Breezy but successful

Pretty windy yesterday but I wanted to fish so I headed to a small pond that I haven't fished in a couple of years. I launched about 5:15 in to a wind from the Northeast that wouldn't ease off until after 7pm. Air temp at 74 and water temps at 72-73. I trolled my 3 lines as usual to start off but would end up casting later. 1st fish to keep the skunk off was a small perch that didn't warrant a picture. A long dry spell before the next pole bent over with a gentle pull.
As I set the hook and the fish took off I knew it wasn't a bluegill or crappie. A lengthy battle would follow but I would prevail and led this big trout in to the net.




He moved just as I snapped the picture but he was a whisker under 16" and I returned him for someone else to catch.
I would row and tow for quite a while, finding schools suspended in open water in about 25' of water but couldn't provoke a strike from them. I finally gave up and decided to head over to the calmer water to see if I could find something willing to bite. Another perch would be my reward before the first crappie of the night would be found, a nice 10".




I worked a short section of calm water, tight to the weed edge and found a few more including this 12"er.


One cast resulted in a soft take but a good fight and this 12" bullhead would come aboard to be photo'd and released. 1st bullhead for me from this pond.


A few more average crappie and a bluegill would finish out my night along that shore and I called it a night at 8:30 with the wind building again.
Interestingly, every fish came on a Tennessee Shad colored lure of some design, other than the catfish above. Nothing else would get bit.
I had a nice buck deer browsing at water's edge while I worked the shallows and I watched a yearling bear for a couple of minutes about a mile from the pond on my way home, too.