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[cool][#0000ff]Ain't no BFTer got more enthusiasm and determination to catch fish than little VividDawn. So, as she puts it, I have "taken her under my fin", so to speak. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Left my tube home this morning and gathered up Julia about 6:30 AM. She passed the first test. She was ready when I got there.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Headed for the north marina to try to find catfish, wipers and/or crappies. Water was up even higher than last week and the north breeze was blowing. Decided to stay inside the north marina since the breeze was cold and Dawn Girl gets chilled easily.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Picked out a spot, rigged up and tossed out a cast to get a feel for conditions. Down went the bobber and I reeled in a black male crappie about 10 inches. Man, we was gonna rock. WRONG. First cast jinx.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]For the next 5 hours we made a bajillion casts into the pesky wind and changed jigs, depths, bobbers and our general outlook on life. That first fish was the only one to hit the cooler.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Actually, Dawn Girl should have just about had her limit, but she evidently had special feelings for the crappies. I repeatedly put her casts right in the ZONE, and the fish repeatedly took her bobber down. But, she repeatedly waited patiently for them to let go of the hook before pulling back, so she wouldn't hurt any of them. I presented an unusual challenge for her on one fish. I hooked it solidly and then handed her the rod. She didn't exactly scream at the stupid fish to let go, but she waved the rod around enough to allow enough slack so that the fish did not make it to the bucket. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That girl is good. I have read her reports and PMs in which she assures us all that she goes fishing to supplement her food shopping. She loves fish...or so she says. But, based upon the net poundage of fish she actually removes from the ecology I suspect that she is merely trying to maintain an image so we don't make fun of her on the board. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is an old saying in the rodeo circuit that you have to be good to be a clown. I say that you really have to know what you are doing to "discretionary release" so many fish without hurting them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It was a fun morning. Sorry we didn't get more fish, but I think Dawn Girl picked up a few new tricks. Although she was having trouble getting the grebes to stay up and pose long enough to get a picture.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I didn't take a picture of the solitary crappie we caught. Someone would have probably had something snarky to say about it anyway. If I had little Dawn Girl hold it up it would have looked like a monster. She's just a tiny little thing.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There were several boats working for crappies in the north marina but I did not see anybody else catch anything except for one guy wading in the NE corner. He had a school of small crappies dialed in and strung his limit within about an hour.[/#0000ff]
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That's a prety funny report. Good on you for getting her out and showing her the ropes. Maybe you need to be teaching her how to use a stringer!
Oh well, now she knows where to go and what to do for the next coup[le of weeks anyway. That place is perfect for her, close to the car, close to the bank, good eatin fish and safe for a solo woman.
With a teacher like you, she can't go wrong.
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[cool][#0000ff]Yeah. Now she's got it down "Pat".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]She made similar observations. Just learning where to go and how to fish it is a biggie. Reading reports alone doesn't equal a "show and tell" session.[/#0000ff]
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Pat, I was in my Yellow Tri Hull today with a buddy of mine.
We spent most of the day on the South West side of the North Marina.
We did manage to bring home enough big Crappie for dinner.
White jigs under a bobber did the trick.
I saw the guy that was wadding but I didn't see the 2 of you.
It was a nice day to be on the water.
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[quote TubeDude][cool] [#0000ff]Yeah. Now she's got it down "Pat".[/#0000ff] [/quote]
[font "Courier New"][#000080][size 3] LOL! That was horrible [ ]
Sorry I haven't replied sooner... I was out again, fishin'! (yes, fishin'... not catchin'.)
Determination, yes... skill? not so much [frown]
---
Skunked: Round Two
As yoda says, "Do or do not. There is no try."
Apparently, this was my 'do not' day, even though I did try!
Good news: I''m getting better at casting (got it out as far as Pat did, a few times!)
Bad news: I still haven't quite got the skill of setting the hook (mostly since I didn't get any chances to practice!)
Got there and set up at about 6:30 P.M. Which was way later than I wanted. Didn't wake up from my nap 'til 4, then realized I had no worms (I didn't know you could/should use worms with artificial lures, until today!) and went to Wal-Mart. Then there was "rush" hour traffic I got stuck in, near Roy!
This morning's spot was totally crowded! There must've been at least half a dozen fishermen...4 on the north bank and 2 on the east bank (of the NE corner of North Marina). I'm too nice, and like to give people their room, otherwise I probably could've crowded in with the 2 easterners.
So, I just decided to go where I was the other week, between the boat launch and first set of docks.
At 6:30 the air temp was 70F and the water temp was 65F.
I set out some catfish "blood" power bait, which got one bite...but I guess I was paying too much attention to the jigged pole, and missed it, cuz when I went to reel it back in and cast a different spot, the bait was gone.
Between 7:00 and 7:20, I got 3 bites on my jig (neon green/chartreuse with a worm). I'm betting it was either carp or wiper, because I didn't have to set the hook... they just took it! Good thing, because I can't set hooks anyway...bad thing, because I need the practice!
Fought with each of them for about 15-30 seconds, reeling for all I was worth (which isn't much, cuz I ain't very strong), and they decided to let go. Stupid fish!
At 8:00 P.M. I took a break (air temp down to 62F and water 60F) for bathroom, and go see if the corner was clear yet. It was. A'course, by then it was getting a bit dark and chilly since I was in the shade of trees. So I really just practiced some casting, without really giving the bait/lures much chance to sit there and attract anything.
So... maybe I'll do better on Monday or Wednesday.
At least it was nice, warm, calm weather. In fact, my dad asked if I got cold tonight... nope! Was mostly in the sun, plus I had wool under clothes and a feather-down coat. Without the wind, I'm just fine!
[url "http://vivid-dawn.50megs.com/random/willardglass.jpg"]Willard glass[/url][/size][/#000080][/font][url "http://vivid-dawn.50megs.com/random/willardglass.jpg"]
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[cool][#0000ff]Glad you were able to get back out, but sorry you did not score any fishies.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If determination and practice make a difference, you WILL get into them on SOME trips.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I was surprised that we did not have more "company" while we were down there in the morning. Once the word gets out that somebody caught a crappie that place can get busy. It can become "full contact" fishing with a whole lot of poor sportsmanship and hostility. You don't need that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The spot you decided to fish can be good at times. You just have to time it right for when the fish are moving through. They tend to concentrate on the corner over there because of the bottom contours and the flooded brush. They know what they want and it doesn't matter where the fishermen want them to be.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Better luck next time. You deserve it.[/#0000ff]
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sorry about your luck
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My Monday plans have changed so I am thinking of heading up to WB on Monday. I really need to get out and float my tube .. hehe TD were you seeing a lot of strikes ont eh white grub with a bobber, and were you tipping them with anything?
Thanks
Matt
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[cool][#0000ff]Forecasts show major wind on Monday, but they have been wrong before. Oh, it's you going fishing. I forecast double tornados.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Several colors have been working well on the crappies. White is always a good color on Willard. Ditto for chartreuse in early morning or low light. I also catch a lot on the blue/clear sparkle. In truth, making a good presentation at the right depth...where the fish are...is probably more important than color.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I like to add a tiny piece of crawler to my tubes. Some guys use a half a mealworm or leftover waxies. Tiny pieces of perch or chub meat is sometimes even better. Many guys catch plenty of crappies on unsweetened jigs, but there are times when it can increase the number of bites and how long they hang on.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Also, the fish inside the marina are shallow and you need to use a bobber to avoid snagging in the flooded brush on the bottom. But, there are areas where the fish are still staging, in deeper water, over clean bottom. That is a good place to fish a tandem jig rig and either swim it slowly just above the bottom or to raise and lower it off the bottom. That was what worked for me a couple of weeks ago and I got several up to 14 inches in 13 feet of water off Eagle Beach.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck.[/#0000ff]
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You are one determined chika!! Stick with Pat, he is the man for a lot of our local waters. You will get into them soon enough. I think you aught to run up to East Canyon and have you a 20 fish day hucking powerbait here pretty soon. That should help with some confidence and you know how to cast well now. Good luck and keep us posted.
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TD I don't know what to say[crazy]...You know it took me all day long to teach her to catch & release [  ] all other fish but trout, and now some one like you [angelic] are teaching her to do the other.[mad]...
When you get done I don't know if I could re-teach her now...[ ]
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[cool][#0000ff]Some folks are slow teachers and some are slow learners. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It took me a long time to teach her that she couldn't drop shot in a foot of water. And, when I brought in that one fish she got excited and called it a twenty incher (only ten inches). When I asked her how she figured that she said "Well, that's how big Bassrods would say it is."[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Was it you who taught her the "swing and miss" trick? Kinda looked familiar from the time we were fishing for perch in your boat last year. Gotta admit it helps keep the fish population up and makes it a lot faster at the fillet board.[/#0000ff]
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Yep that was me, And to think I didn't think she was listening to me, you know how those women talk so much....
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Thanks for the info TD. Luke72 and i took his boat out last Sunday to just make sure all was working and saw a guy pounding the crappie just under the private dock int he marina. I do like a challenge so let the twister begin. I will just hide in the harbor and work my kick-muscles.
Matt
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Wow, Tubedude, good thing you got a hold of her. She almost went fishing with me last week! Can you imagine?! I mean, Saturday, I was lined up in the N. marina bay beach with 12 other guys, using the same jig, at the same depth, at the same time, our bobbers forming a loose line of colored dots, and EVERYBODY in the line brought in a few crappie, and I don't think I even got a bite....
And after
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