Danny L
05-28-2011, 07:20 PM
The long awaited and highly anticipated Victoria May 24 long weekend has come and gone and once again has not failed to deliver exactly what I was hopeing for. Dispite the below than normal seasonal weather conditions for this time of year the fishing was to say the least has been nothing less than ABSOLUTELY F'N AMAZING!
May 24 long weekend has always been an annual fishing bonanza between my brother and I and we make it a priority every year to book time off work so that we can get away to the cottage. This usually also coninsides with being the first time the cottage is "opened" up for the summer season after being in hibernation during the winter months.
Took Friday off to make it an even longer long weekend. Didnt get to the cottage until very late in the evening - no thanks to the 'wives' needing to stop at every service station along the way for the perverbial 'I gotta pee' rotine. Unloaded the car, opened the cottage, got the girls to settle in and then my bro and I droped the boat in the water and set off for some nite fishing.
Water levels once again are lower then I can remember and seem to be getting lower every year. I remember a time when I was younger the water was so high that the tide would somwtimes come over the retaining wall and flood the yard right up the cottage foundation sometimes even the basement!
Water temps were in the 50-60's, cloudy overcast skies during the night but cleared up by 3am and the 3/4 Moon was lighting up the night sky making it easier to fish in the dark. We started out working the middle of the bay in deeper water +8' throwing buzzbaits and live bait on glow hooks. The bottom was barely visible, water clarity was stained due to the weather earlier during the week, the surface was clam with no wind. Vegatation was sparse to non-existant. We decided to move in shallower 4-6' or until we started to see more weed growth and primarily worked the weed line. As the weekend progressed we fished anywhere from 1'-4' of water in weed beds and grass flats that normaly we would have to pitch into during the late summer. Water clarity was much clearer in the shallows were the veggatation has started to grow.
A couple of hours passed and the horizon was just starting to glow from the coming sunrise when my bro hooked into the first fish of the weekend a toothy Pike about 26" long with shoulders all the way to the tail. This started what would become a very action packed weekend. It wasnt very long after I hooked into my first fish - very girthy 23" Pike. The bite was "ON" we worked the shallow bay working primarily to the outside weed edge, throwing a pletora of baits until we found what worked best. We moved all around the bay primaily staying shallow and hitting the "honey holes" we know best on our body of water.
Alot of other fishermen were out on the lake, a few locals we know fished in close proximity to us but were not as sucessful as us. We are known on the lake and many locals tend to follow or pattern cause they know we always put fish in the boat. Anyway throughout the weekend we were cathing fish on average every 10 casts, sometimes back to back even back to back double hearders we even had a triple header when the girls joined us later in the day after we went in brunch. For the most part though it was just me and my bro - when we fish we fish...we wont go in or stop for anything. By Saturday night me and bro were at +100 fish - my bro kept count but I stopped after 30. It was literaly like fishing in a barrel, at first we could not contain our excitment and were pretty much laughing like little school girls out on the lake but by mid afternoon it was starting to get tiresome of always having to land fish and I would for the most part unless it was a big fish would try and get them to spit the hook or free themselves so that I wouldnt have to.
By saturday nite I was exhausted, pulled an all nighter Friday, fished all day Saturday, no sleep, very little food and showing signs of early dehidration. I ended up passing out at about 9pm on the lawn chair in front of the bonfire after one beer and sleeping through supper. Woke up Sunday morning 5am not evening knowning how I got to bed, grabed my diner from the night before and had my line wet by 5:15. Once again weather conditions were pretty much the same throughout the weekend - overcast, humid with calm light blowing winds. The bite was still on and I had one on the end of my line on the very first cast, the rest of the day would pretty much go as the day prior and by the afternoon both my brother and I had both our thumbs worn raw and bleeding from landing so many fish. Deciding to to take a break we went in and spent some time resting and putting time in with the wives as not to neglect them all weekend. Went back out in the evening and let the girls catch there fill of fish before calling it an early nite. Monday was cloudy with a constantly blowning wind and ocassional heavy down poors of rain. We were the only ones out on the lake brave enough to endure the weather but this only seemed to turn the fish on even more and we were hooking up on almost every other cast.
To say that it was a good weekend would be an understatement but is usually on par with what we expect at this time of year. I got the oportunity to try alot of new tackle I acumulated over the course of the off season. I'll right a takle review in another thread but for the most part we were throwing weedless jigs trailered with a fat craw or live goby in black or pumpkinseed colour working the bottom very slowly. Also tossed hardbodied swinbaits and tiny grubs on weighted jig heads with a slip bobber and the ocassional top water frog.
My casting setup consisted of a Daiwa TDZ Type R+ 103ML on a new Dobyns 704 CB RM rod with 14lb YoZuri Hybrid and a Daiwa TDZ 105HL on a Daiwa Heartland Bass 7' flipping stick spooled with #65 Sufix 832. The spining reel I didnt use to much so the wife primarily fished with it being very light and easier for her to handle all day - Daiwa TDZ Type R+ 2506c on a Daiwa Fugeo 7'6" ML rod spooled with #14 Fireline Crystal and floro leader. I didnt even touch the Daiwa Zillion Type R on the St.Croix Legend Tournament rod or the Daiwa TDZ 103ML on a St.Croix Premire SCii glass rod.
Fish landed all weekend were primarily LMB and Pike - LMB being nothing under 3Lbs and Pike in the 24-30" range. Some Sunfish and Perch caught by the wives and even though we had lots of Pickeral follows no bites. Huge Gars(30"+) were in the dozens you could see them everywhere, busting on suface eating Mayfly larve and swing around the boats in pairs sometimes even spawning orgies.
Im totally looking forward to the rest of the season so as I can review the rest of my new gear and tackle espeacially June when the Bass season officaly opens.
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/carpartsrecycler/IMG_2910.jpg
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/carpartsrecycler/IMG_2146.jpg
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/carpartsrecycler/IMG_2860.jpg
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/carpartsrecycler/IMG_2915.jpg
May 24 long weekend has always been an annual fishing bonanza between my brother and I and we make it a priority every year to book time off work so that we can get away to the cottage. This usually also coninsides with being the first time the cottage is "opened" up for the summer season after being in hibernation during the winter months.
Took Friday off to make it an even longer long weekend. Didnt get to the cottage until very late in the evening - no thanks to the 'wives' needing to stop at every service station along the way for the perverbial 'I gotta pee' rotine. Unloaded the car, opened the cottage, got the girls to settle in and then my bro and I droped the boat in the water and set off for some nite fishing.
Water levels once again are lower then I can remember and seem to be getting lower every year. I remember a time when I was younger the water was so high that the tide would somwtimes come over the retaining wall and flood the yard right up the cottage foundation sometimes even the basement!
Water temps were in the 50-60's, cloudy overcast skies during the night but cleared up by 3am and the 3/4 Moon was lighting up the night sky making it easier to fish in the dark. We started out working the middle of the bay in deeper water +8' throwing buzzbaits and live bait on glow hooks. The bottom was barely visible, water clarity was stained due to the weather earlier during the week, the surface was clam with no wind. Vegatation was sparse to non-existant. We decided to move in shallower 4-6' or until we started to see more weed growth and primarily worked the weed line. As the weekend progressed we fished anywhere from 1'-4' of water in weed beds and grass flats that normaly we would have to pitch into during the late summer. Water clarity was much clearer in the shallows were the veggatation has started to grow.
A couple of hours passed and the horizon was just starting to glow from the coming sunrise when my bro hooked into the first fish of the weekend a toothy Pike about 26" long with shoulders all the way to the tail. This started what would become a very action packed weekend. It wasnt very long after I hooked into my first fish - very girthy 23" Pike. The bite was "ON" we worked the shallow bay working primarily to the outside weed edge, throwing a pletora of baits until we found what worked best. We moved all around the bay primaily staying shallow and hitting the "honey holes" we know best on our body of water.
Alot of other fishermen were out on the lake, a few locals we know fished in close proximity to us but were not as sucessful as us. We are known on the lake and many locals tend to follow or pattern cause they know we always put fish in the boat. Anyway throughout the weekend we were cathing fish on average every 10 casts, sometimes back to back even back to back double hearders we even had a triple header when the girls joined us later in the day after we went in brunch. For the most part though it was just me and my bro - when we fish we fish...we wont go in or stop for anything. By Saturday night me and bro were at +100 fish - my bro kept count but I stopped after 30. It was literaly like fishing in a barrel, at first we could not contain our excitment and were pretty much laughing like little school girls out on the lake but by mid afternoon it was starting to get tiresome of always having to land fish and I would for the most part unless it was a big fish would try and get them to spit the hook or free themselves so that I wouldnt have to.
By saturday nite I was exhausted, pulled an all nighter Friday, fished all day Saturday, no sleep, very little food and showing signs of early dehidration. I ended up passing out at about 9pm on the lawn chair in front of the bonfire after one beer and sleeping through supper. Woke up Sunday morning 5am not evening knowning how I got to bed, grabed my diner from the night before and had my line wet by 5:15. Once again weather conditions were pretty much the same throughout the weekend - overcast, humid with calm light blowing winds. The bite was still on and I had one on the end of my line on the very first cast, the rest of the day would pretty much go as the day prior and by the afternoon both my brother and I had both our thumbs worn raw and bleeding from landing so many fish. Deciding to to take a break we went in and spent some time resting and putting time in with the wives as not to neglect them all weekend. Went back out in the evening and let the girls catch there fill of fish before calling it an early nite. Monday was cloudy with a constantly blowning wind and ocassional heavy down poors of rain. We were the only ones out on the lake brave enough to endure the weather but this only seemed to turn the fish on even more and we were hooking up on almost every other cast.
To say that it was a good weekend would be an understatement but is usually on par with what we expect at this time of year. I got the oportunity to try alot of new tackle I acumulated over the course of the off season. I'll right a takle review in another thread but for the most part we were throwing weedless jigs trailered with a fat craw or live goby in black or pumpkinseed colour working the bottom very slowly. Also tossed hardbodied swinbaits and tiny grubs on weighted jig heads with a slip bobber and the ocassional top water frog.
My casting setup consisted of a Daiwa TDZ Type R+ 103ML on a new Dobyns 704 CB RM rod with 14lb YoZuri Hybrid and a Daiwa TDZ 105HL on a Daiwa Heartland Bass 7' flipping stick spooled with #65 Sufix 832. The spining reel I didnt use to much so the wife primarily fished with it being very light and easier for her to handle all day - Daiwa TDZ Type R+ 2506c on a Daiwa Fugeo 7'6" ML rod spooled with #14 Fireline Crystal and floro leader. I didnt even touch the Daiwa Zillion Type R on the St.Croix Legend Tournament rod or the Daiwa TDZ 103ML on a St.Croix Premire SCii glass rod.
Fish landed all weekend were primarily LMB and Pike - LMB being nothing under 3Lbs and Pike in the 24-30" range. Some Sunfish and Perch caught by the wives and even though we had lots of Pickeral follows no bites. Huge Gars(30"+) were in the dozens you could see them everywhere, busting on suface eating Mayfly larve and swing around the boats in pairs sometimes even spawning orgies.
Im totally looking forward to the rest of the season so as I can review the rest of my new gear and tackle espeacially June when the Bass season officaly opens.
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/carpartsrecycler/IMG_2910.jpg
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/carpartsrecycler/IMG_2146.jpg
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/carpartsrecycler/IMG_2860.jpg
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww160/carpartsrecycler/IMG_2915.jpg