Deer Creek 6-23-22

[Freakyfisherman]

Needed a change of pace from NBC days at Willard.  Plus, my sis in law had in an order for some good red meat trout fillets.  So Deer Creek came to mind.  Plus it offered a chance for a walleye or perch or two.
 
Launched my tube at the Island ramp about 6:30 am.  Water level is at 81 %.  Still not full but didn’t have to hike as far after launching my tube as I did late last year.  Still a long hike for us old guys since they reserved all the close-in parking for the restaurant patrons…or boat trailers.  I don’t have a trailer but might get one though.
 
A few light clouds.  No wind.  Air temp 53…warming to about 75 by noon departure.  Water temp went from 63 to about 66.


Killed the skunk within about 10 minutes of launching.  Was dragging a new color whirly flig about 1 mph to get to the flats north of the Island…to fish for walleyes.  A feisty teen incher rainbow slammed it and gave a couple of jumps before crawling into the net.  One for the sis in law.
 

Oh yeah, it was barely after 6:30 in the morning and a wave runner came plowing by…with their wunnerful music cranked up to about 200 decibels for all to enjoy.  So much for being able to enjoy the wonders and the sounds of nature by getting out early.


Nothing else hit the trout stuff before I reached the flats so I slowed down and put out a couple of crawler rigs…on other color whirly fligs…fire tiger and chartreuse perch.  They did well last year.  But I wasn’t seeing much on sonar.  An occasional mark here and there.  No concentrations.  Not even any doubles.
 
I tried making big S turns through different depths, changing up speeds, changing up colors, etc.  No help.  Then, while moving through an area of 12 feet of water I got a couple of light whacks with brief hookups and then self-releases.  Perch?  Small walleye?  They can be anything you want if nobody else sees them.  But I suspected perch and brought in one crawler rig rod and pitched a small jig and worm on another.  After a few uninterrupted retrieves I got a bonk and set the hook in a chunky 10 inch perch.  Second species.  But couldn’t duplicate it.  Only one perch all day.
 

About 10 am, after a long session of uninterrupted fishing, the rod with a fire tiger whirly and worm rig bounced and I reeled in my first and only walleye.  It spit the whirly just as I put the net under it.  Close call.  It was a slender 15 incher but it gave me hope that maybe the wallies would show up and turn on.  Nay.
  

Weather forecrash said there would be some brisk breezes about noon.  So I started in about 11…and so did the breezes.    Had to fight my way back in the last half mile or so against a building breeze and bouncing waves.  I had been bottom dragging with my electric motor for over 4 hours and the battery was showing signs of getting tired. 
 
With a fully charged battery and calm conditions I can make 2.5 mph with my float tube with my 40# thrust electric. Best speed I could make against the wind (and with a weakening battery) was about 1.3 to 1.1 mph.   I figured if that was all I could do, I might as well troll the silver and red whirly flig some more.  I put a small strip of worm on it and pitched it out behind my struggling tube.  It didn’t take long and another rainbow climbed on and made a couple of leaps on the way to the net. Cool.  A second one for the sis in law.


 I finally made it around the point of the island/peninsula and was about halfway to the ramp when still one last rainbow wanted to play.  This was the biggest of the three…at 16”.  The other two were right at 15”.
 

I made it to the ramp just as my motor was making its last feeble turns with the diminished battery.  Brought my tube to the far south side of the vacant ramp.  But wouldn’t ya know it…some doofus with a big wakeboard boat was backing down almost on top of me…giving me very little room…and hollered at me that this ramp was for boats only.  My first urge was to punch his lights out.  But knowing that my aging body no longer cashes all the checks my mind writes I didn’t.  But I did “politely” remind him that I paid the same fees he did and was also entitled to use the ramp.  Luckily his wife intervened and told him to knock it off.  Thank goodness for sane women in an insane world.
 
We don’t need stricter gun control.  We need better people control.
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Pat
Looks like the eyes were tough for you. I need to get out there. Last week I caught small mahi mahi out of La cruz de Huanacaxtl Mexico. I wasnt expecting to go fishing while on an anniversary trip to Mexico. So it was a fun outing. At least you got some good USA tugs. 
Gabe