trollin, trollin, trollin,

I ended up at Clear lake yesterday, for the first time this year. I got there late- I forgot my camera and had to go back- but it was still early enough. I got the boat put in and ready to go, it's getting easier the more I do it. I started out just outside the launch with some topwater. Only after I got there did I realize I forgot my topwater pole but I made do with another rod I had with me. I caught a small largemouth on top and noticed there were fish chasing shad up, so I moved out to try and catch the chasers. I did catch a decent bass chasing shad with a Johnson thinfisher blade bait, but couldn't get another to hit no matter what I threw. So I made the decision to start trolling. I brought my trolling rods and rod holders because there are trout and walleye in this lake. Well, I didn't catch any of the target species but I did catch a variety of fish. I caught a...

  I even caught a sunfish that was bigger than this crappie but he got off at the boat when I tried to land him.

I didn't really catch a bunch of fish but I only fished for 5 hours or so, and for that amount of time I thought I did pretty good. The reason I didn't fish that long as I normally would've, they beat the heck out of this lake. At times I had 1-2 footers and it was a no wind day. Anyway, I got in, caught my fish and got out so it worked out ok. I think next week, weather permitting, I might try Lake Erie for some walleye.

Everything was stacked against me

I wasn't sure where I wanted to go fishing this week, it was between Big Turkey and Max. As you all know Max is a tried and true favorite so I packed my gear trailered the boat and made the 2-hour drive to Max. I pulled out my best lures to start.... once I started fishing I noticed the water was kinda dingy. Usually, you can see clearly to 15' down and I couldn't make out the bottom in 4'. Well, my usual favorites weren't producing so I brought out the secondary line up. After they didn't manage to snag a fish I got desperate and just started looking for stuff I've caught fish on....not here just at any lake that I've fished. A little after noon the breeze picked up to a full on blow I'm not sure what the gusts were hitting but it was becoming less fun. I was having to run the trolling motor on 5 and 6 just to move around. Then I noticed what had been floating in the water the whole time. Max just had a mayfly hatch, it was the perfect quadfecta of a nonfish catching outcome. The dingy, I thought was just bad weather stirred up sediment, was actually an algae bloom, that along with the mayfly hatch and the issues the wind was causing, and let's not forget the water temp which was in the middle 80's, it's no wonder I only managed to stick and land this one fish.

 I know it sounds like alot of excuses as to why I didn't do better, but there's actual scientific data that I can produce to back up what I am saying is the real reason for this weeks inability to load the boat down with fish. This guy got CPR because he didn't make the 16" limit by mere 32nds of an inch, otherwise, I would have released him in grease.
Anyway, there's always next week I think I'm going to try Clear or no wait I haven't been to LM in a while or no I should go to James ... but then again I think I should try ..........

Yippie Tippy

Took the plunge and paid the 10$ to fish one of my favorite lakes yesterday. You know the saying "You can't fish all day if you don't start in the morning"? Well, I had all the best intentions of starting in the morning however, I didn't launch until 7:30 ish. Since I moved all my drive times have changed and there will definitely be a learning curve. Thanks to my buddy Corey that curve is a little shorter, he's the one that turned me onto Garmin GPS. I used mine yesterday for the first time and it worked great. The only thing is the route I want to take and the route she wants me to take are different until she realizes which way I want to go.
Anyway, once I got to the launch and dropped the boat in it did take a while for me to get into some fish. I hit the usual spots with no luck in the am and it wasn't until the pm that I started rippin' some lips. The bass I caught weren't huge but they were alot of fun.

Objects in pictures are larger than they appear:

 I've gotta get a tripod for the boat......

Wow is it hot

Last week was my first week back to work after vacation. The first thing I did was mess up my forearm, it's called Intersection Syndrome near as I can tell. So I've been taking it easy and keeping my forearm iced. I didn't fish last week but did this week, and man was it hot. I went to the lake just down from me, I plan on hunting it this year so it was just a recon mission. I knew it was going to be a scorcher today so I chose a lake that was really close so I could leave anytime. The other good thing about this lake is it has a 10 mph speed limit on it-i.e.- no waterskiers, jet ski's or any other speed junky. Anyway, I fished 'til around noon and did catch a couple bass. Nothing big but I did get some fish slime on my hands.

a couple of fish on Kermy

 The water in this lake was almost as hot as the air, it was hitting 84 degrees. When I got done playing around I went home and moved my stuff in the garage around so I can maneuver a little better. I am still in the process of cleaning/putting everything away. Next will be more shelves I think, just not sure if I'll buy or build. Anywho hope to get a trip under my belt next week, maybe Max or Tippy.... haven't been to either lake yet this year.