Friday on Tetonka. What a great day. I got to fish with Hawger, which has been a treat several times this year. I look forward to more opportunities. Dave, we have to do more research on the rain gear!
In any case, our day, (Friday, the 10th) was a beautiful one. I’m sad that the opener wasn’t as nice. When I finally made it to the lake, the boat was ready and we ran down to a couple of spots that Dave had heard about, supposedly holding fish. Unfortunately, the fish had apparently heard that we were dining on sardine/smoked oyster/cheese sandwiches on cute little crackers. Our lunch was excellent, the fish were nowhere to be found. We didn’t even see a mark and all the casting with appetizing little morsels of worm and minnow, along with the usual arsenal of tasty little plastic thingies didn’t draw even a bite. I have learned through fishing with Hawger on the past two Fridays that panfish do not like cold fronts and cannot be found in the shallows after one passes through. I’m beginning to wonder if that will be the case for the rest of the summer. If this is so, I’ll be looking in deep water all the time.
We worked steadily deeper as the afternoon progressed. Finally, at 30 feet, the graph started showing signs of schools. I was astounded. 30 feet of water and fish. Dave proved that they were nice sized crappies and perch by pulling in enough for a meal. My reel didn’t work. I lost one when the bail snapped open. Two others jerked at my minnow (hooked on a 1/16 oz. jig head) but I missed ’em. So the lesson for the day? If you don’t find fish, keep looking. Head for the depths if they aren’t shallow. There’s no such thing as fish sitting in places and not biting. They just plain moved. The other lesson? Quit using the reel that doesn’t work! The final lesson? Don’t worry. Hawger’s a better fisherman than I am.
After a few of the nice crappies and perch, we decided to try our luck near the river. There’s lots of structure around it in Tetonka and definitely a ton of possibly places where hungry fish might be located. We stopped below the entrance in order to do a slow drift past the river and down the lake a bit. The breeze was just right. I walked to the bow and cast my jig. Hawger stayed in the back, mentioned that he hadn’t had a chance to use the facilities all day and planned on “warming the lake” a bit. After a few minutes, I heard “Help me out here, Help.” from the stern. Thinking that Dave was in trouble, I rushed back to see what I could do. I figured, maybe mouth to mouth was required. He sounded urgent!
I finally got to the back of the boat. Apparently, the fisherman had thrown out his jig and THEN decided to water the lake. His pants were around his ankles and he was reeling frantically. I was a bit concerned. Would I be required to lift his pants or would he be wise enough to just give me his pole? Fortunately, the bass he’d hooked (by accident) was close enough to the boat that we didn’t have to resort to drastic action. Thank goodness! He pulled in the fish, pulled up his drawers and turned the bass loose again. A happy ending for all and a sigh of relief from me. There’s a moral to all this. Pick one pole or the other, but never try to use both at the same time!
Later, toward dark, we did find walleyes. Yes, I know, we were fishing for crappies. But the walleyes would not let the beetle spin or the light jig alone! A couple of limits after we started hitting them and we left the lake. I, for one, am much wiser. There’s a moral to all this. Pick one pole or the other, but never try to use both at the same time!
The walleyes are around. They’re hitting soft on baits still, not hard. Minnows on slow moving beetle spins or straight dropping jigs work best. Hit the bottom in shallow water right at dark. Let the rig rest there and then pick it up a bit. The bait will just stop when a walleye finds it. Wait a second and set the hook and you have a decent fish on the line. What great fun!
I’m definitely looking forward to more action. This year has been a great one so far, especially thanks to Hawger’s fine hospitality and humor.
Mike (one pole only)
