Thursday Morning Upper End

[rps]

Went out at can't see but didn't come in until 1:00, well after skidoo usually begins. The reason was the very light boat traffic. I ran up to Eagle Rock in the dark, fished the long flat points between Owl and Panther Creeks then moved on to the Devils Backbone. Didn't see another boat until 8:00 AM!

You would think between the quiet and the haze this morning, topwater baits would have worked for me. They did, but only in an odd way. I felt like the kid who when he was asked how the fishing was answered "fantastic." He had caught a whole mason jar full. Total of 5 bass that might have weighed 3 pounds total. Did catch a solid keeper on a shakey head after the top feeding ended.

Went looking for walleye after the sun was on the water. I received a tip from Powerdive earlier this week and worked Cabelas Reef Runner knockoff in the 23 -25 foot range over 26 -28 foot water. Four hours and six stops later I had nothing. Then, after noon, at stop seven, upstream from Holiday Island Marina, I caught a 20 inch and 23 inch out of tree tops. The silver and black bait was at 25 feet and bouncing through limbs. The water was 32 feet deep. The boat speed was between 1.5 and 2 mph.

Both fish were males. One will go into fishburgers tonight and the other is saved for company coming this weekend.

[Bill Babler]

Great Post. Enjoy your Eye's Did you lose any baits in the trees? You are a much braver man than me.

[SKMO]

Way cool report. I am not sure what I see in the cooler but it looks like at least one diet coke that would not have made it off the water with me. Thanks for the report.

[rps]

Yes, that is a diet coke. It was the last of the six pack I put in early this morning.

And yes, I do lose lures in trees. That's one of the reasons I buy the Cabela knockoffs on sale in the winter time. However, I don't lose as many as you would think. When I hang, I back up carefully to the other side of the hang, put on a glove to avoid braid line cuts, and pull steadily. Most of the time, the bait comes free or the hook opens before the line breaks.

[powerdive]

Nice going, rps!!!! That 23 is one fat eye. Note: the fish we caught last week were right on bottom.

[Champ188]

Question rps ... do Diet Cokes sharing an ice chest with walleye taste less fishy than with other species? Drank plenty of "fish beer" back in my drinking days.

[rps]

Question rps ... do Diet Cokes sharing an ice chest with walleye taste less fishy than with other species? Drank plenty of "fish beer" back in my drinking days.

When the water temp is 80+ my live well keeps fish alive for maybe a minute. Besides, like you, I've been drinking from fishy cans for a very long time. A quick rinse in the lake and I pretend I don't care. I am sure many others remember back in the day when fish, beer, and vienna sausage tins all shared the same cooler.

Ponder this: what's the best combination and what's the worst? For worst I say flatheads and Narragansett beer. When you look up swill in the dictionary, Narragansett beer is the picture. Makes Pearl, Brown Derby, and Carling Black Death seem good.