NW River Bash - Feb 2014

Ominous: that was the weather forecast for Saturday's annual NW River Bash. When only half the old timers showed, you knew it was going to get tough. Undaunted: that is what the hearty souls were who came to fish anyway. The weather forecast was for low forties and a 70% chance of rain in the morning, diminishing to mid-thirties and a 70% chance of rain/snow mix for the afternoon. Winds were supposed to start gusting up to 30 mph in the afternoon. We showed anyway and in true Crappie.Com fashion, enjoyed a chance to see both old and new friends, and fish: We shoved off at 8 a.m. to calm winds and pleasant conditions...'cept for the cold: At times, I thought we were going to be spared, and the weather was going to turn out okay in spite of the gloomy forecast:But, no such luck! I headed down below the border, to a super secret spot, but was only rewarded with this under-sized striper: And of course, the weather started getting rougher:After three or four hours of fishing in the steady rain, I realized two things. First: it is a great time to concentrate on your line. There is really nothing else to do when you are hunkered down in your raincoat...Just keep fishing. Second: this might be a good time to try those bridge pilings!!!! Look at this guy, doesn't he look just as happy as a hog in dirt? What rain? I'm watching my line!If you haven't gotten the idea yet, it really rained hard. In fact, it poured:Our scheduled end time was three o'clock in the afternoon, and by that time, only the most dedicated crappie anglers made it to the finale:And consequently, only a few fish made it to weigh-in:There were winners in two categories; biggest crappie, and biggest yellow perch. The biggest crappie (15 ounces) was caught by Windjinx, and the biggest yellow perch (12 ounces) was caught by Reelfun. Congratulations to the winners: Yep, we did it for two reasons. Here is one:And here is the other--just look at those smiles!Rain, What rain?