As I mentioned before I rented a boat from Hurst Marina for the week.
To be honest the fishing for me was very slow and I decided to wait until the end of my week to file my report...so bear with me, it’s a long one!!
So let's go back to the beginning of the week...in fact, this story starts on the weekend when I was in Toronto visiting my Mom.
For my belated b-day gift my Mom decided to take me shopping at Bass Pro Shops... Fun...fun....fun!!! Amazing amount of stuff...but to be honest, there wasn't much there that I couldn’t pick up at Ed's, so I didn't get too much. My Mom bought me a pair of breathable waders though! Yay!!!
Anyway, my wife decided she liked the look of a Cotton Cordel deep diving crank bait...so I bought it thinking maybe it would be good luck!
And was it ever!!!
I decided to do a little trolling in the afternoon on Monday (first day in the boat) and I didn't have that lure in the water for 5 minutes before I get a big hit!! Well after quite a battle and some rather impressive taildancing, I finally get a good look at my beast, and I start to become quite concerned. HOW am I going to handle this muskie all by myself in a boat I really don't know too well?? Heheh Yep!! First muskie of the season and my third overall...and it's my biggest by an inch!! She was somewhere between 37 and 38 inches (had to try to measure her in the water as she never came out of it!) So let's say 37...still my best ever, and one heck of a fight. She got really mad whenever she saw the boat... *LOL*
Add to that same day a 17 and a 19 inch pike and that was about it!! All in all a great day though!!
The larger of the two pike I caught in the evening on a topwater. It was really neat because I saw him hit it about 10 feet from the boat...well I saw him MISS it actually...then he took another swipe at it...missed it AGAIN....and then he did the most acrobatic move you could ever imagine as he bent himself into a pretzel shape to take a third shot. Finally on the third he had it (now only 5 feet from the boat) and dove into the weeds...but not for long
So...then come three days of basically being skunked. But I was trying mostly to find walleye, and I have NO idea what to do or try - I was trolling, casting, jigging...Ahh well not to be I guess!! One of my main goals this week was to try and finally catch an eye...but I just dont’ know what to do, and to be honest, with a 3 1/2 month old baby, I couldn’t spend the ENTIRE day on the water...so I missed most of the evening opportunities
So on Thursday I took my brother-in-law and his two kids out fishing. I caught a couple little rock-bass, and missed hooksets on a few nice fish. Actually I’m pretty sure that both of the nice pike that my bro-in-law caught were ones that I missed the hooksets on *laughs*
I headed out alone after they left last night, and hit serious heartache. I was pitching flappin shads or paddle tails (whatever you call em) and getting a fair bit of action, but a lot of misses and a few missed hooksets until WHAM I get a HUGE hit, and my lure gets absolutely swallowed. Something very heavy on the line and my 5’6†medium action rod is nearly bent in half by it... but I’m worried about the line...I’m not super impressed with it and I was worried it would snap, even though it was 10lb. Well sure enough...the fish heads to cover in a weedbed and I get snagged up in it...while trying to move in a little closer I feel a hard tug and then my line goes slack...AARGHHHHH!!!!!!! Heartbreak I tell you. I swear I’m only going to use PowerPro for everything now.
Anyway, I got up at the crack of dawn on Friday morning, determined to finally get into some bass. I started with topwaters again, and with the exception of one flying leap out of the water...I wasn’t getting any interest.
So I decided to try my old faithful and pitch some tubes around. Well NOW we’re talking. Getting a lot of action, and with my trademarked candy-@$$ hooksets I’m doing a great job of ensuring that I’m not going to actually land ANY of these fish that are hitting my line.
Until...
I was getting some action pitching my little tube around a bridge piling and it was getting a little chewed up so I decided to switch from pumpkinseed to green. Well darn good idea!!!! My first pitch back at the piling gives a big hit, and this time I’m not gonna miss this hookset...I yanked so hard, I almost fell out of the boat *LOL* And it’s ON!!! fish on baby yeah!!?
I have no idea what this is yet...but man it’s heavy...my drag is going (and it was set pretty hard) I get a look at it and YES it’s a bass!! Yeeeee hawww!!
Well I finally get it near the boat and I practically faint... look at the size of this thing!! I can practically fit my fist into it’s mouth it’s so big...
I get him in the boat and onto the scale... .4 lbs 2oz!!! My best bucketmouth by over a pound!!!!
A couple quick pics and he’s back in the water... Wow...totally amazing!
Well I fish around for a while, and manage a couple other nice buckets... a 15†and a 14â€
Well a little later on I decide to pitch out to the same spot where I picked up the big bass and once again... WHAM!!! Another big hit, this time, it’s ANOTHER personal record...a gorgeous 17†Smallmouth...sorry no pics...It was too hard to handle the pics and the fish and the boat and all that all by myself!
After releasing the big smallie I pitched out the tube once again to the same spot and can ya believe it, ANOTHER hit...this time it’s a nice little 19†pike. Well I’m sure my spot has been fished dry, so I leave it alone for half an hour or so...and just on my way back I decideto try once more...and it produces again!! This time it’s a 24†pike with these HUGE gashes around it’s tail...something or someone had given this guy a beating at some point....but he was still fun.
So I guess that spot had a miracle day or something because over the next couple of days all I could manage out of it was a 12†bucket...ahh well it was good while it lasted!
So, the weekend...good god, it was like the queensway out there. Every idiot with a powerboat or a seadoo or a whatever was out...there were times in the no-wake area around Hurst where there were literally 10 boats coming upstream and 5 or 6 going downstream. So much for no wake!!!
Again, try as I could, I couldn’t find any walleye. I trolled and casted and pitched and jigged and whatever I could all day on Sunday (last day on the boat) to no avail. In fact some people were telling me you basically needed to troll the weedbeds late at night, so I guess I was kinda wasting my time.
Well I picked up my Dad and my little brother around 2:00 on Sunday to take them out for one last fish in the boat...man it was SO hot, and so many boats that we really weren’t feeling very confident. But, you take what you can get when you don’t own!
While trolling I noticed a nice big tree lying in and just above the water, so I thought I’d take them to that spot. I figured, it’s got structure...a little bit of shade, and a fast drop off... Well... I really need to work on my pitching skills...first “pitch†snags right into a branch *LOL* My Dad literally held on to the back of my shorts as I leaned out to try and get my tube untangled.
Well I pitched out to the retaining wall instead the next time, and ... and... BIG hit.!!! My Dad is telling my little brother to get the net ready, but I told him he’s gonna have to be my net-man this time, as this feels like a BIG fish...again, drag going, and then the fish dives into the weeds...and I get a little worried...been HERE before! But this time I have on PowerPro...and I had a GOOD hookset...so ok...here we go...
I can’t get a look at this guy as he’s a little covered in weeds...Dad pops him into the net and I ask, “What is it?†He says it’s a BIG bass!! As I get a closer look I see a cloudy looking eye...then big teeth... Oh my GOD!! It’s a walleye!!!! and it’s a BIG walleye!!!
Well you can’t imagine how excited I was...FINALLY my first eye...and he’s huge!! between 20 and 21 inches and an even 3 pounds...
WOW!!!!!!! I was shaking cause I was so excited!! My Dad says he couldn’t have scripted it better if he tried!! Last day on the boat...last trip on the boat...in an impossible location, using a bait that’s not known for that type of fish... I caught this thing in less than 3 feet of water, during the hottest part of the day...and on a TUBE!!!!
Anyway...nothing much else to report, but what a week!! Four personal best records broken!!
Sorry for such a long report, but hey, it’s a week’s worth!!!
,,,,,,,,,,,good looking there to body,,,,,,,,
