08-05-2016, 12:59 PM
[#0000FF]Did a ride-share trip with fellow tuber Pa at Willard Bay south marina. Air temp started out a nice cool 60 degrees...and no skeeters. Good start. Water temp 75 early...warming to 78 by the time we left after noon.
Out of the marina by 7 am. We both started by dragging minnows on one rod while throwing Gulp minnows and assorted plastics with another rod. Worked gradually out to about 15 feet of water, seeing few fish (except shad) on sonar...and feeling nothing on our lines.
I decided to try shallower and powered back into about 7-8 feet...fairly close to the east dike. That was it. Had a couple of hits on the Gulp minnow and then went bendo on a 20" wiper. He was evidently experienced and knew how to hang on and how to crawl into my net. Good start.
Lost another wiper...bigger than the first. Let's say 20 pounds instead of 20 inches. Okay, try to prove me wrong. Had a couple of other fast runs on the minnows that were probably wipers. Oh heck, I KNOW they were wipers.
Then the kitties came out to play. Went through the rest of my bag of minnows. Caught one that taped out at 20 inches...to match my wiper. Good sized for a Willard cookie. Had a lot of bait stealer bites from what I suspect were small cats. Caught one on a small blue and clear plastic jig I had been throwing for non-cat species. Silly kitties.
Action slowed down late morning and I was out of bait. So decided to run back into the marina and join Pa...and make an early departure. He had stayed near the channel entrance. He played with a couple of kitties but nothing else.
My behind was a bit uncomfy after the prolonged session so I thought I would kick in to the dike and try to find a shallow spot where I could stand up and stretch. Hoping to find some sand next to the rocks...in the slowly dropping water. Nope. Nothing but rocks with a minimum depth of about 5 feet. So I used the motor to push me feet forward slowly to a spot where I could stand on the rocks to take care of business.
I used to launch my old round tubes all the time from the rocks. My new red ride (escape) was a bit bigger and more problematic.
I finally found a spot I could stand up and did so. But the rock I chose turned out to be a "rock-n-roller". It moved, I slipped and was frantically trying to hold myself up with the tube. But the tube moved back away from the dike and I was in the water.
To make a long story short. I struggled to hold on to the tube while feeling my way along the rocks to find a spot where I could again stand up and then get back in the tube. Us old out-of-shape guys just don't have the strength or balance to do what used to be so much easier.
Fortunately for me, Pa had come back outside the marina and saw that I appeared to be having some difficulty. He motored up, got out of his tube and helped me recover my footing and my ride...if not my dignity.
The upside? I found out my inflatable fishing vest works. When I slipped down low enough in the water it went off with a pop and a hiss that scared the stuff out of me. Lake pollution. At first I thought my new Escape had overinflated in the hot sunshine and had popped a seam. Luckily, not.
The downside is that I lost one of my fins. Had to remove them to be able to navigate on the slick underwater rocks...with lots of uneven surfaces and ankle grabbing cracks. Somehow, one of the fins I laid on top of all the other stuff piled on the seat of the Escape decided to slip out the back, Jack.
Rode back to the ramp with motor power alone. I had never realized how much I rely on steering with my fins until I tried motoring any distance without them.
Met up with Fat Biker at the ramp. Good to hear that he had found some willing wipers on the other side of the lake. I'd like to be able to make that run in my tube but that electric motor just won't get me up on plane...and the battery poops out a long time before I get anywhere near the west side. And after my most recent experience with the rocks, I don't think I wanna try driving over and launching from that dike.
Sorry about the limited number of pictures. I had a little interruption in my angling and photo shoot plans. But it was also good to find out that the Pentax Optio 90 I bought for its waterproof qualities lived up to its promise. Here are the few pics I took before the swim.
Hey Lee, old buddy. Thanks for the ride and the help on getting back into MY ride. Couldn't have done it without ya.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Out of the marina by 7 am. We both started by dragging minnows on one rod while throwing Gulp minnows and assorted plastics with another rod. Worked gradually out to about 15 feet of water, seeing few fish (except shad) on sonar...and feeling nothing on our lines.
I decided to try shallower and powered back into about 7-8 feet...fairly close to the east dike. That was it. Had a couple of hits on the Gulp minnow and then went bendo on a 20" wiper. He was evidently experienced and knew how to hang on and how to crawl into my net. Good start.
Lost another wiper...bigger than the first. Let's say 20 pounds instead of 20 inches. Okay, try to prove me wrong. Had a couple of other fast runs on the minnows that were probably wipers. Oh heck, I KNOW they were wipers.
Then the kitties came out to play. Went through the rest of my bag of minnows. Caught one that taped out at 20 inches...to match my wiper. Good sized for a Willard cookie. Had a lot of bait stealer bites from what I suspect were small cats. Caught one on a small blue and clear plastic jig I had been throwing for non-cat species. Silly kitties.
Action slowed down late morning and I was out of bait. So decided to run back into the marina and join Pa...and make an early departure. He had stayed near the channel entrance. He played with a couple of kitties but nothing else.
My behind was a bit uncomfy after the prolonged session so I thought I would kick in to the dike and try to find a shallow spot where I could stand up and stretch. Hoping to find some sand next to the rocks...in the slowly dropping water. Nope. Nothing but rocks with a minimum depth of about 5 feet. So I used the motor to push me feet forward slowly to a spot where I could stand on the rocks to take care of business.
I used to launch my old round tubes all the time from the rocks. My new red ride (escape) was a bit bigger and more problematic.
I finally found a spot I could stand up and did so. But the rock I chose turned out to be a "rock-n-roller". It moved, I slipped and was frantically trying to hold myself up with the tube. But the tube moved back away from the dike and I was in the water.
To make a long story short. I struggled to hold on to the tube while feeling my way along the rocks to find a spot where I could again stand up and then get back in the tube. Us old out-of-shape guys just don't have the strength or balance to do what used to be so much easier.
Fortunately for me, Pa had come back outside the marina and saw that I appeared to be having some difficulty. He motored up, got out of his tube and helped me recover my footing and my ride...if not my dignity.
The upside? I found out my inflatable fishing vest works. When I slipped down low enough in the water it went off with a pop and a hiss that scared the stuff out of me. Lake pollution. At first I thought my new Escape had overinflated in the hot sunshine and had popped a seam. Luckily, not.
The downside is that I lost one of my fins. Had to remove them to be able to navigate on the slick underwater rocks...with lots of uneven surfaces and ankle grabbing cracks. Somehow, one of the fins I laid on top of all the other stuff piled on the seat of the Escape decided to slip out the back, Jack.
Rode back to the ramp with motor power alone. I had never realized how much I rely on steering with my fins until I tried motoring any distance without them.
Met up with Fat Biker at the ramp. Good to hear that he had found some willing wipers on the other side of the lake. I'd like to be able to make that run in my tube but that electric motor just won't get me up on plane...and the battery poops out a long time before I get anywhere near the west side. And after my most recent experience with the rocks, I don't think I wanna try driving over and launching from that dike.
Sorry about the limited number of pictures. I had a little interruption in my angling and photo shoot plans. But it was also good to find out that the Pentax Optio 90 I bought for its waterproof qualities lived up to its promise. Here are the few pics I took before the swim.
Hey Lee, old buddy. Thanks for the ride and the help on getting back into MY ride. Couldn't have done it without ya.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
]![[Image: download.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/zS9dSGY/download.jpg)
