Cookie's Friday Willard report

[CookiePirate]

It was an interesting day on the lake. Although fishing was painfully slow, it was anything but boring. Started out at sunrise on the  west dike. Couldn't get where we wanted to go on the southwest corner beach as there were several anglers that already there.  So we moved further on and I did my best not to die as I maneuvered over boulders to reach the water. The balancing act to stay out of the water at the bottom was just as impressive. We had two poles out with mussels, and two poles out with cut bait. It was a beautiful morning. The water was like glass with an occasional carp breaking the surface.  After an hour and a half I was rewarded  with one 20 inch cat. After two more hours it became uncomfortably warm for me so we headed home. After completing a few chores, Buckwheat agreed to go back with us for an evening/night run in the marina. We were excited because he doesn't often want to go anymore. We packed up the gear and reached the marina around 6:30. Now I have heard tales about the "Happy Harvesters" that are sometimes seen at the marinas, but I never thought I would actually see them. Fishermen, shoulder to shoulder, pulling crappie out of the water as fast as they could. I was speechless. It was also obvious that there would not be any real estate in which we could get Buckwheat and his wheelchair close to the water so we cruised around the various beaches for the next little while, taking it in, trying to formulate a new plan. At one point we pulled in and parked at on of the beaches, thinking we might try for a spot, when I was immediately solicited by a gentleman, only half dressed, obviously intoxicated, who invited me into the water with him. Seriously! We finally decided on a parking spot next to the barriers on the far side of the marina where we could park the truck in such a way that Buckwheat could watch us through the window and play his Gameboy while we fished the lake side of the marina. It wasn't long before we were joined by a host of fisherman, each armed with their secret weapon for luring in the monster. Despite the veritable buffet being presented on the lake bottom, no fish were coming to the party. An hour after sunset we decided I had had a really long day and better get home to bed. I almost forgot to mention the boat that came trolling past, only feet from shore, going right over my line and casting practically in my lap. It is going to take me a long time to recover from this trip