Met up with Tom for a short day on the lake. Guess he had stuff to do this afternoon.
I bought the permits while he launched the boat. Worked out well since he was having a rough morning. Turns out I was too, just didn't know it yet.
We made a beeline for his favorite spot where he had seen fish the day before and caught a few as well. I had a bite before I could get my second rod baited and in the water. Felt like a decent fish, but I'll never know. Popped off ten feet from the boat. There one second, gone the next. 2# so I was kinda babying it. Maybe too much.
Tom hooked up soon after and landed his fish.
Things were pretty slow after that. We saw fish on the meter and tried to selectively target them. Tom even got one to bite the jig, but it too came off. Almost instantly. At least I got to fight mine for a little bit before I farmed it.
No more bites. We got bored and decided to move to our second target. Catfish. The bigger the better.
Armed with gear suited for offshore use, we acted on tips Jim threw our way and proceeded to see what we could do.
Tried a couple spots for nothing then moved along. We found an area that seemed promising and made a couple casts into the area.
I landed a cast a little longer than I intended at the time. Tom noticed and mentioned I might be on the wrong side of the structure. I agreed, but decided to see what happened before reeling in and almost certainly losing my rig.
Then I felt a little thump. Thought my weight hit a rock or something. Gave a little tug, felt some weight, and started reeling. Fish on. Really. Wow.
Not much of a challenge on the gear I was using, but, I got one. Sweet.
We admired the scenery a little and made a few more casts to safer areas.
None of these safer areas produced a bite. I suggested re-positioning the boat a little to access different parts of the structure. Tom graciously obliged. Still no bites, so after a few unproductive casts, I tossed my bait where it had no business being. No way would I get that gear back, but I decided to risk it. Just a hook and a weight, right?
What do you know? Got another. Never would have made those casts on my own, but I will now.
Got brave and lipped this one. It clamped down pretty damn hard on my thumb. Lesson learned. Several lessons today, really.
Thanks for the boat ride, Tom. And the breakfast beers. Lots more lake to try next time.
