Tubin' Willard 3-7-07

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000bf]TubeBabe and I launched our tubes from the ramp at the north marina about 7:30 this morning. Air temp 37 and water temp two degrees warmer. Got to leave the ice auger home.[/#0000bf]
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[#0000bf]Water clarity is good...a bit green but good visibility. No wind all day. I can deal with that.[/#0000bf]
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[#0000bf]Water depth off the end of the ramp was 2.5 feet. The channel out was 6-8 feet in most spots...as shallow as 5 feet at the lip and as deep as 9 feet between the two channel shorelines. Depth straight out drops to 10 feet within a hundred yards or so of the channel entrance. If you go left you will hit 2' of water fast. If you go north, you may run aground on some shallow gravel bars. I went over some less than 2 feet deep and could see dark spots in some places that looked like gravel just under the surface...two hundred yards off Eagle Beach. I plan to return to those bumps and humps in a couple of weeks to see if some wacky wallies might find them attractive.[/#0000bf]
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[#0000bf]Saw fish on sonar all the way out the channel, but no biters. Threw a bunch of different plastics. Nothing the fish wanted. TubeBabe's sonar battery took a nap so she was fishing blind. But, the catfish gods d upon her and she caught the first fish...a small channel cat. She then proceeded to miss a whole succession of "pop and drop" encounters. No more fish for the whole day. First fish can be a jinx sometimes. Happens to her a lot.[/#0000bf]
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[#0000bf]She caught her first (only) fish right at 8 AM. About 8:30, I was just getting ready to lift my chartreuse jig off the bottom for a new cast and THUMP! I cranked a cold and walleye up off the bottom and was reaching for the net. Bad move. Ol' wallie read the book on disconnection from anglers. She opened her big mouth, gave a couple of side to side head shakes and let me have my little jig back. Mighty thoughty. Looked like it would have been between 4 and 5 pounds. [/#0000bf]
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[#0000bf]I figured there was more where that one came from. Wrongo. Didn't get another hit on plastic all day. Started dragging a minnow around a little later and ended up catching a couple of good eater size kitties. I did get quite a few picky pickups but most of the fish were really cold and slow. Hard to get a hook in them.[/#0000bf]
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[#0000bf]I kicked out as far as 12 feet deep, but did not see many fish on sonar past about 9 feet. Most of the fish and hits we had were actually in shallower water...5 to 7 feet. I suspect the fish are staying shallow to soak up some rays. Water temp climbed to 43 outside and 45 inside the marina by the time we got off the water at 2.[/#0000bf]
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[#0000bf]Beautiful day and lots of birdlife. Had a bald eagle fly over treetop high...and there were no trees. Also saw flights of ibis, ducks, geese, cranes and some big white pelicans.[/#0000bf]
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[#0000bf]For anyone who is interested, the water at the SE corner of the marina is only a little over a foot deep and there were lots of carp rolling and splashing in the warm shallows.[/#0000bf]
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[Kent]

Not bad for an early-in-the-year fishing trip to Willard. You had lots of us jealous folks watching you on the not-so-Candid Camera from time to time.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Not 0nly could I feel the lecherous gazes of all the lustful fisherfolk, but I swore I could see that camera tower shaking and swaying as lurkers fought for control of the camera. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I hope you all appreciate that I stifled the tendency to show you how warm it was...by raising up my ungloved hand in an angler's salute (not using all fingers).[/#0000ff]
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[CROSSINEYES]

O THE OLD YOUR#1 SIGHN. LOST A WALLEYE? THUMP AND LOST IT? FORGOT TO SET AND JUST STARTED CRANKING DIDNT YA. BE HONUST. THATS HOW IVE LOST A BUNCH IN THE FIRST PART OF THE YRS. CHUCK HAS SEEN ME LOOSE SOME HOGS THAT WAY. THE SECOND SET IS A MUST. THE NEXT THUMP WONT BE SUCH A LUCKY FISH. YR GONA HURT SOMEBODY.
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[PACKFAN]

Those humps and bumps out of the channel and to the North have been Walleye magnets at times in the past. Those fresh Kitties are making me hungry, congrats on picking the fish up when I know it still has to be a little tough out there.This is my off Friday and I'm going to try Pineview one more time. My buddies were up there last Sat. and Sunday and did very well on the perch both days. They were only in 30 feet of water and said they were able to release the smaller fish, and still ended up with 25 to 30 apiece between the 4 of them.[cool]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Yeah, I shoulda knowed better. But, ya get forgetful at my age, and after several months between walleyes. And, that one hit like a lot of them...followed it until I was lifting it up off the bottom and then chomp. Don't know who was more surprised...me or wallie.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Some lessons are just hard learned. Those bigguns got hard mouths and ya hafta get the hook in good or they will shake, rattle and roll that jig right outta their mouth.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Tought me a lesson with the kitties though. They all got a double hookset. Probably broke their little necks.[/#0000ff]
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[CROSSINEYES]

SOME HOW I JUST KNEW IT. LOL. BEEN THERE SO MANY TIMES I HATE REMMEMBERING IT. A COUPLE 10 PLUS FISH EVEN. OWELL. ILL PROBLEY DO IT EVERY YR ON THE FIRST ONE.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I have tubed that area going back to the late 70's and you are right. The channels and humps seem to provide the kind of habitat that walleyes like. It should be especially good this year because there is little or no other structure available to them. I suspect that if you are there when a breeze is "ruffling" the surface the toothy critters might be getting frisky in there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The old roadbed still farther to the north looks like it might have some potential too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]PS...I didn't get run over by the Colonel today.[/#0000ff]
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[Flycasting]

Nice report and pics TD. Too bad about the walleye.... But just maybe that is a sign of good things to come (actually getting into a few walleye this year)

Looks like i missed out on a nice day. [unsure]
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[SKEETER2]

Looks like you need a couple more rods on that tube.
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[lunkerhunter2]

Thanks for the report Pat. I might head out tomorrow to scope it out. Think i will take the 12'er with the electric. djremo was going to toon it tonight but had some issues with the valves on his new toon. I can't figure them out either. 2 opened fine and the other is not budging. It is a Teton something or other and i have never seen valves like them. Any thoughts? They have a post in the center that is spring loaded and it has to be up to keep the air in but one will not come up.
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[basserboy]

I've had the same problem with my pontoon. One comes up just fine but the other one has issues from time to time. The trick I found is that if I can get just a little bit of air to stay in the toon long enough the pressure is able to force the spring post out, I hope this helps.
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[lunkerhunter2]

I hope it does. He will probably read this in the morning and see that advice. The bad thing is he will be so excited to take it out he will have priblems focusing at work.[sly] Thanks.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]There are several kinds of valves that rely on pressure to keep the valves closed. Most of them have the potential for being "sticky" when now...or old.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It may be a simple matter of working the mechanism a few times, to loosen up a bad factory fit. Try dribbling a little water in there. Water will not hurt it and might be just enough lubricant to get it working. If that doesn't work, then a silicone based lubricant...like some reel lubes...is the next step.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It it just won't work, that is what warranties are for. Bummer to have to wait for a replacement, but sometimes the only option.[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I'm sure that if you could have made it we would have caught a lot more fish. Heck, the wipers would have been swarming us and we would have limited on at least three species. Yeah, right.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fact is that I probably covered more water today...on a first trip of the year...than I did on any trip last year anywhere. I kicked almost all the way over to the north dike, from the marina, and in and out from shallow to deep, looking for fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]What made it worse was having to keep returning to shallow water to air up the backrest part of my inflatable seat, on the Super Fat Cat. Somehow got a pinhole leak while it was laid up for the winter. It went flat in about a half hour and I had no back support. I had to stick my rigid apron behind me to have any support at all for my poor old aching back. That cut into my fishing time and reduced my concentration. Hard to fish when you are fighting with your gear.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]We got plenty of time to hit that pond this year. I found out what I wanted to find out. There is good tube access and lots of potentially fishable areas within reasonable distance from the marina. Let's get that new tube tricked out and get jiggy.[/#0000ff]
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[Flycasting]

It doesn't take a lot to talk me into it! [cool]

I also have 3 new rods and reels I have to break in as well. Some fried kitty or wiper nuggets sure do sound good.... When we goin!? []
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Whenver you get the "Mr. Mom" chains cut off your leg.[/#0000ff]
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[Flycasting]

LOL.... See ya in 17 years! []
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[Majja]

Thanks for the pic's and the report TD and TB. At least it was worth the price of admission. How ever the movie version form her in my office was not to bad either, well at least when i could get control of the spy cam that is.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Just "pulling your chain" Bro. I know you guys have your hands full with those twin girls. Glad it's you and not me.[/#0000ff]
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