11-29-2011, 10:53 PM
[cool][#0000ff]I figgered with the forecast for sloppy weather from Wednesday on I better jump on Deer Creek today...if I was gonna jump. Shoulda stood in bed.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Beautiful, clear and calm...after the cold morning breeze about froze me into my tube. Air temp 22 (same as Willard two days ago) and water temp double that at 44...same as the air temp when I hit the ramp about 11:30. Lotsa samesies.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Headed for my "perch condo" off the end of the island...dragging a spinner on one rod and a jig and fly on the other. Got my first two bitty bows on the way. Shook 'em both off at tubeside without asking them to pose for pics. Ditto for the other slimerettes I hooked later. Waste of pixels. Sorry to the picture deprived. Only Timp shots today.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I really searched the area that I almost always find perch...year round. Saw only a few single blips on sonar...and maybe a couple of married ones. Only saw one or two small groups of fish and they were suspended a few feet off the bottom...unperchlike. Probably all finless freddies. At least that is all I found attached to my jigs when I set the hook on whatever hits I got down there.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]After an hour or so of perchless searching I turned on the electric motor and cruised over many acres of lake bottom...watching the sonar and dragging the jig and fly combo behind me. Had a few interruptions from feisty freddies but never did find any promising perch habitat. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I scoped out water from less than 20 feet deep to over 60 feet deep. Almost all the fish that swam through the sonar screen...with middle fins extended...were well above the bottom. Unless they were very sneaky perch I suspect most of them were trout. But I did see a couple of small schools that could have been crappies...or white bass? Stopped and worked them vertically but couldn't get no love.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Quite a few dinker boats full of trout trollers out this morning. Chuckled to myself as the old song "Rub a Dub Dub" went through my mind. Seemed like every small boat had 3 old fudds huddled in it trying to catch trout while avoiding the chill. Almost LOL when they got all excited while skipping a poor little slimer across the top of the water. Hey...that's the way I roll.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The breeze finally died down about 10 and the water got flat enough that I could employ all of my vast skills at finesse fishing. Well, maybe half vast. I sent down some small ice fishing size jigs whenever I saw anything suspicious below me. Nary a tick or a tickle. So much for finesse. Should brung the Dupont spinners.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Looked around and didn't even see the trollers getting any more love so I figured I had all the fun I could stand. Hit the ramp about 11:30 and headed for home.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Oh yeah, a State Parks truck was checking all the vehicles for appropriate passes and mussel certificates while I was packing up to leave . I woulda got a ticket if I didn't have my pass. BUT my pass did not allow me access to the locked restrooms. Glad I had it just the same. I predict that it is gonna get unsanitary out there before they reopen the restrooms next year. Some folks gotta go and can't wait to drive back down the road to an open facility.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Beautiful, clear and calm...after the cold morning breeze about froze me into my tube. Air temp 22 (same as Willard two days ago) and water temp double that at 44...same as the air temp when I hit the ramp about 11:30. Lotsa samesies.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Headed for my "perch condo" off the end of the island...dragging a spinner on one rod and a jig and fly on the other. Got my first two bitty bows on the way. Shook 'em both off at tubeside without asking them to pose for pics. Ditto for the other slimerettes I hooked later. Waste of pixels. Sorry to the picture deprived. Only Timp shots today.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I really searched the area that I almost always find perch...year round. Saw only a few single blips on sonar...and maybe a couple of married ones. Only saw one or two small groups of fish and they were suspended a few feet off the bottom...unperchlike. Probably all finless freddies. At least that is all I found attached to my jigs when I set the hook on whatever hits I got down there.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]After an hour or so of perchless searching I turned on the electric motor and cruised over many acres of lake bottom...watching the sonar and dragging the jig and fly combo behind me. Had a few interruptions from feisty freddies but never did find any promising perch habitat. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I scoped out water from less than 20 feet deep to over 60 feet deep. Almost all the fish that swam through the sonar screen...with middle fins extended...were well above the bottom. Unless they were very sneaky perch I suspect most of them were trout. But I did see a couple of small schools that could have been crappies...or white bass? Stopped and worked them vertically but couldn't get no love.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Quite a few dinker boats full of trout trollers out this morning. Chuckled to myself as the old song "Rub a Dub Dub" went through my mind. Seemed like every small boat had 3 old fudds huddled in it trying to catch trout while avoiding the chill. Almost LOL when they got all excited while skipping a poor little slimer across the top of the water. Hey...that's the way I roll.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The breeze finally died down about 10 and the water got flat enough that I could employ all of my vast skills at finesse fishing. Well, maybe half vast. I sent down some small ice fishing size jigs whenever I saw anything suspicious below me. Nary a tick or a tickle. So much for finesse. Should brung the Dupont spinners.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Looked around and didn't even see the trollers getting any more love so I figured I had all the fun I could stand. Hit the ramp about 11:30 and headed for home.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Oh yeah, a State Parks truck was checking all the vehicles for appropriate passes and mussel certificates while I was packing up to leave . I woulda got a ticket if I didn't have my pass. BUT my pass did not allow me access to the locked restrooms. Glad I had it just the same. I predict that it is gonna get unsanitary out there before they reopen the restrooms next year. Some folks gotta go and can't wait to drive back down the road to an open facility.[/#0000ff]
[signature]