NW River Bash - Feb 15, 2014

[Idunno]

Ominous: that was the weather forecast for Saturday's annual NW River Bash. When only half the old timers showed, you knew it was going to get tough. Undaunted: that is what the the hearty souls were who came to fish anyway. The weather forecast was for low forties and a 70% chance of rain in the morning, diminishing to mid-thirties and a 70% chance of rain/snow mix for the afternoon. Winds were supposed to start gusting up to 30 mph in the afternoon. We showed anyway, and in true Crappie.Com fashion, enjoyed a chance to see both old and new friends, and fish:

We shoved off at 8 a.m. to calm winds and pleasant conditions...'cept for the cold:

At times, I thought we were going to be spared, and the weather was going to turn out okay in spite of the gloomy forecast:

But, no such luck!

I headed down below the border, to a super secret spot, but was only rewarded with this under-sized striper:

And of course, the weather started getting rougher:

After three or four hours of fishing in the steady rain, I realized two things. First: it is a great time to concentrate on your line. There is really nothing else to do when you are hunkered down in your raincoat...Just keep fishing. Second: this might be a good time to try those bridge pilings!!!! Look at this guy, doesn't he look just as happy as a hog in dirt?

What rain? I'm watching my line!

If you haven't gotten the idea yet, it really rained hard. In fact, it poured:

Our scheduled end time was three o'clock in the afternoon, and by that time, only the most dedicated crappie anglers made it to the finale:

And consequently, only a few fish made it to weigh-in:

There were winners in two categories; biggest crappie, and biggest yellow perch. The biggest crappie (15 ounces) was caught by Windjinx, and the biggest yellow perch (12 ounces) was caught by Reelfun. Congratulations to the winners:

Yep, we did it for two reasons. Here is one:

And here is the other--just look at those smiles!

Rain, What rain?

[Barnacle Bill]

Great post.

[crappiefarmer]

Thanks for the awesome report Dean! CF

[Ranger690]

Great pics. Thanks Dean.

[tootsieroll]

That was an awesome post. Loved all the pics of "Live Action".

[tahoe 50]

Thanks for the pics. I was a wondering where the pics were. Great job.

[Kitt]

Excellent job behind the camera. I really enjoyed reading this. And my hats off to you for taking the time out of your trip to take great pictures in that nasty weather.

[Kevin M]

Nice coverage, thanks for the report and pics.

[ReelFun]

Cool post man.

[Flatwater]

Most bodasis report, my hats off to all who attended and congrats to the winners. It was so good I read it again!