Monday, November 18, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Not really any fishing
This time I really didn't make it, not a single trip. (what a loser)
Well anyway, I have no material, except for my mind. I will now try to recollect a fishing trip of trips past.
The date was 5/11/12, and I went fishing. It was a morning-style fishing trip, a trip that is now rare. I was fishing at Rocky Ford with my former youth minister, Craig Patrick, along with Mattias Brouk and also some Brandon guy. It was in the spring during a high water period, and the water was just warming up.
I had a new set of spoons from China (from Wlure.com [this is not an ad {I am not getting paid <maybe I should get paid>}]). So yeah, anyway I wanted to try them out, but I knew that a little minnow-crankbait had been working pretty well recently. So I tried using a small square-billed crankbait that I had never caught anything on. Before long, I was snagged to a 35 inch gar that I brought back to show the others. They were all like "Oh, that's cool." So then I went back to where I caught the gar- across ten inch deep water. They must not have wanted to get their feet wet. So I started casting again and soon had a 12 inch white bass. I kept fishing and had a 16 inch channel catfish in a matter of seconds.
Then something happened. I caught the first walleye of the day. This is significant because I had caught only a few walleye before this time and none so far that year. The walleye encouraged me, so I kept fishing and quickly had another white bass, this one was 13 inches. I kept casting in the exact same area and saw that there were hundreds of white bass and other predators attacking a huge school of baitfish only a few yards out in the rapids. I cast again but the lure got caught up in the line and could not dive until I retrieved and untangled it. Just as the lure came over the fish, it was hit- and missed. I then decided to intentionally tangle the hook and let the crainkbait twist and skim across the surface. The results were pretty good, as I hooked an 11 inch white bass that was to be the 100th fish of the year. The area I was fishing had super-fast rapids that ran over a section of rocks and then sharply dove four feet deep. I started casting right over the rocks to let the lure float over them and then pulling hard to make the lure dive once it cleared the cliff. The results were spectacular. I started catching walleye, first one 14 inches, and then I started catching BIGGER walleye. I caught a fish that was 18 inches long, by far the biggest walleye of my life. I kept getting hit after hit- 10 inch walleye, 16 inch walleye, even a little baby catfish.
Momentum was going in my favor, so I switched the crankbait out for one of the new spoons. I had success by just letting it sink until I felt a hit- the water was much too fast to reel it in if I wanted it to get deep enough for fish to see it. I caught three decent-sized white bass before switching back to my now-favorite crankbait. I was totally going to catch like twenty fish, but instead I lost it on a rock. So then I realized that it was getting a little late and the other guys might want to go or something. When I got back over to were they were fishing I learned that they had collectively caught one fish. I also learned that I should not have tried using that spoon again, because I lost it a little- on a rock- in a place that I knew had lots of rocks.
I later found out that all of the fish I was catching were all on their spawning runs. Later that spring, I caught at least three big channel catfish, including one that was 27 inches, and caught dozens of white bass and wiper. This trip was the first trip that I actually used crainkbaits, and I found out that they work really well. I also learned that sometimes there are fish piled up in one area that you may need to ford rivers to find, and also you should do whatever I say if you want to catch fish.
Well anyway, I have no material, except for my mind. I will now try to recollect a fishing trip of trips past.
The date was 5/11/12, and I went fishing. It was a morning-style fishing trip, a trip that is now rare. I was fishing at Rocky Ford with my former youth minister, Craig Patrick, along with Mattias Brouk and also some Brandon guy. It was in the spring during a high water period, and the water was just warming up.
I had a new set of spoons from China (from Wlure.com [this is not an ad {I am not getting paid <maybe I should get paid>}]). So yeah, anyway I wanted to try them out, but I knew that a little minnow-crankbait had been working pretty well recently. So I tried using a small square-billed crankbait that I had never caught anything on. Before long, I was snagged to a 35 inch gar that I brought back to show the others. They were all like "Oh, that's cool." So then I went back to where I caught the gar- across ten inch deep water. They must not have wanted to get their feet wet. So I started casting again and soon had a 12 inch white bass. I kept fishing and had a 16 inch channel catfish in a matter of seconds.
Then something happened. I caught the first walleye of the day. This is significant because I had caught only a few walleye before this time and none so far that year. The walleye encouraged me, so I kept fishing and quickly had another white bass, this one was 13 inches. I kept casting in the exact same area and saw that there were hundreds of white bass and other predators attacking a huge school of baitfish only a few yards out in the rapids. I cast again but the lure got caught up in the line and could not dive until I retrieved and untangled it. Just as the lure came over the fish, it was hit- and missed. I then decided to intentionally tangle the hook and let the crainkbait twist and skim across the surface. The results were pretty good, as I hooked an 11 inch white bass that was to be the 100th fish of the year. The area I was fishing had super-fast rapids that ran over a section of rocks and then sharply dove four feet deep. I started casting right over the rocks to let the lure float over them and then pulling hard to make the lure dive once it cleared the cliff. The results were spectacular. I started catching walleye, first one 14 inches, and then I started catching BIGGER walleye. I caught a fish that was 18 inches long, by far the biggest walleye of my life. I kept getting hit after hit- 10 inch walleye, 16 inch walleye, even a little baby catfish.
Momentum was going in my favor, so I switched the crankbait out for one of the new spoons. I had success by just letting it sink until I felt a hit- the water was much too fast to reel it in if I wanted it to get deep enough for fish to see it. I caught three decent-sized white bass before switching back to my now-favorite crankbait. I was totally going to catch like twenty fish, but instead I lost it on a rock. So then I realized that it was getting a little late and the other guys might want to go or something. When I got back over to were they were fishing I learned that they had collectively caught one fish. I also learned that I should not have tried using that spoon again, because I lost it a little- on a rock- in a place that I knew had lots of rocks.
I later found out that all of the fish I was catching were all on their spawning runs. Later that spring, I caught at least three big channel catfish, including one that was 27 inches, and caught dozens of white bass and wiper. This trip was the first trip that I actually used crainkbaits, and I found out that they work really well. I also learned that sometimes there are fish piled up in one area that you may need to ford rivers to find, and also you should do whatever I say if you want to catch fish.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Post About Fishing
"Another week- another trip!"
Someone said that I bet.
Oh boy! more fishing- this week was better than last (I promise). This week was the last week of football, and I scored the game winning touchdown!(not really- we got blown out) So I now have more time on my hands to fish and do other un-athletic things.
The day of the trip was the day that K-State played Iowa State. With K-State in such a precarious position, this guy needs to help the team out by watching the first half of the game- and by wearing a groovy hat and jersey. So after a convincing first half of football, I went to Dick's with my dad and looked around for a little bit. I left the store with a new little crankbait that I will now refer to as the "Three-Dollar Crankbait". The day started off with me telling my dad how great the UV lures had been working on previous trips. I said that all I had to do was hold the lure in the same position for a few seconds right under me. After demonstrating for a few minutes, I got a little too aggressive and lost the lure. The trip suddenly cost five dollars in only a few minutes. So the next move for me was to use the Three Dollar Lure. I nearly lost that one on a rock only a few minutes later, so I got the brilliant idea to lower the budget.
When I fish, I leave my gear all at one place and take a box of jigs, pliers, and a handful of soft plastic grubs and minnows in my pocket. Over time I keep forgetting to take the plastics out of my pocket and they go through the wash and blend colors. On this day, I remembered to bring the forgotten plastics and I used one on a jighead. (this is only a $.60 value)
I noticed some of the fish in the pond-area were acting weird, so I started fishing that side. Before long, I had what seemed to be a snagged sucker. When I brought it up to the surface, I saw that it was a flathead catfish, and it was kinda big- 25 inches long.
This picture shows the dividing walkway between a calm pond and the speeding rapids.
So here are the notes for the week:
1 You could lose five (nearly eight) dollars of fishing lures in ten minutes, or you could use a sixty cent lure for two hours and catch fish on it.
2 Now is the time to look for spotted bass and smallies at Rocky Ford
3 Every time I watch the first half of the football game at my house, K-State wins, you're welcome.
Someone said that I bet.
Oh boy! more fishing- this week was better than last (I promise). This week was the last week of football, and I scored the game winning touchdown!(not really- we got blown out) So I now have more time on my hands to fish and do other un-athletic things.
The day of the trip was the day that K-State played Iowa State. With K-State in such a precarious position, this guy needs to help the team out by watching the first half of the game- and by wearing a groovy hat and jersey. So after a convincing first half of football, I went to Dick's with my dad and looked around for a little bit. I left the store with a new little crankbait that I will now refer to as the "Three-Dollar Crankbait". The day started off with me telling my dad how great the UV lures had been working on previous trips. I said that all I had to do was hold the lure in the same position for a few seconds right under me. After demonstrating for a few minutes, I got a little too aggressive and lost the lure. The trip suddenly cost five dollars in only a few minutes. So the next move for me was to use the Three Dollar Lure. I nearly lost that one on a rock only a few minutes later, so I got the brilliant idea to lower the budget.
When I fish, I leave my gear all at one place and take a box of jigs, pliers, and a handful of soft plastic grubs and minnows in my pocket. Over time I keep forgetting to take the plastics out of my pocket and they go through the wash and blend colors. On this day, I remembered to bring the forgotten plastics and I used one on a jighead. (this is only a $.60 value)
I noticed some of the fish in the pond-area were acting weird, so I started fishing that side. Before long, I had what seemed to be a snagged sucker. When I brought it up to the surface, I saw that it was a flathead catfish, and it was kinda big- 25 inches long.
This picture shows the flathead that I caught. It also shows my muscular frame and admirable fashion sense.
That was kinda exciting; it actually tied my record for largest flathead catfish. When I went to grab its mouth, it felt warm, this is generally not a good sign because it means that my fingers are about to freeze off. It also means that the weather is getting colder and the fishing season is closing in a little while. But the cold water is a plus for some fish species.
After the flathead was set free, I got a taste of cold-water Rocky Ford. I got an aggressive hit from a little spotted bass. They are probably one of my favorite fish to catch because they are a really rare and pretty fish.
The spotted bass and smallmouth bass rarely hit any time of year other than the periphery of the season because of their cold-water preferences.
So here are the notes for the week:
1 You could lose five (nearly eight) dollars of fishing lures in ten minutes, or you could use a sixty cent lure for two hours and catch fish on it.
2 Now is the time to look for spotted bass and smallies at Rocky Ford
3 Every time I watch the first half of the football game at my house, K-State wins, you're welcome.
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