10-16-2018, 05:22 PM
I had a busy weekend so I planned to give the cat contest one more shot on the last day. Monday morning’s forecast was for calm sunny skies with a low 25. What was I thinking trying to go catfishing with a low of 25! Well, it was all I had.
I got to the UL State Park Marina a bit before 7 and the forecasters were right on! I thought to myself “This is going to sound like one of Tube Dude’s adventures, but at least I won’t be IN the water.” Remind me never to think that again. I had put on almost every stitch of cold weather clothing I owned. I must have looked like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man in camo. But I was fairly comfortable. Water temp was a balmy 46 when I started and warmed to 48 by noonish when I left. I spent the whole trip fishing 0.5 to 0.7 MPH and 4.6 to 5.6 FOW. The harbor was the deepest.
I worked my way all along the north dike casting a crank and dragging a cut bait. No love on either and little on the sonar. The only fish I saw was a 4” white in the beak of a grebe. I think I heard him mumble “neener-neener” as he smugly paddled away.
Once in the lake I headed north and traded the crank bait rod for another cut bait, but this one under a balloon to keep it farther from the boat. Three hours into my 5-hour trip and I still had nary a bump. I needed to change the scenery or I was taking the skunk home with me. I guessed that after cold 20+ MPH winds on Sunday the fish might be hiding farther offshore so I pulled the gear, fired up the big motor and ran about 2 miles WNW. The water depth increased from 5 to 5.3’ in those 2 miles, but it was enough.
I was running out of time so I set a timer for 25 minutes. 10 minutes before It went off I got a 23” kitty on the balloon rod! 5 minutes later I hooked another on the same rod but it pulled free. Not from any blistering run, these cats mostly flopped and rolled in the frigid water.
I turned around in case there was a bunch of fish near those 2 and 5 more minutes and I hooked another on the balloon rod. I don’t know if it was the balloon or the blue/silver flake FLIG. This fish shook its head lightly a couple times and I concluded it might be a mudder. A bit latter I knew I had guessed wrong. It was a heavy fish when I got it in the net, but I could only stretch it to 28 ¾”. I needed 29 for a bump in contest so I took the picture w/o the logo and didn’t bother to recheck it. When I looked later I had blown the image up and gotten only the side of a chair. You’ll just have to trust me.
A few minutes after the biggest fish I got the line from my second rod (now with a balloon also) under the mostly tilted up big motor. I walked back to the back and left side of the boat. As I leaned over to get a better angle and gave the rod a flip to free the line, my foot slipped and I went over the side into the now 47-degree water. Wow, that’s cold! I remember thinking as I fell, “You have one job, get back in the boat!”
I was falling face first facing away from it so I swiveled hard and hit the water feet first and facing the boat. I think I started swimming toward the side before I was waist deep. Just about my second stroke and “Fwoop” my PFD inflated. By 4 strokes I got my right hand on gunwale. Then both hands and I started to lift and realized it was too high. “To the transom dummy,” I thought. Once at the transom I got hand holds on it and a foot on the motor and I was back inside. I probably weighed 30 extra pounds from the water in all those layers of clothes!
After I settled down I realized 2 things. First, out of the water I was still fairly warm and second the rod was gone. At least I had sense enough to let it go so I could swim! Looking around I saw the green balloon about 100 yards up wind. Boy am I glad the winds were light! I wouldn’t have drowned in my PFD but, without the boat, I might not have completed the mile plus swim to shore before hypothermia won.
Back in the boat, I decided there was no rush so I left the other balloon rod out and worked back to the green balloon. I assumed that I must have broken the line when I fell, but to my amazement the rod was still attached!
Still fairly warm I looked at my phone and it was 11:55. I wanted to head in at noon to get to work on time. Since I had already cleaned the two smaller fish, I set the timer for 10 minutes and headed due West. Five minutes later the fligged balloon rod got hit. I set the hook on a decent fish. “Maybe this is my 30,” I thought. When the fish was almost to the boat I heard a clatter and saw the flait rod I had put in for the green balloon outfit bending wildly in the holder. I probably didn’t need to, but I set the hook, loosened the drag and shoved it deep into a rod holder on my current side of the boat.
By 12:10 I had both fish in the boat. The first measured 28 and the second 25.” I released them both, pulled the trolling motor and headed for the ramp.
I had a good, albeit eventful, fall outing. 5 cats, 2 over 28" was not bad for 25 degree weather. If I didn’t have to get to work, I think the afternoon fishing would have been good.
I was happy, but I made a commitment to myself. I will no longer fish alone when the water is below 55-60 degrees. I guess I was a bit spooked by my bath!
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I got to the UL State Park Marina a bit before 7 and the forecasters were right on! I thought to myself “This is going to sound like one of Tube Dude’s adventures, but at least I won’t be IN the water.” Remind me never to think that again. I had put on almost every stitch of cold weather clothing I owned. I must have looked like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man in camo. But I was fairly comfortable. Water temp was a balmy 46 when I started and warmed to 48 by noonish when I left. I spent the whole trip fishing 0.5 to 0.7 MPH and 4.6 to 5.6 FOW. The harbor was the deepest.
I worked my way all along the north dike casting a crank and dragging a cut bait. No love on either and little on the sonar. The only fish I saw was a 4” white in the beak of a grebe. I think I heard him mumble “neener-neener” as he smugly paddled away.
Once in the lake I headed north and traded the crank bait rod for another cut bait, but this one under a balloon to keep it farther from the boat. Three hours into my 5-hour trip and I still had nary a bump. I needed to change the scenery or I was taking the skunk home with me. I guessed that after cold 20+ MPH winds on Sunday the fish might be hiding farther offshore so I pulled the gear, fired up the big motor and ran about 2 miles WNW. The water depth increased from 5 to 5.3’ in those 2 miles, but it was enough.
I was running out of time so I set a timer for 25 minutes. 10 minutes before It went off I got a 23” kitty on the balloon rod! 5 minutes later I hooked another on the same rod but it pulled free. Not from any blistering run, these cats mostly flopped and rolled in the frigid water.
I turned around in case there was a bunch of fish near those 2 and 5 more minutes and I hooked another on the balloon rod. I don’t know if it was the balloon or the blue/silver flake FLIG. This fish shook its head lightly a couple times and I concluded it might be a mudder. A bit latter I knew I had guessed wrong. It was a heavy fish when I got it in the net, but I could only stretch it to 28 ¾”. I needed 29 for a bump in contest so I took the picture w/o the logo and didn’t bother to recheck it. When I looked later I had blown the image up and gotten only the side of a chair. You’ll just have to trust me.
A few minutes after the biggest fish I got the line from my second rod (now with a balloon also) under the mostly tilted up big motor. I walked back to the back and left side of the boat. As I leaned over to get a better angle and gave the rod a flip to free the line, my foot slipped and I went over the side into the now 47-degree water. Wow, that’s cold! I remember thinking as I fell, “You have one job, get back in the boat!”
I was falling face first facing away from it so I swiveled hard and hit the water feet first and facing the boat. I think I started swimming toward the side before I was waist deep. Just about my second stroke and “Fwoop” my PFD inflated. By 4 strokes I got my right hand on gunwale. Then both hands and I started to lift and realized it was too high. “To the transom dummy,” I thought. Once at the transom I got hand holds on it and a foot on the motor and I was back inside. I probably weighed 30 extra pounds from the water in all those layers of clothes!
After I settled down I realized 2 things. First, out of the water I was still fairly warm and second the rod was gone. At least I had sense enough to let it go so I could swim! Looking around I saw the green balloon about 100 yards up wind. Boy am I glad the winds were light! I wouldn’t have drowned in my PFD but, without the boat, I might not have completed the mile plus swim to shore before hypothermia won.
Back in the boat, I decided there was no rush so I left the other balloon rod out and worked back to the green balloon. I assumed that I must have broken the line when I fell, but to my amazement the rod was still attached!
Still fairly warm I looked at my phone and it was 11:55. I wanted to head in at noon to get to work on time. Since I had already cleaned the two smaller fish, I set the timer for 10 minutes and headed due West. Five minutes later the fligged balloon rod got hit. I set the hook on a decent fish. “Maybe this is my 30,” I thought. When the fish was almost to the boat I heard a clatter and saw the flait rod I had put in for the green balloon outfit bending wildly in the holder. I probably didn’t need to, but I set the hook, loosened the drag and shoved it deep into a rod holder on my current side of the boat.
By 12:10 I had both fish in the boat. The first measured 28 and the second 25.” I released them both, pulled the trolling motor and headed for the ramp.
I had a good, albeit eventful, fall outing. 5 cats, 2 over 28" was not bad for 25 degree weather. If I didn’t have to get to work, I think the afternoon fishing would have been good.
I was happy, but I made a commitment to myself. I will no longer fish alone when the water is below 55-60 degrees. I guess I was a bit spooked by my bath!
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