06-23-2019, 04:25 AM
Executive Summary: Julie and I went to Lincoln Beach for the Clean-up and Blitz. We arrived about 5:30 A.M. and stayed until 12:30. We cleaned up about 20 pounds of trash and caught over 40 pounds of fish (10 cats, 1 bullhead and 1 white bass). The wind howled from 6 to about 8:30 A.M. and then calmed enough to fish. Water temp was 65 at daylight and 68 when we left. All the fish came in 10+ FOW except the bullhead which was in 3. They liked cut white bass dragged at 0.5 to 1 mph and liked it better fresh. The cats ranged from 20 to 26 inches.
Full Story: We arrived at the Lincoln ramp at about 5:30 and tried for about 30 minutes to catch some whites for bait. In that 30 minutes the NW wind went from 5 to 10 mph down to nothing and then to 15 to 20. We didn’t catch any whites and it didn’t a good day to be on the lake.
Cathinon and Ice_sled showed up around 6. It was great to see them again. We visited for a few minutes and decided that the wise thing to do was clean up trash while the wind blew and hope for a reprieve. I took the north dike and the others took the south one. About an hour later I had a full bag of trash and the wind had not slowed much.
I played around in the harbor with a worm and bobber for 30 or 40 minutes but couldn’t find and interested pan fish. It was looking pretty bleak. Several other boats arrived and about half of them went home. The rest decided to bob around on the lee side of the dikes and hope for a cat or two. With the high winds, muddy water and large drop in temps, I thought it likely that the fish would be deeper. I almost called it and took Julie home, and then I thought: “We should give it a shot.”
We set up in 3 FOW next to the reeds off the south dike. 15 minutes later we got a skinny little bullhead. That took the skunk off, but barely.
I didn’t like the lack of fish and the wind had dropped below 10 mph so we started dragging baits out toward deeper water NE of the dikes. After almost an hour we had made it to 10 FOW. We had only had two hits and they seemed tentative. I was telling Julie that the drop in water temperature and the murky water (I could see a bait down about 2 inches) were likely the main cause of our poor fishing. She looked to the NE and said: “The water doesn’t look so brown out there. Maybe we should try there.” “I think it is an illusion,” I muttered. Just then we hooked a fish. It turned out to be a nice 26+. I said: “This is better, but we might have gotten lucky.”
Another blank 20 minutes passed. Then I looked both directions and thought maybe the water was lighter farther out. I’m glad I listened to her, she saved the trip.
We picked up the gear and zipped out about a mile toward the island and then started fishing again. The water was now more of a chalky white that the chocolate milk in closer to the harbor. I could actually see a bait down 6 or 8 inches! I set the timer for 20 minutes and then went back to thinking of excuses for not catching many fish. Then one of the FLAIT rods went down. It went 24 and just as it hit the bottom of the boat the timer went off. I released the fish and re-set the timer. 5 minutes later and I got a white on a dual rig. Woohoo fresh bait! I hurriedly cut it up and was starting to pull in and re-bait when the same FLAIT rod went bendo again, on the old WB.
That made 3 cats and the day was starting to look better. I got all the baits changed to fresh and the wind went down to less than 5 mph. In the next hour we got 7 more cats. No monsters, but they were all scrappy. Then a thunderstorm moved in and chased us and most of the rest of the boats off the lake.
Back in the parking lot I met Tin Can and Tin Can’s Mate loading up. It was great to finally meet them!
The day had stared out lousy, in fact the first hour of light was just garbage (sorry I couldn't resist), but Julie’s observation that the water looked clearer out to the north had put us on enough fish to have some fun. She is great company and she’s really learning fast.
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Full Story: We arrived at the Lincoln ramp at about 5:30 and tried for about 30 minutes to catch some whites for bait. In that 30 minutes the NW wind went from 5 to 10 mph down to nothing and then to 15 to 20. We didn’t catch any whites and it didn’t a good day to be on the lake.
Cathinon and Ice_sled showed up around 6. It was great to see them again. We visited for a few minutes and decided that the wise thing to do was clean up trash while the wind blew and hope for a reprieve. I took the north dike and the others took the south one. About an hour later I had a full bag of trash and the wind had not slowed much.
I played around in the harbor with a worm and bobber for 30 or 40 minutes but couldn’t find and interested pan fish. It was looking pretty bleak. Several other boats arrived and about half of them went home. The rest decided to bob around on the lee side of the dikes and hope for a cat or two. With the high winds, muddy water and large drop in temps, I thought it likely that the fish would be deeper. I almost called it and took Julie home, and then I thought: “We should give it a shot.”
We set up in 3 FOW next to the reeds off the south dike. 15 minutes later we got a skinny little bullhead. That took the skunk off, but barely.
I didn’t like the lack of fish and the wind had dropped below 10 mph so we started dragging baits out toward deeper water NE of the dikes. After almost an hour we had made it to 10 FOW. We had only had two hits and they seemed tentative. I was telling Julie that the drop in water temperature and the murky water (I could see a bait down about 2 inches) were likely the main cause of our poor fishing. She looked to the NE and said: “The water doesn’t look so brown out there. Maybe we should try there.” “I think it is an illusion,” I muttered. Just then we hooked a fish. It turned out to be a nice 26+. I said: “This is better, but we might have gotten lucky.”
Another blank 20 minutes passed. Then I looked both directions and thought maybe the water was lighter farther out. I’m glad I listened to her, she saved the trip.
We picked up the gear and zipped out about a mile toward the island and then started fishing again. The water was now more of a chalky white that the chocolate milk in closer to the harbor. I could actually see a bait down 6 or 8 inches! I set the timer for 20 minutes and then went back to thinking of excuses for not catching many fish. Then one of the FLAIT rods went down. It went 24 and just as it hit the bottom of the boat the timer went off. I released the fish and re-set the timer. 5 minutes later and I got a white on a dual rig. Woohoo fresh bait! I hurriedly cut it up and was starting to pull in and re-bait when the same FLAIT rod went bendo again, on the old WB.
That made 3 cats and the day was starting to look better. I got all the baits changed to fresh and the wind went down to less than 5 mph. In the next hour we got 7 more cats. No monsters, but they were all scrappy. Then a thunderstorm moved in and chased us and most of the rest of the boats off the lake.
Back in the parking lot I met Tin Can and Tin Can’s Mate loading up. It was great to finally meet them!
The day had stared out lousy, in fact the first hour of light was just garbage (sorry I couldn't resist), but Julie’s observation that the water looked clearer out to the north had put us on enough fish to have some fun. She is great company and she’s really learning fast.
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