09-28-2010, 01:28 AM
[cool][#0000ff]I figured I had already made my last trip to Starvation until hard deck time. Figured wrong. The recent warm weather got me itchin' to hit it one more time and TubeBabe volunteered to help. What a girl.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Beautiful sunrise, calm water and 52 degree air temps at 7:30. Looking good. Water has really been dropping in level but the temps were still at 60 degrees at launch...warming to 64 by early afternoon.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The stable water temps have got the perch and smallies still frolicing in shallow water. Got lots of both in water from 12 to 15 feet. But, no walleyes at any depth today. First trip I can remember this year that I didn't at least catch a few "see-gars".[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Perch were showing the same silly behavior they did last fall...suspending up off the bottom (see pic of sonar screen). We found quite a few suspended schools and there would be fish of all sizes in those schools. Hard to get through the dinks to get to keeper size perch but we did score a few footlongs. Also got grundles of 8 and 9 inchers. Those would be welcome from most waters but are merely a nuisance at Starvation when you are hoping for a 13 or 14 incher.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As usual, the "Starvation steelhead" came out to play too (rainbow trout). After catching one on a bottom bounced jig...and losing a BIG one on a dropshot when it hooked itself, raced to the surface, leaped skyward and spit the hook...I decided to focus on them for the last hour or so before we quit fishing. Good move.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Threw several different lures at them and got hits on almost anything I got within range. Best results were on a couple of my homemade spinners. One was silver with hot red spots on the blade. The other was white glitter with hot pink spots on the blade...and followed by 12 inches of mono and one of my "Pink Lady" flies. (see pics). Tried bubble and fly but they liked the flash and vibration of the spinners better. Got about a dozen and kept 4 in the 17 to 18" range for our oven broiled Starvation steelhead recipe. Yum.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeBabe finished up on one of her favorite big perch spots and added several toads to her take. That girl is almost as good on finessin' big perch as she is with rasslin' kitties.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Word of warning. The Starvation main ramp at the state park is closed. Don't try to launch at Bunny Gulch. The old road is a decent ramp during higher water but the level is so low right now that you will get into trouble (deep mud) if you try it. One guy today found out the hard way. Almost lost his truck.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Beautiful sunrise, calm water and 52 degree air temps at 7:30. Looking good. Water has really been dropping in level but the temps were still at 60 degrees at launch...warming to 64 by early afternoon.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The stable water temps have got the perch and smallies still frolicing in shallow water. Got lots of both in water from 12 to 15 feet. But, no walleyes at any depth today. First trip I can remember this year that I didn't at least catch a few "see-gars".[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Perch were showing the same silly behavior they did last fall...suspending up off the bottom (see pic of sonar screen). We found quite a few suspended schools and there would be fish of all sizes in those schools. Hard to get through the dinks to get to keeper size perch but we did score a few footlongs. Also got grundles of 8 and 9 inchers. Those would be welcome from most waters but are merely a nuisance at Starvation when you are hoping for a 13 or 14 incher.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]As usual, the "Starvation steelhead" came out to play too (rainbow trout). After catching one on a bottom bounced jig...and losing a BIG one on a dropshot when it hooked itself, raced to the surface, leaped skyward and spit the hook...I decided to focus on them for the last hour or so before we quit fishing. Good move.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Threw several different lures at them and got hits on almost anything I got within range. Best results were on a couple of my homemade spinners. One was silver with hot red spots on the blade. The other was white glitter with hot pink spots on the blade...and followed by 12 inches of mono and one of my "Pink Lady" flies. (see pics). Tried bubble and fly but they liked the flash and vibration of the spinners better. Got about a dozen and kept 4 in the 17 to 18" range for our oven broiled Starvation steelhead recipe. Yum.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]TubeBabe finished up on one of her favorite big perch spots and added several toads to her take. That girl is almost as good on finessin' big perch as she is with rasslin' kitties.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Word of warning. The Starvation main ramp at the state park is closed. Don't try to launch at Bunny Gulch. The old road is a decent ramp during higher water but the level is so low right now that you will get into trouble (deep mud) if you try it. One guy today found out the hard way. Almost lost his truck.[/#0000ff]
[signature]