Trip Report, Lake Wheeler Slough (Lily Pond), second trip

[Ditch Basser]

I returned to Lily Pond today to fish and scout more of the slough. I was curious if the seeming easy of catching Crappie was an accident on my first trip. I got on the water at about 6:30AM and fished till 11:30AM, so five hours on the water. I’m really starting to like this slough. Crappie were scattered but still fairly consistent with one every few minutes all morning. No slabs, but caught lots of eaters that were 10 to 11 inches. I started with Chartreuse since the water was very muddy but as usual the Crappie played unconventional and wanted white. They also weren’t interested in the Bobby Garland but would take the old cheap marabou jigs just fine.

Strange morning though, not sure if the rain caused it but the catfish were hitting everything. I brought home 8 channel cats and had two break off. If anyone is looking to fill the freezer with catfish before the winter, Lily pond is your spot. I also kept 18 Crappie. I would have limited out but no more would fit in my cooler with all the catfish. I tossed back a couple hundred Crappie with a quarter of them being over 10 inches.

I’ll clean them this afternoon and post pictures then.

[alexava]

do you have the cooler on the boat with you? no stringer?

[Ditch Basser]

I have a 25qt coleman stacker cooler that I use in the summer with reusable ice packs (coleman blue ice). I can easily get a limit of 30 crappie in it. I've put hinges on it and secure it on my back deck with bungee cords. I find that it's hard to paddle with a stringer of 15 fish tied off one side and the fish will die and start to spoil fairly quickly when the water is 90 degrees. That being said, a limit of crappie will not fit when you have an extra 20 pounds of catfish. I'll post a pic tomorrow!

[Ditch Basser]

Photo added

[Ditch Basser]

alexava,

Here's my cooler setup. The cooler is a Coleman stacker, they come in two sizes 24 can (25qt) or 48 can (33qt). I use the smaller size cooler with the Coleman reusable Blue ice packs.



I’ve drilled holes in both handles and have add shock cord with small d-rings on the ends. The kayak also has D-rings added where I removed deck rigging. I can turn half way around at the waist in my kayak to put fish in the cooler. The rear deck of my kayak is flat and level, the storage hatch is too small for a small cooler to fit inside.



I added hinges so the lid would be easy to close, stay aligned and not blow off or fall overboard.



I’ve even considered taking a small cooler, cutting my kayak rear deck for it to fit in the opening. I came up with this first and it work well. When I get home I wash out the cooler, let it air dry and I’m ready to go again. It’s the best way I’ve come up with to keep my fish on ice when fishing from my kayak. I was concerned about maintaining the quality of my catch in the summer. I might be several miles from my truck so it’s not as easy as just returning every hour or so to a larger cooler there and dropping off my catch.

[huls1]

nice catch ditch

[Z-MAN]

AT LAST - the NAME of the cooler - Mine (as you know) is WAY too tall - and I have to put it in front - so I can hardly see - "Coleman Stacker" - 24 can size ..I'm on it - look out e-bay here I come. Thanks Ditch!

Z

[Z-MAN]

AT LAST - the NAME of the cooler - Mine (as you know) is WAY too tall - and I have to put it in front - so I can hardly see - "Coleman Stacker" - 24 can size ..I'm on it - look out e-bay here I come. New Coleman 24 Can Party Stacker Cooler with Lid - Blue | eBay Thanks Ditch!

Z

[genecline]

where is lily pond ?

[Ditch Basser]