All in all a great day to be on the water.

I was a bit apprehensive when Jim called to go to a new lake. Mainly because the forecast temps for today were into the 90's. But Jim told me he had just installed a new Bimini top on his boat, so I agreed to give it a whirl. We launched a bit after 8 am and pulled off at 1 pm. The air was 82 degrees and the water temp started out at 72. Here's what the lake looked like when we started:



By 10 am the temps got up to near 90 and we were grateful for having that Bimini top! Kept us 10 - 15 degrees cooler for sure. However.....the fly in the ointment was that it is not easy fishing beneath one! Certainly became a challenge as we trolled at about 1.2 mph. Problem was getting enough clearance to set the hook, without breaking your rod on the top! Not an easy task.

We had some engine problems and did a lot of scouting about, on this new lake, before settling down to fishing, but we did manage to get 15 fish today - probably in about 2 1/2 hours of actual fishing. Most fish were crappie, but we did get a couple of white perch, bluegills and pickerel in the mix. Most came on Slider Grubs and Road Runners.

Here are couple of fish Jim caught & released. Jim is an old army vet with some serious medical issues. I've got to give him credit for today. As hot as it was, he did great!





Here are a couple of the ones I took on the hand-tied "gray ghost" pattern of horse head spins that "skiptomylou" put together for me:





All in all a great day to be on the water. When we pulled off, the air had risen to 93 degrees. And the water was 84. Probably not a big deal for you younger fishermen, but it was a challenge for us. Which we gladly met!

Looks like Walt & I will be at it again on Monday! Hopefully, a trip to the Quabbin will prove fruitful.