Black Friday Tubin'

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Coulda called it BFT Friday...or bleak Friday...or dink Friday. Could been called lotsa things.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I got to the port ramp at Pineview about 6:30 and got prepped to launch. As per PM agreement, Toadly and son Joe showed up to pick up some batteries and then headed to the Weber. Then high_n_dry and son Daniel drove down to the ramp with their tube and toon. Wiperhunter and Ira drove up with their boat soon after. It was a busy ramp for a while as we all prepped to launch.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]22 degrees air temp and 43 degree water temp at launch. Cool, man. The boat guys headed for the narrows, where they have been doing well on small crappies...nothing over about 10 inches. Myself and the two other chilly dunkers started working out just east of the docks. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Found a few dink perch in 33 to 34 feet depth. Got one early small crappie right on the bottom with the perchies. Couldn't interest any of the suspenders cruising through at mid depth.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The tube and toon contingent agreed to work across to Browning Point and check for larger fish. Good plan...but it didn't produce anything bigger than we were already catching. So we split up. I went back to the dock area. Glen and Daniel worked further east...off Browning Point...and then out toward the deeper parts of the main channel.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I was catching only occasional dink perch and was about ready to make an early day of it when Glenn announced on the radio that they were getting faster action in about 40 feet of water. Nothing real big but some bigger than we had been getting. So I figured I would give it a half hour before bagging it. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There seemed to be a pretty large school of pretty small perch scattered all over a wide area in the deeper water. The fish were hugging the bottom so close that they did not even show up on either of our sonars. But there were many drops that had instant hookups as soon as we reached bottom. And we even got a few doubles...of dinksters. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]And I got another 9" crappie to keep my first one company. I wouldn't normally keep them that small but they are wimps and don't survive the bends after coming up from deeper water.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Curt and Ira came back out of the narrows and advised they had caught quite a few crappie...but nothing approaching even a footlong. Nothing like the glory days of a couple of years ago.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]I kept about a dozen dink perch to freeze for bait strips. Glenn and Daniel both kept a pretty good basket full. Glenn's wife is a great cook and she likes to fry up whole small panfish until they are crisp and then munch city.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Once the sun came out and warmed things up it was a lovely day. An occasional light breeze but otherwise glass just about all day. Good stuff. Better than combat shopping at the local malls.[/#0000ff]
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91417"]FIRST ON THE RAMP.jpg[/url] (162 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91418"]COMPANY.jpg[/url] (217 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91419"]LAUNCH PREP.jpg[/url] (283 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91420"]FIRST OF MANY.jpg[/url] (227 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91421"]MINI JUMBO.jpg[/url] (195 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91422"]2 EQUALS ONE.jpg[/url] (346 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91423"]MICRO SLAB.jpg[/url] (258 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91424"]SLABETTE.jpg[/url] (256 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91425"]DOUBLE DINKS.jpg[/url] (288 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91426"]BIGGER DOUBLE.jpg[/url] (279 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91427"]DANIEL HOISTS ANOTHER.jpg[/url] (345 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91428"]TUBER HARASSMENT.jpg[/url] (244 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91429"]WRAPPIN UP.jpg[/url] (269 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91430"]TUBE TAXI.jpg[/url] (286 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91431"]HND FAMILY HAUL.jpg[/url] (256 KB)
[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=91432"]BAIT.jpg[/url] (235 KB)
[signature]

[idahopanfish]

Thanks for the great post. I went out last weekend with the boat at CJ Strike and we only landes 1 trout. Went around to another dock on the way home and a family there had limits of trout, a nice basket of perch and catfish.

I needed to be fishing with them[cool][fishin]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Your story illustrates something I have told myself a number of times over the years..."Just because you are not catching fish does not mean that nobody else is either."[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The "90/10 rule" applies twice in many cases.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]1. 90 percent of the fish are in only about 10 percent of the water at any given time.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]2. 90 percent of the fish are usually caught by only about 10 percent of the fishermen.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That's why they call it fishing and not catching.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[flygoddess]

Sounds like you and Glenn have got it down to a system.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Down "Pat".[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]We usually manage to scratch a few but I am ready to get into some better fish. Hope I don't have to break down and go to Strawberry to do it. Maybe Starvation. Not too proud to catch trout there.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[flygoddess]

You don't know till you go[]
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]At my age I ain't sure whether I'm comin' or goin' or already been.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[flygoddess]

Heading up Saturday, welcome to join.
[signature]

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the invite, but if I get out at all this week it will be Thursday or Friday. Nothing personal.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Thinking about a shot at Deer Creek next week.[/#0000ff]
[signature]

[flygoddess]

Understand...just Sat, looks to be the best weather wise, and that lake is big enough no worries on the weekends.
Deer Creek sounds good.
[signature]