Got a call from 870 this morning asking if I had any interest in joining him for an impromptu fishing trip today. Weather was iffy here at home (it would soon clear and be a nice day)but I said yes anyway and headed his way. And what a trip it turned out to be!
After a few last minute adjustments, (and we almost chose not to bring the cooler!) we pushed off in his boat about 11am, with a near cloudless blue sky, temperature at about 66 and rising. Don't know about water temps as we didn't bring any electronics as we were fishing one his special spots, a small private lake that he was very familiar with. He was in to fish right away and outfished me at least 4 to 1 in the early going. Here he is with the first fish of the day.

Name: IMG_2747.jpg Views: 47 Size: 84.2 KB

And his next one was a beauty too.

Name: IMG_2749.jpg Views: 48 Size: 74.4 KB

I think it was the first one that was the biggest fish of the day and he says it's his personal best crappie so Hoo Rah for him!

Following is a small sample of some of my catches:

Name: IMG_2752.jpg Views: 47 Size: 50.4 KB

Name: IMG_2753.jpg Views: 46 Size: 40.7 KB

Name: IMG_2757.jpg Views: 46 Size: 57.1 KB

The spawn was just getting going on this water and working the shallow water, the crappie just hammered our baits! And if the crappie didn't bite while the lure was shallow, the bass would gobble them down once it got a little deeper. Countless bass of 2-2 1/2 lbs. gave us a workout we will not soon forget. Crappie ranged from my small fish of about 10" up to his over 14" PB, most in the 11 1/2 to 12" range, all in just prime shape here at the early spawn. I had the clicker with me today and here is our total when we pulled off at about 3:20.

Name: IMG_2764.jpg Views: 46 Size: 51.7 KB

Name: IMG_2760.jpg Views: 45 Size: 72.0 KB

Crappie, bass, bluegill and one yellow perch. But what a perch it was, I believe it to be my personal best perch. I've caught perch as long but not as big bodied as this guy. It was a brute of a perch for sure.
Name: IMG_2759.jpg Views: 46 Size: 48.8 KB

We had to weigh it, it was 1.17 lbs

So our expected 2-3 hour "hope to catch a few" trip turned in to a "Wow, what a day!" trip that we'll both remember, I'm sure.

Name: IMG_2763.jpg Views: 49 Size: 57.0 KB
That's 13 whole fish in that bowl and I'm sure he had at least that many as well. We are both sunburned as heck as today was not supposed to be a nice as it turned out; we were geared for cooler, cloudier weather.
Oh, well.....a minor price to pay for such a memorable trip.