Fall Nor Easter

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November 2nd 2018

 

What do you get after a flat calm day without any rain? A perfectly good « Nor Easter » of course! Craig & Steve were the lucky ones and we headed east. With winds gusts predicted at 35 knots and torrential rain, there was no other choice! This would be the first time in two years that I launched there after the ramp became private. Hopefully it would be worth the cost!

Even the river had big rollers when we arrived as the winds were howling against the current. I was going to have to find calmer places for them to be able to fish!

The run was probably the worst I’d ever seen for this area and 3 footers were the average. Fortunately our first spot was somewhat protected from the wind and they were able to fish somewhat comfortably, but in the rain. It took me a little time to figure out where the fish were positioned with the high water but eventually I found the sweet spot and Craig began slaying the bass. Steve eventually got in the game as well after I changed up his bait. I originally had him throwing something bright with the stained water and soon realized they wanted it dark.

I refined the area and changed their angle several times, getting both Steve & Craig several more fish. Although most were small, it was still action and very welcomed on a miserable day like this!

After seeing below average fish caught for a while, I decided to make a short move in hopes of bigger. As soon as I pulled into the new area, Craig was locked up on his first cast. As luck would have it, this was the best fish so far! I soon netted what turned out to be the largest fish of the day! They both managed several other nice ones from the area but eventually we had to move because of the waves. The winds had picked up with the rain and we were being blown around too much for them to detect the bites. I had no choice but to try another place!

As soon as we arrived on the new spot, Craig did the same thing once again and was tight to another decent fish. Too bad it was the only one landed though and we continued spot fishing different areas. Each time we made a move, someone was into a fish quickly but there was never any concentration.

With the winds being relentless, I decided to try an area that was sheltered just to relax for a while. Fortunately it held fish but unfortunately they were all walleye and sauger. Steve was into them pretty good here but I wanted bass! We eventually made another move to an area nearby but were shut out. In fact the next several places were pretty much the same as we found out. Not only was the water high but the further we got down river the dirtier and colder the water became. I realized quickly that if we were going to have any chance at all I was going to have to go back up river and remain in the areas we were getting fish from.

The remainder of the day wasn’t nearly as good as the morning, Although they did manage a few more fish, we had to make many moves in order to get bit. By 3:30 we unanimously decided to pull the plug and head back. The conditions had gotten worse throughout the day and were actually colder than when we had started. These fish had just shut down!

Our decision to go out east was our only choice today. We had made the best of an unfishable day anywhere else and they had gotten into a bunch of decent bass & walleye. Hopefully tomorrow will be somewhat better weather wise allowing me to go where I want. These guys are use to wet, windy conditions with me but it’s always nice to have at least one decent day to fish. Crossing our fingers for tomorrow already!!