It was one of those days.

Any Luc · Posted: 07:38pm - Jul 19,10

It was one of those days.
Every once in a while, a plan works out and once ever so often or so, three plans will work.

This will be a three plan day. Crappies on hardbaits, bluegills on leech tipped spinner rigs
and I hope to be able to find a redear while vertical jigging a leech at the base of the sandgrasses.
Two lakes, three species, three different presentations and I needed to be off the water and returning home by 10:30am.

Plan #1.
Hottest July in 34 years, water temps are way up, natural forage levels are as high as they will be all year long and so I’m figuring on tempting crappie with some smallish, high action crankbaits.

This Salmo Hornet H2S will work down to about 3 or maybe 4 feet or so on the troll.
What a great bait it is but not sold in the states anymore.

I set it out about 50 foot and then snapped the line onto an Off Shore mini planer.

The Hornet took a hit as I was about to place the board in the water.

We’re allowed two lines in the pits so my second gets a #4 Salmo Bullhead, which will swim along at twelve foot under with again, a wide wiggle.

Here’s that board out alongside me, running the weed edge, what is left of them.
These lakes have taken a big weather hit in the past couple weeks and the weeds are now dead and dying all over, stained water and clear water alike.

The crappies were hitting really well and at times I would have both lines under stretch at the same time. There was a lot of surface activity all over and every once in a while I would see long toothy snoots break above the surface as they nipped water bugs for their breakfasts.

The rods are light action Fenwick HMX in 7 and 9 foot lengths. The reels are Shimano Symetre 750’s and the line is 4# Sufix Elite.

It was pod after pod after pod after pod, all down the length of the lake and I made four passes up and down the lake, picking up fish regularly.

Fish were coming over the gunnels like I could do no wrong

Oh I can do wrong though, we all know that. I’m all about doing something different as soon as the bite gets going, like leaving my fish just to go find fish.

Not just yet though, I have other baits to wet first and I do run each of these but the crappie only hit the #2 and #3 Hornets and the Bullhead.

Of course it’s the one that is kinda hard to get that gets slammed all the time and I only have a couple #2’s right now.

Wasn’t trying to catch these things but I got a few.

I suppose I could have stayed and had a 150 crappie day but there were two more hunts that needed to get done so it was time to pull out and head to another lake.

I can’t help myself,
I just love making and pulling these little rigs.

The second set is a Yo Zuri Snap Bean put down deep by means of my release.

Nothing was real deep though as I was expecting. This lake is way different but the water temperature is the same, at 84 degrees and the fish again are in shallower water than they normally would be at this time of year and I saw no fish deeper than 22 on the sonar. Last week I saw nothing below 18 feet.

The little spinner rigs work like magic most every time and today would be no different.

The Snap Bean, I think, was the wrong bug to be pulling down there in the grass but it managed a hit.

I don’t know what the deal is with the weeds but they are looking really sad.

Well, time was getting short and this is getting long so let’s get the morning done with.

There is this trusty saddle between two main lake humps that supports a good supply of snail covered sandgrass for the big guys and so I put away the rigs and tied on a jig.
I tipped the jig with a leech and jigged it in the grass and out from the grass came a big ole fat readear, just like I was hoping for.

Maybe one day I'll give up this foolishness and find myself a bigger species to chase after.
Could it be any more fun though?
Night night
Any

It was one of those days.

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