08-05-2021, 12:12 AM
(08-04-2021, 10:15 PM)TubeDude Wrote: Hit Rockport this morning on a perch search. Rumblings in the fambly about it being too long since I made some pig out perch chowder. So I thought I'd try launching in the current abysmal launch ramp conditions. They have scooped out a lot of mud off the ramp and piled it high on the sides but it is still sticky muck on either side of the wedge dock. In fact it is less than a foot of water over the mud on the north side...and less than 2 feet on the south side. I almost lost my fins in the sucking goo while trying to launch.
Air temp at 7 am was a chilly 46. Almost needed gloves. Water temp was 70 at the ramp...warming to about 72 by noon. But it dropped to only 67 up near the Weber River inlet where I exchanged pleasantries with Cookie and the Pirate.
As they reported already, fishing was not stellar in the area we had chosen to meet up. They had caught some dinksters and I only got a couple of feeble bites...and did not see too much on TV. So I moved back north and went toward the dam a bit.
I was getting a few hits and bringing in some micro perch. But they were not what I wanted for chowder. I still had nothing in my basket at 9:30. Then I found "Da Zone". First a few on the screen. Then a lot. Then so many they changed the depth reading on sonar from 16 feet to 8 feet. That's a lotta perch.
The good news is they would bite. Not too aggressively, but by fishing with ice fishing tactics I was able to get in some serious perch jerkin' for a couple of hours. They would hit the larger stuff, but merely stripped the worm off the hooks. So I downsized to a couple of ice fishing trinkets and just tipped them with a tiny bit of worm. That was it. Game on. Threw back a grundle but still got enough in the 9-10 inch bracket to get some filletable fish. Even got a couple of doubles...and a footlong smallie...and a CHUB???
No power squadron today. There was about a 16 foot Crestliner and then a bass boat that braved the muddy ramp after I launched. But no other boats. There were a couple of jet skis launching as I was coming in. And they had more problem than the boats. They launched with a 2 wheel drive pickup and it almost couldn't make it back up out of the mud after launching. Wondering how it went when they tried to haul the craft out under those conditions later.
Nice job Pat. I got out DC this past Monday morning. Launching from the pullout before the island ramp. A 16 inch eye jigging a powerbait minnow. Also a couple of cigar eyes, a few smallies, and one lone perch slow dragging a worm on a jig. Rainy a bit so Ill blame the weather for a lack luster day despite marking lots of fish. It was amazing just to be out.
Gabe