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Author Topic: A Change of Plans (5-13-17)  (Read 2693 times)

Perchbait

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A Change of Plans (5-13-17)
« on: Jun 17, 2017, 04:18 PM »
             My Dad and I got up around 4:15 to be able to get to the Winooski at sunrise for the second weekend in a row. It was chilly and pockets of rain would pop up out of nowhere, but that didn’t seem to keep anyone away from the river. With full rain suits, we headed up stream, the misting rain coating my jacket with perfect little droplets that would gradually grow and then roll off like a runaway snow ball down a mountain. We tried to protect our tackle bags with garbage bags, but it was inevitable that everything on board was going to be soaked by the end of the day. After making a couple drifts, dragging crawlers through one of our favorite stretches of river, I felt a “tick” on my line. My wandering eyes quickly fixed themselves on my rod tip and, sure enough, my rod was bent slightly more than usual. I slowly dropped the rod and felt another “tick.” ZZzzzz. As I attempted to sink the hook into the roof of the fish’s mouth, my drag slipped. My drag was way too loose! I quickly raised my rod over my head to try and put some pressure on the fish, while I tightened my drag. I cranked down on the fish only to have it pop off a couple seconds later. “Darn it!!” After getting skunked on the walleye opener the week before, I felt sick to my stomach over losing that fish. I was almost positive that it was an ‘eye, and a decent one at that. We had been trolling for a couple hours at this point, only to miss what could’ve been my only opportunity to strike gold. I ensured that my drag was set correctly and we were back to fishing.
 
            A little while later, my Dad had the second “swing and a miss” of the day. By this point we had persevered through several small spurts of rain and there was a good puddle of water at our feet. As expected, everything was soaked, including me! I hadn’t dressed the greatest for a cold and rainy spring day and was trying to fight off the goose bumps that persisted to form all over my body. I was tired, wet, cold, and, I hate to say, a little bored. I was scanning the surrounding boats, to see if anyone else was catching anything when I had something SLAM my worm! I set the hook, only to have a nice smallmouth practically jump into the boat! With my drag buttoned down, and only 8 feet of line out in 6 feet of water, she had nowhere to go but up. After flopping around violently on the surface for another 30 seconds, or so, I was finally able to get a hand on her. Her caudal fin through up an impressive roostertail as she rocketed back into the muddy water.
 
             Fed up with the excruciating river bite, we headed downstream to the broad lake. This was a gamble, as we knew that it was supposed to be quite windy that day, and big waves don’t mix well with a 14’ boat. Fortunately, the lake was fairly calm with 1-2 foot waves that hadn’t quite set up into rollers yet. We motored over the choppy seas with ease as we headed north towards Colchester Point. I changed over all of our walleye rigs to a selection of salmon spoons and laker plugs, and before long, we were running boards off either side with long lines out, what felt like a mile. Hugging close to the shoreline, we were able to stay in a perfect 15 to 20 foot range (With Cold water temperatures, lakers and salmon are not shy of the shallows). When the starboard side planer was suddenly stopped dead in it’s tracks and began jerking around wildly, I quickly grabbed hold of the rod and began reeling. Once the board was removed, I was able to a get a sense for the size of the fish, and it felt pretty hefty! I have to give the 21 inch Lake Trout credit for putting up an impressive tussle. The day had finally begun to turn itself around and start heading in a favorable direction with a trout in the first 30 minutes of trolling.
 
              We rounded the point and got on a northwesterly line, trying to keep the boat in that 20 foot range. I had put my favorite laker spoon on my long line and was almost expecting to get a bite on it. This particular lure had produced at least one spring laker for two years in a row and I was looking to make it three. Sure enough, as I was staring intently at my long line, the rod doubled over and the drag went bonkers! I pried the rod out of the holder, only to let the fish run for another 20 yards. My rod tip jolting wildly with every slap of the fish’s tail on my line, as it dragged my lure into the depths with a vengeance. I now had a good 150+ feet of line out and the fish wasn’t even breaking a sweat. I was sure that this wasn’t just a screamer teener with a lot of spunk when I felt the fish’s head make the wide turning swing in my direction. Once turned, she charged, making it difficult to pick up the slack. This fish could cover some water! I felt pretty confident in my 20 lb. fluoro leader and monster treble hook, and, thus, kept the pressure on her. Once closer to the boat, the now confirmed Lake Trout made a couple deep dives out of desperation, before finally succumbing to my skillful net man. As I watched the hook fall out in the net and stared at the sheer size of the fish, I began to get more and more excited. Like usual, my adrenaline levels were sky high as I held her up to the bump board. 28.5 inches. “Alright, alright, so she’s not quite as big as I thought, but she’s still a beautiful fish, none the less!” While I revived her, I took the time to study the intricate markings on her back and sides and was overwhelmed by how gorgeous she was.


 
We had overcome a two trip fish deficit and landed a fish on my favorite spoon for the third year in a row!
perch bait on IS, if you couldn't figure that out on your own. ;)

dickbaker

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Re: A Change of Plans (5-13-17)
« Reply #1 on: Jun 17, 2017, 07:44 PM »
Well???? Where's the picture of that super laker spoon?
Great fish and super picture!
Dick

Perchbait

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Re: A Change of Plans (5-13-17)
« Reply #2 on: Jun 17, 2017, 08:23 PM »
 ;D You'd have to give me your boat before I'd tell anyone!  ;)
perch bait on IS, if you couldn't figure that out on your own. ;)

crayfish2

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Re: A Change of Plans (5-13-17)
« Reply #3 on: Jun 19, 2017, 09:19 AM »
I'd tell you Dick, but he doesn't even let ME see it!

oatkasut

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Re: A Change of Plans (5-13-17)
« Reply #4 on: Jun 19, 2017, 10:43 AM »
is it a Sutton?

Perchbait

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Re: A Change of Plans (5-13-17)
« Reply #5 on: Jun 19, 2017, 03:40 PM »
is it a Sutton?
Nope, but I did hear of people catching a boatload of Lakers on Suttons.
perch bait on IS, if you couldn't figure that out on your own. ;)

Koissu

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Re: A Change of Plans (5-13-17)
« Reply #6 on: Jun 20, 2017, 07:56 AM »
Great story as always!

crayfish2

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Re: A Change of Plans (5-13-17)
« Reply #7 on: Jun 20, 2017, 10:35 AM »
is it a Sutton?

Nope, but it is another OLD standby, though!

dd

 



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