Fishing with Ed Moore, Joseph, and Mary...6/3/2024

My original plan, was for them to meet me at my house, and we would drive over to Turtle Creek from here, but that changed, when I was told by the company doing my septic system, that they would be here today, to hook it up.  I asked Ed to meet me at Catawba instead, because their big trucks would take up my entire driveway, and block his truck in, when we got back. He was good with that, so we met at Catawba at 5am. (By the way...they never made it here today to hook up my system...deep sigh).

We launched, and were headed northwest at 5:30. It wasn't  foggy then, but by the time we got north of West Sister, it was thick fog. Luckily, by the time we hit fog, we also made it to our destination. I love good timing. :)

The FishHawk was deployed, so I could dial in the speed of 2.4-2.5mph, with the Terrova and baby Merc. The Terrova steered us in a NNW direction. The undercurrent was pretty close to the surface current, going that direction, so the SOG was mostly the same reading.

Huh...I just realized, I never looked at the water temperature this morning, but it's high 60s, I'm sure.

Anyway, I thought I would ditch the crawlers this trip, and put some smaller baits on. After setting out 4 dipsey rods, pulling spoons, I showed Joseph and Mary how to attach the Off Shore boards, so they could be involved in the fishing part of it, too.

The dipsies on the inside (both sides) were on the zero setting, with the port side running at 37 back and the starboard side running at 40-45 back.  The outside rods were on the 2 setting (starboard side) and the 3 setting (port side)...set at 65 on the 2 setting, and at 55 on the 3 setting.

Bill Lewis PWC Lights were pulling on the starboard side, and Bandits started out on the Port side.  The PWCs were used with 2oz Guppie weights, at 50/80, 50/50, and 50/27.  Weights were attached at the 50 mark and then an additional 80, 50, and 27 feet were added, before putting the boards on.

Bandits ran at 120, 110, and 80 back, unassisted.

The Bandits did nothing, but the PWCs were getting hit pretty consistently, so I thought I would take the Bandits off, and try the baby Spros (85s) on the port side. They are the same size as the baby PWCs, and have a similar dive curve. So, the same programs that was working for the PWCs was used for the baby Spros, too.

Everything was catching fish, but the little cranks outfished the spoons, I think. But, then again, we didn't always have time to check the dipsies for hanger ons, either, so it might have been pretty even. There was usually a little fish on the spoons, when we checked them.

We went through a lot of short fish, but they will be legal by next spring, if not by late fall, of this year. The lake is looking pretty healthy...and, those little ones we sent back, were handled with great care, and sent off with a kiss, and a wish, to see them again in a few years. 

Joseph and Mary had a great time, and said they learned a lot. Mary and Joseph are cousins, and I think it's Mary's dad, that has a Ranger 621, and fishes a lot. I said to her, "You did great today, now you can show your dad what you know, when you go fishing with him".  Joseph did great too, but his new nickname is, "Clicker"...Ha!

Those that know me well, know that I only like to hear the clicker on the reel going, when the baits are going out....not coming in. He tried and tried, but could never remember to shut it off. I would  just reach over and do it for him, and he would say, "Gaaaa, dang it!" lol

Grandpa was happy to sit and watch as the kids caught their limits. I reeled in a few of mine too, before our trip was cut short, due to a massive amount of line getting sucked into the kicker's prop.  But, it didn't matter, they were happy with their catch, and Grandpa was more than ready to head in. (The kicker is fine, and I was able to get all of the line removed, after taking the prop off.)

It was a nice morning on the lake...everyone had fun, and some great memories were made with Grandpa...and, that makes me happy!

Tomorrow, I have a two man crew, who are more interested in the fishability of the Vexus, than actually catching fish, so it's going to be like a combination test ride/ fishing trip. Tom told me, "This is a boat ride trip, so there's no pressure".

Tom is interested in buying one, so this is a way to kill two birds with one stone.

We will be launching out of Huron, in the morning. I need some new scenery. 

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls