12-03-2019, 11:44 PM
[#0000ff]Spotted a hole in the storm pattern for today and decided to fill it with my (potentially) last open water trip to Willard. 31 degree air temp at 7:15 launch. Water temp 36 inside and 37 outside...warming all the way up to 38 by noonish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Had a couple of new flig patterns I wanted to give a workout. One was my "traffic light"...red, green and yellow spots on a glow white body. The other was a glow version of my newly wondrous chartreuse perch. Both produced well...with the traffic light catching the first, the most and the biggest.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Started inside the marina...working around the SE corner as per usual. CRUNCH! Not watching where I was going I backed into a thin ice layer that extended out quite a ways from shore...almost all the way to the end of the docks. A few really cold nights and the marina could cap.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Saw shad on sonar and figured there were still some fish inside for the groceries. Figured right. Got a handful of perch and one feisty kitty. But it was slow. About 9ish I decided to give it try outside the marina. With the water temps being right in the zone where I have done well on perch in the past I was thinking there might be some potential out there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There was. Not fast fishing but lots of shad and other "suspects" on sonar. And enough inquiries that I was able to add some more perch to my basket...as well as sending back several smaller ones (8-9 inchers). Finished the day with eleven porky perch over 10 inches...with one 13 incher and a couple of footlongs. Not bad.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Caught a total of three cats. Surprisingly, they all put up a pretty good scrap in the cold water. Oh yeah, I also hooked one big fish that burned line off the drag and bent my stick. I was hoping wiper. But the "wiper" turned out to be the golden kind...with big scales and puckered lips. Still fun.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I wondered what the condition of the parking area and ramps might be like after the heavy snow. There was a two lane wide path plowed from the main road to the ramp...and the ramp had been plowed...leaving some big balls of snow. There were no lines visible in the parking lot so just guessed and parked. No problem. No other cars in the parking lot all day.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The gates to the main docks have been left open for winter anglers. There were several dock dunkers working them over most of the morning. No idea how good or bad they did. I was busy outside.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Lots of new snow on the mountains and the clouds stayed low most of the morning. But about 10:30 the ceiling lifted and the sun came out. Hazy though. And that's about when the bite slowed to almost nothing. And I hit the ramp and headed home.
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[signature]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Had a couple of new flig patterns I wanted to give a workout. One was my "traffic light"...red, green and yellow spots on a glow white body. The other was a glow version of my newly wondrous chartreuse perch. Both produced well...with the traffic light catching the first, the most and the biggest.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Started inside the marina...working around the SE corner as per usual. CRUNCH! Not watching where I was going I backed into a thin ice layer that extended out quite a ways from shore...almost all the way to the end of the docks. A few really cold nights and the marina could cap.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Saw shad on sonar and figured there were still some fish inside for the groceries. Figured right. Got a handful of perch and one feisty kitty. But it was slow. About 9ish I decided to give it try outside the marina. With the water temps being right in the zone where I have done well on perch in the past I was thinking there might be some potential out there.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There was. Not fast fishing but lots of shad and other "suspects" on sonar. And enough inquiries that I was able to add some more perch to my basket...as well as sending back several smaller ones (8-9 inchers). Finished the day with eleven porky perch over 10 inches...with one 13 incher and a couple of footlongs. Not bad.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Caught a total of three cats. Surprisingly, they all put up a pretty good scrap in the cold water. Oh yeah, I also hooked one big fish that burned line off the drag and bent my stick. I was hoping wiper. But the "wiper" turned out to be the golden kind...with big scales and puckered lips. Still fun.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I wondered what the condition of the parking area and ramps might be like after the heavy snow. There was a two lane wide path plowed from the main road to the ramp...and the ramp had been plowed...leaving some big balls of snow. There were no lines visible in the parking lot so just guessed and parked. No problem. No other cars in the parking lot all day.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The gates to the main docks have been left open for winter anglers. There were several dock dunkers working them over most of the morning. No idea how good or bad they did. I was busy outside.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff] [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Lots of new snow on the mountains and the clouds stayed low most of the morning. But about 10:30 the ceiling lifted and the sun came out. Hazy though. And that's about when the bite slowed to almost nothing. And I hit the ramp and headed home.
[/#0000ff]
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