Post by PoorBoy on Nov 16, 2005 10:06:37 GMT -5
Anyone else get out on Sunday? If so, then you have a pretty good idea of what i went through just to catch a couple fish.
Not the windiest day i have ever spent on the water, but in the top 3 for sure. Gusts of up to 40+ mph made it difficult to say the least. But we did manage a few nice keeper smallmouths. Heres how.
It took about 5 seconds to realize that suspending a jerkbait just wasnt happening. This pattern holds up from early fall all the way until december, weather permitting. But not when the wind is blowing with hurricane like force. Casting wasnt a problem as the Lucky Craft POinter 100s I use are heavy and cast well even in strong winds, but once the bait was down to the desired depth the wind would carry the line causing the bait to slide through the water. So we threw that idea out the window.
Next we made our way into the back lake ( other side of the I96 bridge ) to seek shelter. It was an improvement over the main lake, but not by much. We first targeted the beach area, throwing heavy spinnerbaits and crankbaits. I had caught a nice 3+ lb smallmouth the previous weekend using a Rapala DT10 in 4 feet of water while digging up the shallow flat. And we noticed a bunch of baitfish there as well. But this time we had no takers.
We next made our way down the east shoreline towards a large point. But again, no luck,
WE fished our way all the way back the to I96 bridge with nothing to show. On the other side of the bridge, however, i finally connected with a solid smallmouth over 2 lbs. The fish took a 1/4 oz Bear Hair jig fished deep on a rock pile. Thinking we were onto something, we stuck with it for the next 45 minutes. After a quick bite, and a failed hookset i decided to head behind the islands to check it out.
We worked fast behind the islands, which were well protected from the harsh winds. I threw the jerkabait for a while, and had one take it good but it ended up pulling off about half way to the boat. My friend hooked into an almost keeper while dragging a G-rigged Smallie beaver behind the boat. The G rig is named after him, his name is Grant. The rig he uses could quite possibly be called a Carolina rig, but it is missing a few common ingredients. So i tease him and call it the G rig.
That was it for behind the islands. So we made out way into a shallow cove that had a good breeze pushing into it. Now im thinking baitfish. There has to be baitfish blown in the back of this thing. I reach for my spinnerbait and start casting parallel to the shoreline. About halfway back into the cove, a large fish kicks off the surface right in front of me. Caught me off guard and scared the living crap out of me. It was a carp, one of probably 30 or more that infested the shallow water of my would be hot spot.
Frustrated and windburned, i was ready to call it a day. We made our way back out the mainlake, that was now producing rollers up to 2 foot. I kid you not. I stopped behind a large point to gather my thoughts for a moment. Then i came up with the best/worst idea of the day. Drag a heavy carolina rig ( a G rig of course for my friend ) along the channel edge. It was worth 15 minutes in my opinion. My friend wasnt thrilled about it but quickly gave in.
Protected behind the point, we rigged our rods with 1/2 weights and big Zoom Brush Hogs. Then headed out to the rough waters. I idled past the last point of the shoreline, staying a good 30 yards from land, and killed the big motor. I had just enough time make it to the front of the boat to launch the trolling motor and whip out the drift sock to perfect our drift. It worked out flawlessly. We had a sweet drift going, our baits right on the stump lined edge.
I felt my weight bouncing along the bottom and thought to myself 'no way anything is going to hit this bait going this fast, we are wasting our time'. Not 2 seconds later, my rod jolts and i feel solid weight on the other end. I set the hook like a trained maniac on this fish and he quickly let me know he wasnt happy. With the wind blowing so hard, my eyes watered to the point of streaming down my face. I couldnt see a thing. My friend started yelling "Big fish, Big fish". I knew it was a good one, but didnt know how big it was yet. All i could do was pray to at least get a look at this fish. And before i knew it, Grant had scooped the fish up in the net.
It was a giant. Not the biggest i had ever caught, but by far the biggest from Kent Lake for 05. I would estimate the fish at 21" and between 4.5 and 4.75 lbs. Of course, neither one of us had a camera, or a scale. So you will have to take my word for it. Either way, it made the whole day more than worth while.
Once i got calmed down, we pulled the tm and the sock in and headed up to make another pass. This time it was Grants turn, as he landed a healthy 3 lber not long after his G rig hit the bottom. WE made 3 more passes, with one lost fish before calling it a day. All that work, and frustration...the embarrasment of 3 days worth of red faced wind burn, with only a few fish to show for it. But going against the elements and getting rewarded with quality fish is why we do it.
PoorBoy himself
Not the windiest day i have ever spent on the water, but in the top 3 for sure. Gusts of up to 40+ mph made it difficult to say the least. But we did manage a few nice keeper smallmouths. Heres how.
It took about 5 seconds to realize that suspending a jerkbait just wasnt happening. This pattern holds up from early fall all the way until december, weather permitting. But not when the wind is blowing with hurricane like force. Casting wasnt a problem as the Lucky Craft POinter 100s I use are heavy and cast well even in strong winds, but once the bait was down to the desired depth the wind would carry the line causing the bait to slide through the water. So we threw that idea out the window.
Next we made our way into the back lake ( other side of the I96 bridge ) to seek shelter. It was an improvement over the main lake, but not by much. We first targeted the beach area, throwing heavy spinnerbaits and crankbaits. I had caught a nice 3+ lb smallmouth the previous weekend using a Rapala DT10 in 4 feet of water while digging up the shallow flat. And we noticed a bunch of baitfish there as well. But this time we had no takers.
We next made our way down the east shoreline towards a large point. But again, no luck,
WE fished our way all the way back the to I96 bridge with nothing to show. On the other side of the bridge, however, i finally connected with a solid smallmouth over 2 lbs. The fish took a 1/4 oz Bear Hair jig fished deep on a rock pile. Thinking we were onto something, we stuck with it for the next 45 minutes. After a quick bite, and a failed hookset i decided to head behind the islands to check it out.
We worked fast behind the islands, which were well protected from the harsh winds. I threw the jerkabait for a while, and had one take it good but it ended up pulling off about half way to the boat. My friend hooked into an almost keeper while dragging a G-rigged Smallie beaver behind the boat. The G rig is named after him, his name is Grant. The rig he uses could quite possibly be called a Carolina rig, but it is missing a few common ingredients. So i tease him and call it the G rig.
That was it for behind the islands. So we made out way into a shallow cove that had a good breeze pushing into it. Now im thinking baitfish. There has to be baitfish blown in the back of this thing. I reach for my spinnerbait and start casting parallel to the shoreline. About halfway back into the cove, a large fish kicks off the surface right in front of me. Caught me off guard and scared the living crap out of me. It was a carp, one of probably 30 or more that infested the shallow water of my would be hot spot.
Frustrated and windburned, i was ready to call it a day. We made our way back out the mainlake, that was now producing rollers up to 2 foot. I kid you not. I stopped behind a large point to gather my thoughts for a moment. Then i came up with the best/worst idea of the day. Drag a heavy carolina rig ( a G rig of course for my friend ) along the channel edge. It was worth 15 minutes in my opinion. My friend wasnt thrilled about it but quickly gave in.
Protected behind the point, we rigged our rods with 1/2 weights and big Zoom Brush Hogs. Then headed out to the rough waters. I idled past the last point of the shoreline, staying a good 30 yards from land, and killed the big motor. I had just enough time make it to the front of the boat to launch the trolling motor and whip out the drift sock to perfect our drift. It worked out flawlessly. We had a sweet drift going, our baits right on the stump lined edge.
I felt my weight bouncing along the bottom and thought to myself 'no way anything is going to hit this bait going this fast, we are wasting our time'. Not 2 seconds later, my rod jolts and i feel solid weight on the other end. I set the hook like a trained maniac on this fish and he quickly let me know he wasnt happy. With the wind blowing so hard, my eyes watered to the point of streaming down my face. I couldnt see a thing. My friend started yelling "Big fish, Big fish". I knew it was a good one, but didnt know how big it was yet. All i could do was pray to at least get a look at this fish. And before i knew it, Grant had scooped the fish up in the net.
It was a giant. Not the biggest i had ever caught, but by far the biggest from Kent Lake for 05. I would estimate the fish at 21" and between 4.5 and 4.75 lbs. Of course, neither one of us had a camera, or a scale. So you will have to take my word for it. Either way, it made the whole day more than worth while.
Once i got calmed down, we pulled the tm and the sock in and headed up to make another pass. This time it was Grants turn, as he landed a healthy 3 lber not long after his G rig hit the bottom. WE made 3 more passes, with one lost fish before calling it a day. All that work, and frustration...the embarrasment of 3 days worth of red faced wind burn, with only a few fish to show for it. But going against the elements and getting rewarded with quality fish is why we do it.
PoorBoy himself
