Stormy day fishin

I went to Tippy Lake yesterday and weathered the storm to fish the whole day. I got to the Lake with the knowledge a storm, she was a brewin, but thought I had til 2pm before it hit. I was wrong, the blast came at 8 am with plenty of thunder, lightning and of course massive raindrops.
So I did what any fishing idiot would. I hightailed it to the culvert and hide out til the lightning stopped. Yep there I was holding my boat straight in a dark,low, spider infested culvert while I waited out the storm.
I was only a stone's throw away from the landing but,"I came here to fish".
After the storm blew over I was able to try and dry out the boat and all else in it. The day actually turned out to be pretty nice with a couple showers coming and going fairly quickly.
By the way to all those who say," fishing is better in the rain". Have you actually ever fished in the rain??? I was envisioning a dramatic improvement in my cast to harassed bass ratio and it never did materialize. So, just one more fisherman's tail put to rest as far as I'm concerned.
Anywho, I was able to manage some scrappers and a couple decent bass on a scum frog. Which by the way, I had just recently purchased a new scum frog because my old one was on it's last leg. Now I had that one for at least 2 years, this new one lasted ONE outing. I will not purchase another scum frog from here on out. I did get a spro frog, I hope it lasts a while.
If you look close at this picture you can see I brought along my own deck lounge for some lounging. Actually I got to my first spot and saw it floating in the water. I didn't want anyone to hit it, so I fished it out and held onto it all day. Now I'm going to clean it up and sell it, who said fishing isn't profitable?

2 fer

Since I missed last weeks update I shall review last week and this week all in one, yes one entry. So hang on cause here comes the fun.
Last week I went to Big Turkey to try my luck with some walleye and bass. I started out the day with light winds from the SE. As the day went on the wind started to get stronger and stronger so I switched to trolling to try for some walleye. I managed 1 walleye, 1 perch and a bass, after trolling for a couple hours I cut off the trolling motor and started casting again. I went over to a sunken island and casted across it for bass. I had a great time and caught quite a few bass off this island with a spinnerbait. The one walleye I managed came home with me, here's the pic.Tues of this week I went to Nyona Lake to try for some wipers (which we all know is a cross between a white bass and a striper). I got to the lake kinda late cause of the drive and bad map skills, to tell ya the truth I have a problem getting to this lake every time. I managed one bass in open water, there wasn't a whole lot of bass chasing. After a couple of hours on Nyona I went over to S. Mud which is only a couple of minutes away. I caught 1 small largemouth and wasted a couple hours here. I moved back to Nyona and started casting with a scum frog ( I love catching fish this way) the bass started to add up. I stayed on Nyona til a bass tourny started and that was my que to move lakes. Here's the pic of one of the better scum frog bass.
When the tourny showed up I moved to Robinson lake and managed 1 small largemouth in only an hour before dark.

Now those of you who know me know hunting is never far from my mind especially duck hunting. This year I decided to paint my layout blinds instead of mudding them and I think they turned out pretty good. The bad news is I didn't get before pics so you cant really see the difference but the good news is no more mudding the blind every year here's the pic of the finished

3 lake day

Well this was the first day I could get out in the past couple of weeks because of rain. I have also been working alot, and I just got my schedule changed from thirds to weekends. I am really looking forward to doing alot of fishing and hunting this year.
Now back to Mon, I went to Max and hooked up a smallie and a largemouth before the wind kicked in. I then trailered up and moved to Bass lake where I trolled up a nice crappie. After trolling for a couple hours with no other hits I gave away my crappie and started home. I stopped on the way at Pike lake and did some more casting, where I hooked up a small walleye. I threw him back and kept casting the point I caught him on to no avail. So I packed up and went home.
So until next week, tight lines.

Wrapped up anotherTurkey season

Well as you know I got drawn for Mississinewa Res. for the first 3 days of Turkey season. As it turns out I only needed the first day.
I got off work at 5 a.m. made the hour drive down, to my surprise no one was in my first spot. So I got out and prepared to take off to the woods, when it happened. Gobbles and lots of them across the road from where I was going to hunt. Playing the odds I started off towards the gobbling, when I thought I was close enough I got set up. All the birds gobbling flew down the opposite side of the woods they were roosted in. 3 hours later all that I had seen was a hen and she came from one end of the field all the way to my decoys.



So I made the deal with myself, I'll move over across the road and set up and wait til 11:30 a.m. Then I'll go home and google where I heard all the turkeys gobbling so I can get on them in the morning. So I pulled all my crap together and off I went. I got to my spot at 10:30, I got my dekes set out and got my chair ready, cut some branches and generally made a huge commotion in the corner of the field I was setting up in. Just when I was getting ready to sit down, I saw a Turkey in the field next to the one I was set up in. So I started with some soft cutting, used sparingly and pushing the sound away from where I thought the birds would come from. Well less than 15 min later I hear something walking through the leaves to the corner of the field. I start straining to see beyond and through the briar patch that is between me and the sound. Finally I see a head and neck walk out to the edge of the field. He never made a sound just came in and looked at all the fine ladies in the field. I started to slowly move the shotgun barrel over for the shot and at 15 yards that's darn near impossible. He didn't really see me move but he did start to smell a rat so when he turned back towards the woods I swung on him put the red dot on his neck and dropped the hammer. All I saw was leaves and brush getting blown to shreds then I heard the "I'm down, death flapping" and I got up and claimed my prize.

A 2 year old Tom weighing in at 23 1/2 #'s, with a 10 1/2" beard, and 3/4 " spurs.

and just like that my seasons' over........ you can uncross your fingers now.

First outing

This year started off great......as far as equipment goes. I ended up going to Max for my first outing this year. I got to the lake in the really dark hours. It was cold, clear, and calm, by the time I left it was just cold and clear. I couldn't hook up on anything casting and since it was a test trip I put on the trolling motor and did some trolling. Only then did I hook up a largemouth bass and a decent walleye.
I was fishing 20' of water trolling at 1.5-1.9 mph and my lures were running between 9-13 ft. The warmest water I found all day was 55.4 degrees brrrrr.
All in all I had a good day until I got blown off the lake. All my equipment started up and ran well and I'm ready for the season to kick into full swing.
I did get drawn for the Turkey hunt this year so this week will be the week of little rest. Hunt, sleep, work and get up and do it again for three days. Well gotta mow some lawns so I can just enjoy the week, and the hunt without yard work looming over my head.
Yeah who am I kidding I couldn't care less if the lawn needs mowed if I get to go Turkey hunting. Anyway wish me luck this week and as always I will post my hunt so watch for it by the weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Here's the pic.
MMMMmmmm he was tasty.