Another Day in Paradise
July 3, 2017
What a roller coaster ride it’s been this season, literally! I wasn’t on the water yesterday and it was flat calm. I’m back out today and it’s howling once again! Get to the ramp this morning and the water is back into the parking lot. When will it end?
Peter & Bryan were glad to be in the Ranger as we made our way up the lake to reach our first location. Three to 4 footers were the norm but by running at a comfortable speed, we never even got splashed. I wasn’t quite sure where we were going to start and made a decision on the fly. Bryan made the first cast with a blade and locked up immediately. He was from Texas and knew that it was bad luck to catch a fish on your very first cast but did the same on his second & third too. Oh well, so much for superstitions! Peter was throwing a jig and I immediately switched him to the same thing hoping for similar results. Between the two of them, they managed to get a bunch of bass before they just shut down. Instead of relocating, I decided to refine the area and switched Bryan to soft plastics and Peter back to the jig. We worked it slower and they managed to pick up many more fish including a couple of walleye before changing spots. Any thoughts of the lake calming down were soon dismissed when we started to fish the next area. Although the run wasn’t too bad, I was on the electric in two footers, as they casted this area. Several more smallies were both landed and lost in the winds before I took refuge in a sheltered area hoping for a better bite. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be and it wasn’t long before we were right back in the crap once again. I didn’t let these winds win and ventured offshore to a rock flat to try and drift drop shots rigs. After a little explanation, they were both into more fish. It started out with only bass but after several passes, I soon found the walleye and they were now mixing it up. Each pass had some fish and we remained in this area for the balance of the day, catching. They wanted to get off early so by 2:00 we were headed back to the ramp to take out. I was informed by a friend while on the water that it was officially closed due to the high water but had no choice. My trailer was there and nothing was going to stop me from getting out of the water. I had left Don a set of keys in the morning in case something like this occurred and he was backing the trailer in as we approached. Something to think about, Valet service! Boat ramps would run a whole lot more efficiently with something like this. It would eliminate all the weekend warriors!
We may have been dealt a crappy hand today but with a little adjustment, we were able to turn it around. Big winds seem to be the norm lately so it’s no surprise when I have to scramble for places to fish comfortably. Today was just one more of those days! Both Bryan & Peter will be talking about this day for quite some time as I don’t think they had thought it would end with as many fish as it did. The heck with Mother Nature!
