We launched at 8:40

We launched at 8:40 am this morning and pulled off at 1:40 pm. Cool start to the day with the air at around 47 degrees and the water at 59 degrees. The high temp today is suppose to be around 70 degrees or so, so it was a very nice autumn day to be out on the water. Wish I could show you some nice foliage shots, but this year not much is happening except for the leaves falling without much color. It happens this way some years. This is about the best that I can do with a shot of Walt and the shoreline:



The winds were calm to non existent, even though the clouds overhead were really flying by. A severe cold front is due in for tomorrow with 2 days of heavy rain and damaging winds, so we took advantage of the available decent weather to fish today.

Not a bad day at all overall. We caught & released 51 fish; 6 of which were bluegill and one decent northern pike. I nailed the pike on a SK Joker, jiggling it about a foot off the bottom. I fought the fish for a few minutes, but unless you're ready to devote 10 - 20 minutes of your fishing time, they don't wear down that fast. So, with a 4 lb. leader I applied more pressure than I probably needed to; fortunately, the hook pulled out instead of giving him a trophy! Would have gone about 6 lbs. or so I'm guessing (FYI: I've caught a lot of pike!). One good run under the boat and the hook pulled free. Of course, we crimp down the barbs on all our hooks to affect a safer release for the fish and easier recovery for us, should we get the wrong end in our body! So, the pike got away scott free. Great fun!

Here are some of the fish we caught today, starting with the best of the day which I was fortunate enough to be the recipient on this trip:















Overall a fine day. Overcast most of the day, but the sun did show itself around noon for about an hour or so. After this major rain event that suppose to start tomorrow, the temps should be going down quite a bit. That means the bigger crappie will be moving deep and putting on the feed bag big time, in preparations for winter and ice up. Hopefully the weather will not turn severely cold as fast as last year; and we'll be able to post many reports before the end of the season.