Grand Slime Day (5 species)

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Did some bankin' at Pineview today. No, not "bank tanglin'"...but fishing "banker's hours". I usually prefer to hit it early, to avoid the wind, but had busy-ness this morning and the forecast was for calm through the day. TubeBabe couldn't get away so I did a solo shot. Glad I did.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Launched at the bottom of the trail down in front of the caretaker's buildings, near the dam. Damn. That gets steeper every time I do it. Gettin' too old for that stuff. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On the water about 11:30 AM. Air temp a balmy 42. Water temp just over 47 and that is about where it stayed all afternoon.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Started off shallow, near where I scored some crappies a month ago...10/16/08. Got a few tiny tot smallies and largies. Did not see any crappie-like marks on sonar. Moved deeper. Glad I did.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finally started seeing LOTS of fishies in water 45 to 55 feet deep. But, most of them were inexperienced and did not know how to bite. Did get some bumps before finally finding a 48 foot hump surrounded by deeper water. Got a couple of crappies, a few perch and some small smallies. Got one 14 inch smallie that did not make it after being released. That deeper water sometimes gets them. I scooped up the floater and put him in my basket. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A few minutes later I had another inquiry on my little jig and snapped my wrist to set the hook. SNAG? NOT. After a bit of smallie-like tussle the fish came slowly to the top, but with not much fight. Got heavier as I got it closer to the top. About the time I looked down into the water and identified what I was thinking I had...a tiger...it went wacko. Three or four cartwheeling leaps within a few feet of my tube and even tailwalked right up onto my apron. It woulda made funniest videos for sure as I tried to scoop the fish back in the water without donating some digits to its dental work. Finally got the fish to open wide and say "Ahhhhh", so I could grab it with the lip gripper. Did not want to net it or take it out of the water. I used my new hemostats to reach in and remove the bitty bug glow jig WAY INSIDE the tiger's mouth. What a testimonial for my Excalibur line. A 34 inch tiger muskie without any wire leader...after several jumps, etc.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The grateful tiger dove for the deep and his tail splash covered my glasses with water. But, he must have spread the word 'cause all the other fishy blips disappeared from my sonar.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After going bumpless for quite a while, I kicked across to the south shoreline and worked in and out over there for awhile. Got a few more perch and another couple of crappies. All the perch were dinks, with the biggest less than 9 inches. The crappies ranged from 11 to 13 inches. Not bad.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Sunset comes early in the narrows. When the sun disappeared behind the hills about 4 PM it got cold and a breeze came up. Made it hard to fish the touch approach I prefer and there was no more action so I hit the beach and boogied...before the banks closed.[/#0000ff]
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42196"][#63626b]MIDDAY LAUNCH.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (298 KB)
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42202"][#63626b]PINEVIEW PRIME.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (308 KB)
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[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=42205"][#63626b]BIG FISH LITTLE JIG.jpg[/#63626b][/url] (261 KB)
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[zonker]

Great story. Great fish. That Tiger was a plus. Wish I had been there to see you wrangle him back into the water.

z~
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks Z. Glad to be able to contribute to your vicarious fishing pleasure.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yeah, the wrangling part was "interesting". It all happened very fast, but it was almost as if it were happening in slow motion...and like I was watching it play out on a screen instead of being part of it. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Only when it was all over, and I had successfully released "Mr. T" did I replay it in my mind. Then, I realized how many things could have happened much differently. First, that toothy fish could have bitten through the line on the hookset...or any time afterward. Second, it could have popped the line on any of its twisting jumps at close range. Lastly, when it joined me in the tube...jaws snapping...it could have inflicted grievous damage upon me or my gear. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I surprised myself at how calm and collected I had been through it all. In my younger (and more exciteable) years, I probably would have freaked out. But, these days I simply savor every experience and accept the outcome. I truly enjoy every fish I catch, but if I lose a big one it is seldom more than just a minor disappointment...part of the game we must play to call ourselves fishermen.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]All that being said, that fish added a couple of megabytes to my memory database. I shall never lose the image of it twisting in the air, higher than my head, less than a rod length away. If I were an imaginative person (who...me?), I could almost imagine its eyes fixing upon mine and the fish asking..."Well, how many points do I get for that jump?" [/#0000ff]
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[tlspyder13]

What a day on the water. I kept wondering all day long how the fishing was as I hid from the sun in my basement.

I think that muskie probably would have been enough adrenalin to break this stupid migraine.
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[zonker]

[quote TubeDude]
[#0000ff]I surprised myself at how calm and collected I had been through it all. In my younger (and more exciteable) years, I probably would have freaked out. But, these days I simply savor every experience and accept the outcome. I truly enjoy every fish I catch, but if I lose a big one it is seldom more than just a minor disappointment...part of the game we must play to call ourselves fishermen.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]All that being said, that fish added a couple of megabytes to my memory database. I shall never lose the image of it twisting in the air, higher than my head, less than a rod length away. If I were an imaginative person (who...me?), I could almost imagine its eyes fixing upon mine and the fish asking..."Well, how many points do I get for that jump?" [/#0000ff][/quote]

Interesting how our perspectives change. The younger fisherman just wanting to get the fish in and enjoy the bragging rights. To him or her its all in the capture of the prize. The "seasoned" fisherman realizing that there is much more to the game than a dead fish hanging on the stringer. Each is valid in its own way and that's one reason why fishing never loses its attraction. There is always something to take away from the experience that is new and exciting. Over the years the memories form a deep treasure chest that leaves a feeling of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment... pleasure, if you please.

z~
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