After The Storm

After having to cancel a few days this week due to hurricane Sandy’s winds, I was back out with a trio of fishermen. Scott, Manson & Cory were with me for their annual fall trip, looking for some big smallie action and they had it in spades. Although the winds were light from the SE, we were going to get rained on by mid morning and I hoped for some quick action. Water temps were hovering at 55 degrees, very uncommon for November and the air temps were almost the same. I believe in was Manson that hooked the first smallie and it was a dandy. It was definitely a four pound plus fatty and just the start of things to come, as Scott & Cory followed with several of their own. The three of them were all locked up within the first ten minutes and I knew it was gonna be a “Great Day For Fishing”! With no other boats around, I was able to concentrate on some of the isolated spots that I had refined over the years, without constantly looking over my shoulder. Drop shots & tubes picked up several of the better fish while out over these deep water areas. Scott even landed the smallest walleye I have ever seen at only 7 inches in length. Although really small, it‘s a great thing to see, knowing that we have a future with fish like these. We shifted locations frequently to try and find active fish but I soon realized that this was not the best way to go. They were picking at the baits and not getting pinned too often, making me think we had to slow down instead. Once we adjusted, all three were back into fish regularly. At one point, they even had a triple, so I knew it was working! Although showers were upon us, the fishing made it alright and nobody was complaining. Plenty of action was had all morning and it even picked up in the afternoon. Cory had monopolized on one lure and smoked the crap out of the bass with his do nothing approach. Manson didn’t fend as well with this but hammered them with another presentation and put the biggest bass of the day in the boat. Scott on the other hand was getting them with both techniques and lost his largest fish late in the afternoon. A tangle up with Corey had the fish unpinned after the jump but not before Corey hooked up too. He tried reeling in quickly to get out of the way & got crushed in the process. In the end, both fish won! Although slow & steady was the way to go under these conditions, it was almost like watching paint dry. Corey didn’t think so though as he was into fish on almost every cast. Dead sticking the bait soon paid off as he finally brought the biggest fish of the day and his personal best to net. A group shot of some of the afternoon catches was taken before we decided to end this day. It was getting on and also getting darker with all the overcast and mist and they had caught plenty of fish. Today was an action packed one with some real quality fish and we ended it on a high. As we parted at the ramp, all talk was on how great the fishing was and how they couldn’t wait to get back next year. Too bad it’s 12 months away as the fishing will only get better in the weeks to come!!