Friday- I hit some local brooks and ponds in search of brookies or perch. Nothing wanted to bite.
Saturday- My Dad and I headed down south for a planned day of Salmon fishing out of the Lewis Creek boat launch. After trolling around for several hours, we were only able to pick up one 17 inch Salmon. After lunch and a couple casts in the creek for Bass and Pike, we decided to pack it up and head up to Monkton Pond for the remainder of the day. The little pond was pretty crowded, but we still managed to catch fish. I ended up catching 4 or 5 Northerns and one decent perch. It was an action packed ending to our fairly slow day.
Sunday- We headed up to Appletree Marina and decided to go south in search of warm water species around the river mouth or Sandbar, but only managed to catch a dozen perch or so next to the causway. It was a beautiful day to be on the water! That afternoon I headed to my grandmother's house on Arrowhead and ended up catching a pipe cleaner pickerel.
Monday- I hit the Winooski in search of some Smallmouths, Trout, or even aggressive Fallfish, but was unable to hook into anything but a boulder.
Tuesday - Chores and errands.
Wednesday - I took my Dad's friend and his son fishing at Sandbar to show them the ropes and teach them the basics. We ended up finding a good school of perch from shore and it was a lot of fun to watch them catch their first perch! There's something about being able to spread your knowledge about your passion and watching your mentees succeed that puts a big smile on your face. That evening, my Dad, my Mom, and I headed back up to the islands and trolled around Keelers Bay for the evening, but without a single bite. That's how it goes though.
Thursday- My Mom and I packed up the kayaks for the day and headed down to Monkton Pond. I had the same lure tied on that I caught the majority of my Northerns on just a few days earlier and it turns out that that lure was still a hot pattern. I landed eight LMBs, only two of them were over 12 inches, but they all felt like monsters from my kayak since even a 12 incher can pull you around a little bit. I also landed one feisty Northern that gave me a fun 40 second sleigh ride around the pond. Catching fish from a kayak seems to give you much more of a thrill than from shore or even a boat, and I will definitley be doing more 'yak fishing in the future.
All in all, it was a great vacation!!
Good luck and tight lines to all! PB
