08-02-2012, 08:35 AM
After my float tube's untimely demise on my last trip, I quickly ordered a new one. I really wanted a Fish Cat 4, but decided it was just too small for my sasquatchian physique and oodles of gear. I just couldn't afford a Fat Cat, as much as I wanted one. So against my better judgement, I ordered another Classic Accessories tube, though this time I upgraded to the Cumberland. Overall I have to say I'm pretty happy with it. For a little more than half the price of the Fat Cat I got a tube that can carry 350 lbs. The Boston valves are a vast improvement over the milkshake straws on my old Togiak. It takes a few seconds to inflate and deflate the pontoons as opposed to several minutes. The zippers feel a whole lot more substantial as well. Once I got used to it, I really like how high I am out of the water. From the knees up I'm high and dry. The only real complaint I have is that the bar that keeps the tube from imploding (or exploding when you stand up), doesn't have anything holding it in place except the weight of my body. Once I stand up, the pontoons roll outward and the bar falls out. I also don't like that the handles are on the proximal part of the tube instead of the lateral side. It makes it tough to sling it over your shoulder to carry, plus the bar not staying put adds one more thing to carry in the other hand. It's a bit heavier too, but that's because of the pvc underside, a fair trade in my book. Anyway, on to the fishing.
I arrived at my favorite bass pond to find blustery winds and choppy water. It was even worse than the last couple of times I fished there. The whole time I was setting up my gear, the wind kept ripping my shirt halfway up my back and I had to chase down junk that was whisked out of my trunk several times. I noticed the water was down several more feet, and had turned from a beautiful blue green color to a murky greenish brown. I had a feeling that an algae bloom may have occurred in the past week and a half, so I brought a few brighter colored lures. I'm glad I did.
I sailed over to my favorite wind blown point and quickly caught a decent fish on a Damiki DC 100.
[inline "bass small.jpg"]
It was a lot harder to fish around the weed beds this trip as I couldn't see them through the murk. Things were definitely slower this time. After a while, I hooked a 17" largemouth on a Rapala DT-6 in bluegill. She put up a great fight before coming to the net.
[inline "bass 2 small.jpg"]
More time went by with a whole lot of casting and not a lot of catching. I ditched the Damiki for a River2sea Biggie Smalls squarebill as the Damiki wasn't running well after that first fish nailed it. Surprisingly nothing hit the new crank either. The wind had pushed me up onto a flat adjacent to a point. I tried burning a Lucky Craft LVR D-7 across the flat, and I nearly had the rod ripped out of my hand. Thankfully the fish stayed hooked as I grappled for the handle. As I got the fish closer I thought I saw a bronzie brown instead of the usual green. It was certainly pulling like a smallie. After a few minutes my suspicions were confirmed as I lipped this pretty smallmouth.
[inline "smallie! small.jpg"]
That was a fun surprise. I caught one more dink off the flat before a very foreboding storm to the north began blowing me away from the point. I was feeling done with the point anyway, so I went with it. I drifted to the other shoreline and the wind propelled me along parallel to shore. Nothing was hitting my cranks, so I decided to try a River2sea Bling spinnerbait I had just gotten. I wasn't feeling optimistic as I'd never done well with spinnerbaits at this particular reservoir, but it turned out to be a good call. I caught several fish tight to the bank side weedbeds as the storm intensified.
[inline "bass 3 small.jpg"]
The weather was getting pretty ridiculous. The rain wasn't too heavy, and there wasn't much lightning to speak of, so I rode it out. The wind however was a different story. Some of the swells were a good two feet high. I felt like I was fishing in the ocean. I kept catching fish though, so I kept at it. Most were around 12-14", but they fought hard. I reached a main lake point as the storm was easing up. I cast the spinnerbait to the sheltered side. As I was bringing it in, I felt the blades just stop. I set the hook and was into another bulldogging 17"er.
[inline "bass 5 small.jpg"]
After the storm blew by, the sun came back out and the fishing slowed way down. I didn't have a strike for some time. The sun went behind the trees right as I decided to tie on a portly little crankbait made by a crazy French guy in gold. Once again the rod was nearly removed from my hands by this little fatty.
[inline "bass 6 small.jpg"]
As I worked down the shoreline I caught several more.
[inline "bass 8 small.jpg"]
This guy looks like he's seen better days.
[inline "bass 7 small.jpg"]
I also managed this 17.5" fellow who put my 8lb line to the test.
[inline "bass 9 small.jpg"]
I was going to move back toward the first point, but some kids in kayaks got there first, so I headed for the flat near the boat launch to finish the night. I caught a chubby 16"er right near the ramp on the crank.
[inline "bass 11 small.jpg"]
Darned low light conditions, I didn't realize it wasn't focusing on the fish. I was excited for a good topwater bite, but it never happened. I had a few smaller fish swipe at a popper, but I only landed one that was around 12". I had one decent fish roll on a Lucky Craft Sammy 85, but we didn't hook up. After that, nothing was happening. I decided to bulge the spinnerbait under the surface up super shallow and caught 3 or 4 right after another, until the last guy broke my spinnerbait in half. Hopefully I can entice them to send me a replacement because that kind of sucks. I tried a different spinnerbait and got a dink or two, but that was it. I ended up with 32 bass for the trip. Though I was disappointed about the lack of topwater action, the number of quality fish that pummeled my cranks made up for it, and it was nice to finally get out on my new ride.
[signature]
I arrived at my favorite bass pond to find blustery winds and choppy water. It was even worse than the last couple of times I fished there. The whole time I was setting up my gear, the wind kept ripping my shirt halfway up my back and I had to chase down junk that was whisked out of my trunk several times. I noticed the water was down several more feet, and had turned from a beautiful blue green color to a murky greenish brown. I had a feeling that an algae bloom may have occurred in the past week and a half, so I brought a few brighter colored lures. I'm glad I did.
I sailed over to my favorite wind blown point and quickly caught a decent fish on a Damiki DC 100.
[inline "bass small.jpg"]
It was a lot harder to fish around the weed beds this trip as I couldn't see them through the murk. Things were definitely slower this time. After a while, I hooked a 17" largemouth on a Rapala DT-6 in bluegill. She put up a great fight before coming to the net.
[inline "bass 2 small.jpg"]
More time went by with a whole lot of casting and not a lot of catching. I ditched the Damiki for a River2sea Biggie Smalls squarebill as the Damiki wasn't running well after that first fish nailed it. Surprisingly nothing hit the new crank either. The wind had pushed me up onto a flat adjacent to a point. I tried burning a Lucky Craft LVR D-7 across the flat, and I nearly had the rod ripped out of my hand. Thankfully the fish stayed hooked as I grappled for the handle. As I got the fish closer I thought I saw a bronzie brown instead of the usual green. It was certainly pulling like a smallie. After a few minutes my suspicions were confirmed as I lipped this pretty smallmouth.
[inline "smallie! small.jpg"]
That was a fun surprise. I caught one more dink off the flat before a very foreboding storm to the north began blowing me away from the point. I was feeling done with the point anyway, so I went with it. I drifted to the other shoreline and the wind propelled me along parallel to shore. Nothing was hitting my cranks, so I decided to try a River2sea Bling spinnerbait I had just gotten. I wasn't feeling optimistic as I'd never done well with spinnerbaits at this particular reservoir, but it turned out to be a good call. I caught several fish tight to the bank side weedbeds as the storm intensified.
[inline "bass 3 small.jpg"]
The weather was getting pretty ridiculous. The rain wasn't too heavy, and there wasn't much lightning to speak of, so I rode it out. The wind however was a different story. Some of the swells were a good two feet high. I felt like I was fishing in the ocean. I kept catching fish though, so I kept at it. Most were around 12-14", but they fought hard. I reached a main lake point as the storm was easing up. I cast the spinnerbait to the sheltered side. As I was bringing it in, I felt the blades just stop. I set the hook and was into another bulldogging 17"er.
[inline "bass 5 small.jpg"]
After the storm blew by, the sun came back out and the fishing slowed way down. I didn't have a strike for some time. The sun went behind the trees right as I decided to tie on a portly little crankbait made by a crazy French guy in gold. Once again the rod was nearly removed from my hands by this little fatty.
[inline "bass 6 small.jpg"]
As I worked down the shoreline I caught several more.
[inline "bass 8 small.jpg"]
This guy looks like he's seen better days.
[inline "bass 7 small.jpg"]
I also managed this 17.5" fellow who put my 8lb line to the test.
[inline "bass 9 small.jpg"]
I was going to move back toward the first point, but some kids in kayaks got there first, so I headed for the flat near the boat launch to finish the night. I caught a chubby 16"er right near the ramp on the crank.
[inline "bass 11 small.jpg"]
Darned low light conditions, I didn't realize it wasn't focusing on the fish. I was excited for a good topwater bite, but it never happened. I had a few smaller fish swipe at a popper, but I only landed one that was around 12". I had one decent fish roll on a Lucky Craft Sammy 85, but we didn't hook up. After that, nothing was happening. I decided to bulge the spinnerbait under the surface up super shallow and caught 3 or 4 right after another, until the last guy broke my spinnerbait in half. Hopefully I can entice them to send me a replacement because that kind of sucks. I tried a different spinnerbait and got a dink or two, but that was it. I ended up with 32 bass for the trip. Though I was disappointed about the lack of topwater action, the number of quality fish that pummeled my cranks made up for it, and it was nice to finally get out on my new ride.
[signature]