Fishing - 4/13/06

Oh me, oh my! I fished a local pond on 4/13/06 and had a pretty good day. Took off of work about 3 hours early to hit the pond on the nice day we had, and look at what I came home with.

Water was slightly stained, but visibility was still around 2 feet in the pond. Don't know what the temp. was, but it was hot. Finally caught my first crappie of the year, and the first on my Wally Marshall rod/reel I got a few months back. Take a look at these slabs. :D

Note: I brought these fish home with me in a cooler for pictures only. I kept them in a fish tank with an aerator overnight and took them back the next evening. Their fins were a little torn up from all the handling, but I just HAD to have a picture of them. They still seemed pretty lively when I threw them back, so maybe they can be 15" by next year and I can get a Trophy Fish award from Fish & Wildlife next time. :)

Another note: NEVER underestimate ponds. This was a coal mine pond that has a big pump in it. Fresh river water pumps in and must help to make slabs like this. And there are more were these came from... I've seen them!

Caught these on a F03 Rapala Original Floater, see attached. What fun is was seeing these big boys come up to the top and inhale that! Weeeeeee!

Good looking fish Matt. I commend you on puttin' them back. I don't know if I could have done that....they sure look tastey to me.

I second that. All you gotta do is look at me and you'll notice I don't throw any of those tastey morsels back! LOL

Ah, I'm a big boy, guys. 4 little crappie fillets might not be enough for me. :D