Mead 8-15-13

[wolfs4evr]

One of the extremely rare times I am able to hit the water mid week. Was SILLLLY nice. Only two of us launched at sun up and when I came back I had the ramp and parking lot more or less to myself. Madi didn't go so I was solo. She is trying to get back into a "school" routine and getting up at 3 wasn't fitting in. lol Now that she is a "teenager" dunno how much longer I am even going to have a fishing partner...

Anyways fishing is hot. Nothing big but between 6am and noon I averaged 10 fish a hour. Not a bad day. Only caught a couple after 12. Was out scouting new areas and they were not productive. Back at the marina and loaded by 4 and the Stripers I kept for the smoker were all cleaned up by 430. Home at a decent time.

It is all about moving baits right now. They are on the prowel. The worm rod and jig rod got zero tugs on them today but the crank rods were off the hook. Squarebills down to 6XD 20 foot diving cranks. Old faithful dropshot got a little work out plus swimming grubs on the other spinning rod.

I even pulled a decent smallie out of 40+ foot water with a shallow depth jerk bait. It moves they will come for it!

Got into the Stripers too. 2 hours of more or less every cast fish on. From shallow running cranks to the 6XD crank it didn't matter. I left after getting bored with them with graph screen still clobered with Stripers.



Some other pics of the day.

Dropshot:


Squarebill:


Jerkbait:


Yama Grub:


Rapalla Scatter Rap:


And then... The real fun of the day. One of the very few times I have been out there alone and I needed a third hand bad! It was the monkey (*&#$ a football comic to the "T".

So here I am catching Striper after Striper as fast as possible. I want a dozen "decent" sized ones for the smoker tomorrow before the boil goes away. If they are small I just lift them out of the water by the line and grab the crank. Then grap the treble with the needle nose and give them a shake off. Simple enough. Been doing it for years... Dunno what this stucker did but one good shake and now we are both hooked. One treble in me and one in him. I get him under control and grab his lips with the needle nose to keep him from shaking around and have my other hand tied up with a hook in it. This is where the third hand would of been super nice. I must of stood there for 5 minutes thinking now what. How in the heck am I going to keep him from bouncing and get a hook out of him then me. Finally it dawned on me to pin him between my legs and the rear deck. He didn't move. I was able to get the hook out of him then onto me.

I would of never imagined human skin is that darn tough. What a bear to get that sucker out. I tried to pinch the barb and it wasn't coming out so I cut the end of the hook off and even that it was a 100% bear to push it back through. Finally succeeded and back to fishing.

That fish, though it was on the small side, went into the livewell as a matter of principal!



I kept a dozen Stripers... All seasoned up and will be ready for the smoker in the morning!


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