I had the opportunity today to spend the morning and early afternoon on the water with my pops and a very good friend of mine. We battled some pretty stiff wind out of the Southeast, but boy was it worth it! The conditions were perfect for what we set out to do. Wind, overcast, and water temp. of only 66 degrees. What more could you ask for in early Aug?
My dad and I left the shack around 5:30 to meet my buddy at the Liberty Beach (public access) at 5:45 A.M. This is a great access that I highly recommend if you are ever putting in on the East Side. There is plenty of parking, out door restrooms, double wide access, and a bar on site. 
Everything went as planned and we were on the water by around 600ish. I had watched the predicted weather very closely all week, and was happy that it was not raining when we hit the lake. I knew we were going to have a strong SE wind so I planned my trolling runs accordingly.
I hit the gas and we arrived at the first spot. I didn’t scout long because I liked what I was seeing in terms of suspended fish right from the get go. We set up our first run with a purpledescent tail dancer on lead core 140 feet back, a deep thunderstick 150 feet back on a board, and a hot tiger tail dancer 130 feet back on the other board. The coffee was poured, and the stories and bs started to roll. We could not have been 20 minutes into the first run when the left board started to thrash and the big girl was taking drag like crazy. Dad was closest to the rod so he grabbed it and began to reel. I slowed the boat to assist, but the fish would have none of it. As soon as I slowed the boat, bang the lead took off. My buddy Nate started to wrestle with the lead as I took off for the net. The trip to the net was also short lived becase as soon as I walked to the front of the boat the other board started clicking away. I was in total shock but some how we had managed to start our day with a triple.
Unfortunately the fun did not last long. Nate’s was a smaller fish that came unglued at the surface. My dad’s was a hog that we never got to see, and I landed a 20 incher to start the day. 1 for 3 
I was really hoping at this point that we didn’t screw up our only big chance of the morning. The cranking bite has been very inconsistent for me thus far.
After getting back on track it didn’t take long to realize that we would have many more opportunities. From that point forward we had steady action up until 11:30 when we headed in to the bar for lunch. We caught fish on all three set ups but the Thunderstick/board combo. took top prize, with the other two not far behind. Although I intended to move around the lake, we never left our first spot. After about 3 or 4 long passes we had caught 11 fish ranging from 20 inches to 26.5 (way to go Nate on a new PB) 
All of these fish were truly roaming the basin and quiet a ways from any type of structure. Optimal speed was 2.1 mph and for the most part we rode the waves towards the NorthWest.
After a couple beers and burgers at the bar it was time for Nate to hit the road. My dad and I headed back out for a short while but only managed one more 25 inch fish. Nice work pops!
The most amazing thing about our day was that each and everyone of these fish were extremely fat and healthy. Almost to the point that they looked like fall fish! I could not believe the stomachs on some of these hogs. We will definitely be seeing some footballs this fall. In addition to being healthy they were super aggressive. Most hammered our crankbaits, took drag, and some inhaled the lures.
Any how, enough said. A great day on the water with two people I really enjoy! If you get a chance to hit the pond this month for some trolling, don’t pass it up. A great way to swap stories, enjoy your friends, and catch some hogs. Good luck on the water. 
Chris
August 8, 2009 at 2:37 am
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