Fish that took over an hour to catch

I went to my recent favorite fishing hole , Lake McIntosh , this morning.
In just a short period of time I caught five small crappies 4-6” long .
Even on ultralight tackle small crappies are the least fighting fish that swims , IMO .
I kept changing lures , but I either caught a crappie or nothing at all.
I wanted to catch a gill , I didn’t care what size .
Time for plan B .
I left McIntosh and headed towards the Old Mill creek , but on the way checked out two places that according to Google map , should have provided public access to the creek below lake McIntosh.
One was a soccer complex , but it looked like the creek was on the backside of the lower fields and they were fenced in .
Got to the Mill creek and this time I had it to myself except for a guy on the other side of the creek up near the dam.
For the next hour I threw everything I could think of and had one light hit and a follow .
At least with the follow I knew there was something in there .
Finally I switched to a size 12 streamer hook with a tungsten bead and a shortened black Trout Magnet . I fished for about fifteen minutes and had a couple of bumps but no hookups.
I walked to the last lower spot I could get to and cast across and downstream, and slowly worked the TM across and back upstream twitching along the way .
Finally a hookup ! It was a small bluegill but it fought better than any of the crappies I’d caught . On my next cast , I caught its twin .
Then I hooked something on the bottom and lost my jig .
It was fun casting my 5’ St Croix Premier ULM paired with a Shimano 22 Soare c20000spg .
Love the combo , especially the reel .
I have the 18 Soare version of this reel and it’s nice , but the 22 version is about half an ounce lighter .

Another good trip with the UL gear. Awesome.

Hard to put a hook in those little ones

Good sticking with it. Some days are like that, no matter what you do.
Bob

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Hard to put a hook in those little ones

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All I can find lately. Need to get out in the boat , but my fishing buddy has been having problems with the heat lately and I don’t take the boat out by myself much anymore.

Getting out and around is good for ya even if the fish ain’t home that day. glad you found a few and beat the heat. And if your gut tells you to stay out of the boat alone, you better listen.

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

. And if your gut tells you to stay out of the boat alone, you better listen.

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How about a wife that says I shouldn’t fish alone out of my boat. :)!

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

. And if your gut tells you to stay out of the boat alone, you better listen.

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How about a wife that says I shouldn’t fish alone out of my boat ? :)

Very nice!

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

How about a wife that says I shouldn’t fish alone out of my boat ? :)

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for me It'd be the first time I ever listened to anything she said rotflrotflrotfl(I mean according to her:yikes:donorotflrotfl)

Mine says that sometimes. That’s one reason I didn't hesitate when I got the chance for my current boat. Small and easy to handle and load, deeper sides and my feet are on the floor not a raised deck. Lots of other pluses too. I’m only gonna do this til I don’t feel safe and then I’ll step out. I haven’t gotten there yet. So far, so good. But I know my day will come one day. Hopefully not too soon.

I swapped Alumacraft boats about ten years ago.
I bought my 1542 back in 1978 . It was heavy for an Aluminum boat . Originally came with steering and a 20hp Mercury .
I gave the hull to a friend of mine and bought a 1436 .
It’s light enough I can handle it by myself and setup for electric only lakes , although I still have a 6hp Johnson twin if I wanted to explore a bigger reservoir.
No decks on this one , my feet are on the floor inside . My weight is low in the boat .
I feel safe in it ,even alone .
It’s walking the trailer putting it back on the trailer to get to the winch that’s the scariest part of taking it out .
Guess I could take my rubber boots and get in the water on the ramp to load her up . Hadn’t thought of doing it that way .

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

I swapped Alumacraft boats about ten years ago.
I bought my 1542 back in 1978 . It was heavy for an Aluminum boat . Originally came with steering and a 20hp Mercury .
I gave the hull to a friend of mine and bought a 1436 .
It’s light enough I can handle it by myself and setup for electric only lakes , although I still have a 6hp Johnson twin if I wanted to explore a bigger reservoir.
No decks on this one , my feet are on the floor inside . My weight is low in the boat .
I feel safe in it ,even alone .
It’s walking the trailer putting it back on the trailer to get to the winch that’s the scariest part of taking it out .
Guess I could take my rubber boots and get in the water on the ramp to load her up . Hadn’t thought of doing it that way .

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Can you put trailer guides on and drive it onto the bunks? I guess the only danger spot them is stepping from the boat onto the trailer and then to dry ground. You could also put planks on the trailer tongue to walk on.

See if you can find a young kid that wants to go fishing. Maybe ask at the Sport Shop. He or She could help you with loading and unloading and you could take them fishing. Just thinking out loud here trying to help you out!

I can get it about half way up the trailer with the rear trolling motor .
I have side bunks and rollers .
That few feet from the boat to dry ground is tough on us old guys .
But I get around a lot better than most of my friends and some of them are a lot younger.