch and here came BLK in a boatless truck. He wimped out and did not bring the kidless boat. So he headed for a shore venue whilst I launched the TD Maru.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]Air temp 49...clear and calm. Water temp 64 at launch and warming to 68 by noon thirty departure. Depth at least 3.5 feet all the way out the channel.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]Wondered how last night's blow might affect the fish. Seemed to have blown them all south to Lincoln Beach. My jigs were attacked by whities on my first casts around the end of the south dike. Even got some on whole minnows or fligged minnows soaked for cats later.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]Cats? My first LHBE minnow had not completely settled on the bottom before some wacko kitty snarfed it, put the line over its shoulder and boogied across the flats. And then it got better.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]Nonstop cat action on chub minnows, white bass, carp meat and even jig and worm...with and without the deadly fligs. That storm last night musta stirred up a powerful hunger in them fishies. Absolutely ruthless. At least I didn't see Ruth so I'm guessing she wasn't there.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]By 8:30 I quit trying to count fish...when I had one or two over ten. Then, about 9 or a little after, a north breeze came up and fishing dropped off...as it usually does with a north wind at Lincoln. My radio snarled at me and I recognized BLK's lovely voice inquiring as to my success. I let him know that I probably had caught about 15 by then, but that the breeze was making fishing difficult...and the fish didn't seem to like it much either. He said he had only caught one at his spot, but it had been about 25 inches...nice but no major contest points.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]Lynn bagged it and boogied. As the breeze got stronger I considered making an early day of it myself. So I started beating my way slowly back toward the channel. Then...the breeze died down and the fish came back to play.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]I caught at least another dozen before I emptied both bags of minnows and most of the white bass and carp meat. And I had over-funned. Just ain't got the stamina I used to have.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]Today's biggest was right at 25 inches. Smallest was a little over a footlong. If I could have caught a couple more and strung them together I coulda had a 36. Right? Average was a healthy 22-24 inches and full of fight. They all punched over their weight classification. Much fun.[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]
[/#0000FF]
[#0000FF]I fished exclusively on the "flats" between the end of the dikes and the opening of Benjamin Slough. Had to chuckle as I looked up into the mouth of the slough and saw the hordes of fish-eating birds ambushing the whities as they went up and down that shallow inlet.
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