Another after work trip, 10-1

Had an opportunity to get in another trip after work and launched about 4:45. Fairly strong breeze from the SSE but I expected that and expected also that it would lay down before too long and it did, thankfully. Air temperature was 68, water temp about 64. I made a pass along the windy shore to start and started off the trip with an average perch of 8 or 9", and a smallish crappie, perhaps 9-10" within the first 15 minutes or so.

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These are pretty representative of what came in to the boat tonight. I didn't score any big numbers or big sizes, but did have enough action to keep my interest. Here are a couple more of the bigger crappie I landed, about 10" or so:

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The crappie bite was very tentative tonight; I had to watch the rod tips carefully to see them. The perch and the bluegill on the other hand simply smashed the jigs, no questioning whether that was a hit or not. The gray minnow tube seemed to get the most attention; I kept it on all night and switched out the other poles with stingers, road runner, and the paddle tail. Each of them caught something but the minnow tube was the champ.
It sure seemed to get dark quickly and the temperature dropped quickly as well; it was 55 when I started up the truck to come home. I stayed until I could no longer see the tips of my poles while trolling and pushed on to shore at 7. The colors aren't much to brag about yet but hopefully they'll get better now that we've had a bit of rain.

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Totals for the trip would be 4 perch, 4 bluegill and 9-10 crappie, running from about 7" up to roughly 10". Kinda slow but was a relaxing trip just the same; it was a welcome change to not have to fight the wind like the last few trips.

Another great trip. You have an excellent body of water for just short trips. Keep it up while we still have open water.

Great report! Some really nice fish too.

Nice to see you catching fish. I enjoy your trip descriptions a lot!

I haven't taken the boat out, but this evening I stopped by the roadside on a river setback, and broke out my crappie rod with a Bobby Garland Crappie jig with a float about 24" up on it and walked a trail for a hundred yards just to test if the fish were biting in this area.

I didn't bring any other tackle. I got a couple light bites in 45 minutes of casting (probably perch), and landed one fat 9" bluegill. It was unusually colorless for this time of year -- kind of gray, but very healthy.

Bluegills had been absent from this shallow overly-weedy area for a couple months, but I think they're coming back in now that the weeds are dying back, and it has rained. Last year it was a bonanza of big fish here about this time. Anyway, one was all I caught, but I have my hopes up..... I might be back with the boat tomorrow morning.

Nice trip, the foliage is heading the right way.


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Nice job once again.