04-04-2019, 11:00 PM
[#0000ff]At the first of the week the weather forecast for Willard looked good for Friday. Then Mama Nature got all huffy again and Thursday looked better. So I headed for the north marina this morning.
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[#0000ff]Launched just after 7 am. Air temp 47 and water temp 49...rising to 60 and 51 respectively at noon departure. Water level is rising nicely and clarity was not too bad. But my sonar must be acting up. It did not want to show me any fish. Like a desert again today.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hope springs eternal...or infernal. Whatever. I was hoping for an ABC day...anything but catfish. Had to settle for an NBC day...nothing but catfish. More than anything I wanted to avoid another skunking, like on my first trip to Willard last month. Thankfully my everlovin' kitties showed up and showed me some love.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Action was never fast, but I caught my first two fairly quickly after getting out of the harbor. Skunk begone. Fished fligs on one rod while tossing a variety of plastics on the other. Nary a whiff on the plastics. Gave up and went to double flig rigs...each with two fligs. That would haunt me later.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The good ol' fire tiger color caught fish again today. But so did a new color..."clown"...with a hot red head and a chartreuse and white glitter body. Came out about equal to the fire tiger. Decorated them with small chub minnows. Cats voted for them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The fish were running smaller today than some we have been getting...but ideal cookin' and eatin' size. Still, I released the first 3 or 4...before I decided that I should bring home some edibles for the "Kitty Queen". So I kept the next eight and release the last 3 or 4. At least I thought I had kept eight. A count at the ramp tallied only 7. No biggie. Still a couple of good meals for the old folks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My last fish was greedy. Had both of the flig rods out...each with two fligs...high and low. No bites for the past half hour and was nearing the harbor. Just as I was deciding to call it both rods took a dive. Set the hook on one rod and the other went straight. Hadn't missed a hookup all day but was just as glad to avoid a double in close quarters. I fish the fligs in close. When I worked the cat up to where I could see it, it looked like a Christmas tree. All kinds of colored ornaments...4 different colored fligs. It had two in its mouth...one from each rod...and the other two and the beads and sinkers wrapped around its body.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When I finished unhooking and unwrapping that greedy kitty I was left with a tangled mess of leader, swivels, sinkers, beads and fligs. No way I was going to be able to untangle it. I took that as a sign that I was done. Cut it all loose, tucked it in a little plastic bag, reeled in the rods and headed for the ramp.
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[#0000ff]And Mama Nature was just tuning up for some afternoon fun.
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[signature]
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[#0000ff]Launched just after 7 am. Air temp 47 and water temp 49...rising to 60 and 51 respectively at noon departure. Water level is rising nicely and clarity was not too bad. But my sonar must be acting up. It did not want to show me any fish. Like a desert again today.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Hope springs eternal...or infernal. Whatever. I was hoping for an ABC day...anything but catfish. Had to settle for an NBC day...nothing but catfish. More than anything I wanted to avoid another skunking, like on my first trip to Willard last month. Thankfully my everlovin' kitties showed up and showed me some love.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Action was never fast, but I caught my first two fairly quickly after getting out of the harbor. Skunk begone. Fished fligs on one rod while tossing a variety of plastics on the other. Nary a whiff on the plastics. Gave up and went to double flig rigs...each with two fligs. That would haunt me later.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The good ol' fire tiger color caught fish again today. But so did a new color..."clown"...with a hot red head and a chartreuse and white glitter body. Came out about equal to the fire tiger. Decorated them with small chub minnows. Cats voted for them.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The fish were running smaller today than some we have been getting...but ideal cookin' and eatin' size. Still, I released the first 3 or 4...before I decided that I should bring home some edibles for the "Kitty Queen". So I kept the next eight and release the last 3 or 4. At least I thought I had kept eight. A count at the ramp tallied only 7. No biggie. Still a couple of good meals for the old folks.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]My last fish was greedy. Had both of the flig rods out...each with two fligs...high and low. No bites for the past half hour and was nearing the harbor. Just as I was deciding to call it both rods took a dive. Set the hook on one rod and the other went straight. Hadn't missed a hookup all day but was just as glad to avoid a double in close quarters. I fish the fligs in close. When I worked the cat up to where I could see it, it looked like a Christmas tree. All kinds of colored ornaments...4 different colored fligs. It had two in its mouth...one from each rod...and the other two and the beads and sinkers wrapped around its body.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When I finished unhooking and unwrapping that greedy kitty I was left with a tangled mess of leader, swivels, sinkers, beads and fligs. No way I was going to be able to untangle it. I took that as a sign that I was done. Cut it all loose, tucked it in a little plastic bag, reeled in the rods and headed for the ramp.
[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And Mama Nature was just tuning up for some afternoon fun.
[/#0000ff]
[signature]