Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Maiden Voyage...three specie!




I bought a used pontoon from a guy on craigslist and had it out for the first time today.
Not like the canoe that's for sure. I had a hard time maneuvering at first, but it came quicker than the canoe did last year.
I learned some important lessons today like wear boots, check the time and bring a small cooler. The only thing I lost today was a hand towel I use to dry my hands with...it was in my lap and then it was gone. And the worms all died a horrible death without the cool comfort of an ice chest.
It was a kick in the pants and I caught three specie today. Black Crappie, Yellow Perch and Bluegill. A very colorful catch of the day.


Took my pontoon out for its maiden voyage Saturday...what fun that is. It was not as hard to figure out the maneuvering as the canoe was last year!
Got on the water about 9:00am at the new launch on Lacamas tried fishing the dock with the plane, but since it was the first bit of getting around with the pontoon and the wind was blowing a little I could not stay in position to fish the dock, moved on under the bridge to Round lake. Water was high, barely fit under the bridge.
The air was warm the water was warm also, sorry no thermometer...no temp. I made my way around the lake in a clockwise direction hitting all the usual trees and small docks and was pleased with the action. I used a trout magnet (1/64th oz "shad dart" jig with a split-tail grub) most of the time, starting with char/green and switching to red. Color did not seem to matter. I switching to a worm on the bottom for a while with no success and I tossed a gold kastmaster around a bit with no fruit either. When I got over to the dam I tried a worm under a bobber for a while, but it did me no good.
Caught a bunch of small bluegill and a few pan-sized black crappie. Not knowing how things would go in the pontoon I brought minimal gear and had not figured on keeping any fish so I released all unharmed.
It was a good day, I did not count the fish, but I caught three specie. The last was just as I was leaving Round lake the north corner next to the bridge I tossed my trout magnet right near the bushes and caught a small yellow perch. On the way back to the launch I fished the Moose docks and caught a couple more bluegill. I did not measure any of the fish, but I know I caught my personal best black crappie!

The only real negative on the day, besides not getting a bass or trout at a lake that is suppose to be great for both, was that I was suppose to be home for my kiddos coming back from California by 3:00 and I always lose track of time on the water and did not get off the water until 5:00. Wonder why I had to make my own dinner tonight?

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