It was pretty slow, not many carp along the shoreline (but there was SOME), and almost NO surface activity that would suggest gamefish attacking shad.
On the spinning gear, I caught a few smallish Largemouth Bass, and at least a 1/2 dozen White Bass on Reef Runner Cicadas and Pop-R's. Biggest White Bass was maybe 12". Most were 10-inchers. And then there was this one, which may be the smallest I've ever caught. I didn't measure it, but I'm guessing it was about 2.5" long. It was hooked in the mouth. In the picture I had already unhooked it and then it flopped around some in the sand before I could get the camera out.
With the fly gear I was targeting carp. I used an egg pattern under an indicator in the shallows. I landed one smaller carp that measured 20", and had a much bigger carp on that took off on a blazing run straight away from me down the shoreline and then broke my line. Unfortunately I didn't realize it had broken my line until I was done fishing...(I just thought the fish threw the hook...hey, it was getting pretty dark, and my indicator somehow managed to stay on the line so I never bothered to check further)...so I fished the last 20+ minutes with no fly on my line. The 20-incher was a good-looking fish, unfortunately it also managed to roll in the sand while I was getting my camera ready.
I also caught a nice bluegill on the egg pattern.
Jay caught White Bass, Largemouth Bass, and Channel Catfish. One bass hit a swimbait and got off near shore after a great fight. I got a good look at it...I would say it was at least 4 lbs, and probably closer to 5. Really nice fish!
The Catfish hit a Mepps spinner and also fought really well:
It was a nice warm evening, boat traffic wasn't horrible, but there were still plenty of big wakes when they did go by. There was also a really LOUD noisy airboat that went by a couple times...unusual to see those around here.
A beaver swam by about 40' in front of me as the sky started getting dark.
I can't tell you how many times I've found out that I was fishing without a hook. That's what the reallllly good fishers do, no hook we lasso them! LOL!
ReplyDeleteExactly! Anybody can catch fish with a HOOK!
ReplyDeleteOr how about this..."I'm new to fishing...my friends told me all I had to do was keep throwing my line in the water, and I'd eventually catch a fish. I've gotten good enough that I can throw all my line in the water without a rod or reel. Still no fish, though."
...and other puns. :) Feel free to add more!