The last few years I have really been dialing in the fall bite on large mixed bag lakes. Using sonar is key to finding the baitfish schools and the bigger bites tend to follow. I find it a fun time of year to be on the water as the summer crowds die out and the fall feed enters the peak time frame. I just never know what the next cast will bring to hand.
Yesterday was one of those days.
I started the day with a nice smallie on almost the first cast:
The second cast produced the same except the fish stole my fly at the side of the tube. I retied and made a long cast to a shallow (less then 10 feet) flat. I stripped fast to not hit bottom and got slammed. Before I knew it a large rainbow jumped several feet into the air. I heard tires lock up on the road above, "Bro what is that?" I looked up to see a car stopped on the road and a very excited guy watching the show.
"Several pound rainbow bro."
"Bro no wayyyyyyyyyyy."
The tires spun out and away my new friend went with his fist pumping out the windows. This guy was fired up!
I went back to business landing a 24 inch slab:
When they get that chinook shape you know they have been feeding very well:
I worked my way east along the rock wall catching numerous more bass:
At one point I lost a fly on the bottom and retied with some heavier flouro. This would prove very essential later on.
This one almost stole my phone:
My phone fell into the green slime during the landing but thankfully it was shallow and I was able to reach down and grab it. I shook it off and placed it back into my life vest.
Came across a school of walleye and caught two back to back in the 16-17 inch range:
I find walleye so freaking cool.
Off shore again in about 20 feet of water I came tight to what felt like a solid fish. It did a shake once or twice and then moved very slowly. Try as I could I couldn't get this thing off the bottom. I corked my Echo Stillwater as much as I dared.
Had to be a carp I told myself. But it didn't feel quite like a carp. It stayed in a relatively small area. Was it a giant smallmouth? That didn't seem right either. I was beginning to think maybe I was wrapped around something with a fish
Finally i started making some slow progress. What ever it was, was starting to come up off the bottom. Inch by inch I pulled as much as I dared. I was basically pulling up on it like you would a halibut off the bottom.
Because of the green algea I had no glimpses of it until the final moments of the fight. My brain glitched as I tried to figure out my next step
Catfish never crossed my mind during the fight.
I kicked to shore to figure out how best to photograph and release the beast. During the process I realized it had a rattletrap in it's lip:
To put this giant into perspective my tube is about 36 inches across from midpoint to midpoint:
With the rattletrap out I had to remove my fly. I quickly learned if Mr or Mrs. Catfish doesn't want to open it's mouth it won't
Finally I was able to see my fly:
I set my phone on a rock and snapped a quick photo:
Then we headed out for the release:
As I regrouped and gathered myself my bite continued:
As the sun ticked down I caught a final walleye:
And then a nice largemouth because why not:
The big jig with a juicy @SpawnFlyFish tail got it done:
What a freaking day!
Billy
Yesterday was one of those days.
I started the day with a nice smallie on almost the first cast:
The second cast produced the same except the fish stole my fly at the side of the tube. I retied and made a long cast to a shallow (less then 10 feet) flat. I stripped fast to not hit bottom and got slammed. Before I knew it a large rainbow jumped several feet into the air. I heard tires lock up on the road above, "Bro what is that?" I looked up to see a car stopped on the road and a very excited guy watching the show.
"Several pound rainbow bro."
"Bro no wayyyyyyyyyyy."
The tires spun out and away my new friend went with his fist pumping out the windows. This guy was fired up!
I went back to business landing a 24 inch slab:
When they get that chinook shape you know they have been feeding very well:
I worked my way east along the rock wall catching numerous more bass:
At one point I lost a fly on the bottom and retied with some heavier flouro. This would prove very essential later on.
This one almost stole my phone:
My phone fell into the green slime during the landing but thankfully it was shallow and I was able to reach down and grab it. I shook it off and placed it back into my life vest.
Came across a school of walleye and caught two back to back in the 16-17 inch range:
I find walleye so freaking cool.
Off shore again in about 20 feet of water I came tight to what felt like a solid fish. It did a shake once or twice and then moved very slowly. Try as I could I couldn't get this thing off the bottom. I corked my Echo Stillwater as much as I dared.
Had to be a carp I told myself. But it didn't feel quite like a carp. It stayed in a relatively small area. Was it a giant smallmouth? That didn't seem right either. I was beginning to think maybe I was wrapped around something with a fish
Finally i started making some slow progress. What ever it was, was starting to come up off the bottom. Inch by inch I pulled as much as I dared. I was basically pulling up on it like you would a halibut off the bottom.
Because of the green algea I had no glimpses of it until the final moments of the fight. My brain glitched as I tried to figure out my next step
Catfish never crossed my mind during the fight.
I kicked to shore to figure out how best to photograph and release the beast. During the process I realized it had a rattletrap in it's lip:
To put this giant into perspective my tube is about 36 inches across from midpoint to midpoint:
With the rattletrap out I had to remove my fly. I quickly learned if Mr or Mrs. Catfish doesn't want to open it's mouth it won't
Finally I was able to see my fly:
I set my phone on a rock and snapped a quick photo:
Then we headed out for the release:
As I regrouped and gathered myself my bite continued:
As the sun ticked down I caught a final walleye:
And then a nice largemouth because why not:
The big jig with a juicy @SpawnFlyFish tail got it done:
What a freaking day!
Billy
That's a great day!