Even A Blind Squirrel...

[nathanhooper]

Gets a nut every now and then...

Rain finally let up at the lake around 5. Got the new rod holders on and the poles set up for down lines. I ran two with 1oz sinkers for smaller bait and two 2oz for the little larger ones. Bream was bait of choice since I've be trapping them for the last two days. Got me a little stockpile now.

Went out after I put the ribs on the smoker just to see how this live bait thing works. Man does it take patience. I'm used to trolling 2-3mph, and drifting is a whole new ball game. But I got the bait to 30 ish feet or so and started going. Had something take one right off the bat. Probably a bass I'm thinking.

Eventually the wife told me dinner was done and I started to pack it in. I was fixing to reel a line up when one started clicking away. Looked back to see the rod bent into the water. Bingo!

Managed to get him in and was tickled to death. Not the biggest I caught, but my first on live bait. Not bad for a little time out...not a 40+ Lb'er.... But decent none the less. Bet you know where to find me tomorrow morning.

Big thanks to fins for putting up with all my questions and letting me know that 3" crappie are not ok to fish with... Lol.

Hopefully a ful report and more pictures to follow tomorrow.

[nathanhooper]

I'll fix the photo tomorrow

[Feathers and Fins]

LOL, I couldn't be happier to see you with that fish you earned it and I never mind questions glad you caught one now you need to get that 40lb fish.

[J-Doc]

Nice. Guess it's next on my list of things to do.

[kjackson]

Way to go! That is intriguing...

[nathanhooper]

Well, guess I should not have been so sure of myself this morning. Seems I always catch fish when I don't think I have a good chance, and the opposite of that.

Couldn't get a one to bite. It is really tuff doing this slow move method. You want to go faster but you know you can't.

I saw some in there, and they scared the poo out of my bait a few times, but no takers this morning.

I'll get the hang of it I'm sure. Need to just look for them instead of assuming they will be in one place or another. Had a guide pull into the area I was in but he didn't stay long. He did out out some rods so I know he actually has caught fish there before. That's the kind of stuff I need to see because he fished an area I would have never thought too.

Had a tuff time deciding what depth to stay at. They all seemed to be around the 30' and deeper range, but I was seeing them in 35' all the way up to 100 FOW. Something tells me that the ones in deeper water are less likely to bite versus the ones shallower? Clue me in if not.

Did have something interesting happen. I went over a spot that looked like a small brush pile. As I went over it what looked like a bait ball came off the brush pile and up to my bait, then went back down. I say bait ball because by the sonar indication it was every bit of 5'+ thick and kind of a conglomerate of small signals. If that makes sense. Crappie? Bluegill? It was in 40'ish FOW at the bottom.

40 lb would be nice. I would start hunting walley or crappie if I pulled one that size up. But I'll set my goal at 20 lb, but will take a hefty 15 lb for the largest of the year.

[wc1063]

Very nice!!

[YAKFM]

Nice looking fish, Nathan.

[Feathers and Fins]

If you see fish at 30 fish at 28 if they are at 40 fish at 38, My rule of thumb is to fish 2ft over what I am marking the stripers will rise and if you have multiple poles it increases the odds.

[nathanhooper]

4 rods and set at various depths from 26-30. Went out again last night with no takers again. Saw lots of fish and baitfish. Tons of baitfish. Makes me just wonder if my little ole bait is useless when it is put up against bait without hooks in their mouths.

I think I was moving too fast. But not sure. Maybe .5 mph. I'll get a gps reading next time I'm out. The lines all now have 1oz on them then the bait. They had a slight blowback to them, but just a few degrees. Hard to say what's going on under ther water. Could just be spinning around in circles? I see guys pulling what looks like live bait set ups pretty fast usually, so I'm really not sure what to think.

Did have a smallish fish of some kind nail the bottom of my boat, I guess chasing bait. I was looking in the right direction to see it full boar swimming after I heard the thump.

Not sure what to make of it all. I see what looks like good fish. I know there is bait in the area. Guess the next thing is to get my baits further away from the boat? We did try it last night by taking some rubber bands and putting the lines on a empty water bottle. It at least got two of them away from the boat.

So it truly was a blind squirrel experience the other night.