NumenOn the Water
Date: 10-23-16
Date: 10-23-16
Body of Water: Reeds Lake
Boat: Numenon
With: TM
Target: Pike
Time: 9 AM - 2 PM
Conditions: Crisp, clear and quiet morning with temperatures starting in the upper 30's; warming into the low 60's. Calm to SE winds to about 10 mph. The water remained clear and 60-61 degrees F.
TM last joined me on the Lincoln Lake Pike Project a couple of weeks ago, and pike at that time were scarce. The last couple of days have been a different story.
We agreed to meet at the ramp at 9:30 AM. I was ahead of schedule, so I got a half hour of solo time in before I picked him up at the dock. While I'd focused on water I'd not yet really covered the day before, similar presentations in 25 to 27 feet of water yielded a nice 27-inch pike and a couple of short strikes. I was off to a good start; I expected good things!
Usually, I will troll a complete spread of six rods with TM, but the boards had been so quiet, and the biting fish seemed to be deep. The hand-held rod was doing so well, I wanted him to be holding one, too. The flat-lined Spro DD had certainly earned a place in the spread. Since the biters were deep and some fish were suspended, I added a down-rigger to the mix for the first time this year.
In the next two and a half hours, we landed a Baker's Dozen of pike between 23 and 27 inches. We missed a few fish, too. The down-rigger (down 13-15 feet and with a purple and yellow Rapala DT Thug just 20 feet behind the ball) contributed four of these, the flat-lined Spro just one. The hand-held rods with braid, running the same sorts of cranks (DT16, DT14, etc.) from 75 to 10 feet back did most of the damage. Water less than 25 feet deep didn't produce much, but water from 25 to 29 feet was very generous; especially along the south side of the main sunken hump. That stretch was magic, as was the seam from the hump's western margin to the southern shoreline.
TM last joined me on the Lincoln Lake Pike Project a couple of weeks ago, and pike at that time were scarce. The last couple of days have been a different story.
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| It just seems auspicious; how could things not go well? |
We agreed to meet at the ramp at 9:30 AM. I was ahead of schedule, so I got a half hour of solo time in before I picked him up at the dock. While I'd focused on water I'd not yet really covered the day before, similar presentations in 25 to 27 feet of water yielded a nice 27-inch pike and a couple of short strikes. I was off to a good start; I expected good things!
 |
| Thick 27 |
Usually, I will troll a complete spread of six rods with TM, but the boards had been so quiet, and the biting fish seemed to be deep. The hand-held rod was doing so well, I wanted him to be holding one, too. The flat-lined Spro DD had certainly earned a place in the spread. Since the biters were deep and some fish were suspended, I added a down-rigger to the mix for the first time this year.
In the next two and a half hours, we landed a Baker's Dozen of pike between 23 and 27 inches. We missed a few fish, too. The down-rigger (down 13-15 feet and with a purple and yellow Rapala DT Thug just 20 feet behind the ball) contributed four of these, the flat-lined Spro just one. The hand-held rods with braid, running the same sorts of cranks (DT16, DT14, etc.) from 75 to 10 feet back did most of the damage. Water less than 25 feet deep didn't produce much, but water from 25 to 29 feet was very generous; especially along the south side of the main sunken hump. That stretch was magic, as was the seam from the hump's western margin to the southern shoreline.
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| The hand-held rod with metered braid scores again! |
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| Lots of 24- to 26- inchers today! |
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| Skinny, but beautifully colored. |
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| This was the hot bait today; a new, replacement DT16. It looks like I am distracted by something on the sonar. I was smart to get this picture, because the biggest pike of the day stole it from me a bit later. |
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| TM with a typically nice pike. |
What do I have to say about this?
It's not often I get to spend this much concentrated time on one body of water, and it was interesting to see the patterns emerge and evolve over the course of several trips. Meanwhile, there was a bass tournament going on, too. I was in close proximity to bass boats all day, and I saw them catch some pretty decent fish over the course of the day. Most were throwing horizontal baits (swim jigs, jerk baits and cranks.) It was especially gratifying to be able to understand why they were fishing their chosen locations. There aren't many bass secrets on Reeds; and there are a few less pike secrets, now.
It's not often I get to spend this much concentrated time on one body of water, and it was interesting to see the patterns emerge and evolve over the course of several trips. Meanwhile, there was a bass tournament going on, too. I was in close proximity to bass boats all day, and I saw them catch some pretty decent fish over the course of the day. Most were throwing horizontal baits (swim jigs, jerk baits and cranks.) It was especially gratifying to be able to understand why they were fishing their chosen locations. There aren't many bass secrets on Reeds; and there are a few less pike secrets, now.
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