This marks the first time Walt & I have been out on the Quabbin this year! The weather forecast was suppose to be cloudy with a "slight chance" of showers later in the afternoon. Air temp was 62 degrees with the water at 76 degrees. Winds were between about 3 to 6 mph at most throughout the morning.

We got off the ramp by about 7:30 am and set up our drift pattern over the main body basin. We no longer have a trolling motor with which to side pull. It crapped out on us this spring, so we had to make due with wind drifting. Not our favorite, but a decent presentation over deep, suspended crappie. This is what the day started out looking like:

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We started hitting 'em about 5 minutes into our first drift. Marked a lot of bait fish and fish suspending, as we suspected they would be. This is not a great picture, but it'll give you an idea of what we were frequently over:

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We presented paddletails, straight tails and Road Runners today and the fish were cooperating. However, about an hour into our morning, it started to rain......which increased in intensity and duration throughout the morning. I hate fishing in the rain! We endured as long as we could, becoming soaked by the time we pulled off a little after 10 am. We didn't do too bad though, with 28 fish caught & released. All crappie except for 2 bluegill. Here are a couple of the fish we caught. Nothing big, but great fun UL gear:

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The good news is that the boat and equipment performed well for a first time out and we're hoping to be at it again soon. I know we've lost a good portion of this season, but we'll try to make up for it. :rolleyes:

Hope some of you got out and stretched a few lines. God Bless America!