the appropriate lead-in to yesterday's single-contestant Olympic XIII Crappie event. Strange as it may sound, I have realized, on many-many occasions for maybe 2 or 3 decades, that the #13 has been my LUCKY #! Interestingly, most folks are under the misperception that Friday the 13th only happens once a year. Although mostly correct, it can happen up to 3 times in a calendar year! (last time in'15/next time '23) The Rules Committee(me) established the following rules that were to be followed- ONE man per boat, 13 fish @13" overall size average, 11" minimum size(no maximum length), accredited measuring trough(Crappie.com), at least one fish pic with an accredited Covid/Jason Voorhees mask, ultralight/artificial-only presentation. Medal qualifications are as follows- Gold 169" or greater(13 x 13) Silver 156" or greater(12 x 13) Bronze 143"(11 x 13) Honorable mention 130"(10 x 13) So off I go...Goin' for the GOLD!! The fish activity chart listed the day as a Very Low fish-activity gradient.
First fish was a beauty @14"(oh yeah!) soon to be followed with a thick-shouldered 13. Things went quiet for some time but the 'tale of the tape' was providing my inner strength to continue. A thunder/lightning/downpour episode provided the fireworks/lighting "flair" to the event. A total of 9 + 1 measured for my total of 123 + 19(missed the Bronze) I did overhear one judge discussing the possibility of a "Mossy Green" medal! If you can't please anybody, at least please yourself= Go Fishin'!
Thanks for coming along, enjoy the pics-
Additional comment- For event location disclosure(Not Crystal Lake) Best bait of many used(Went for the GOLD remember) Berkley Alive shad 2.5"(Silver shaded) Berkley PowerBait mice tail 1st field test= Two fish before losing and reaching for my other 5 pre-rigged weaponry. Water temp 83*(down 10* from the substantial rainfall this week) Significant amount of torn/tattered tails(from Gar?) including the splayed tail/dorsal in one pic. Thankfully, my radio accompaniment did NOT play any of the eerie Friday the 13th background!! =tsh,tsh,tsh,tsh.tsh-haa,haa,haa,haa,haa-tsh,tsh, tsh, tsh,tsh