Pleasant Creek 01/29/05

Unable to head to PDC to join in the GTG festivities this year, I did penance this morning and went shopping for new mattresses with my better 1/2… (it wasn’t that bad, really)
By about 1pm or so, that was done and out of the way, so I used one of my kitchen passes to head over to Pleasant Creek. I fished from 2:30-6:00pm in the south-western end. In general, the action was slow. I had company; but there were still fewer shanties than I have seen over at McBride so far this year. Below the crusty layer of snow, I was drilling through nearly 12″ of dark ice throughout the lake. Most spots were thicker yet, with very few less than a foot. I drilled many, many holes searching for a pallet pile where I did well on yellow perch back last May, but was unable to find it. With an hour of daylight left and no tugs on my line, I headed closer to shore and drilled some holes in shallow water. These efforts prevented me from being skunked all together. I pulled about 1/2 dozen small ‘gills and one brute that taped out at nearly 9″. All were released. The fish were sluggish and hit very slowly. A size #10 green and white moon jig tipped with waxworm worked on the ‘gills.

On the way over, there were several folks working those Cedar river backwaters just off of Blairs Ferry; continuing to feed my curiosity.

Btw, if you head to that SW corner (SW boat ramp-not the main entrance) make sure your vehicle can handle treacherous conditions. The last 1/4 mile is not maintained by the county and the road is a small glacier. On my way out, after nearly sliding all the way back down the hill towards the lake , it took 4-low and my locking differential to get me up and out. Be careful if you head to that parking area.

Regards,

Joe Jiacinto

Went back and fished in the same general area today, except this time I fished from the north shore. The road to this access was icy, but the hill was not as steep as on the south side. These are the two ramps opposite each other in the area of the old roadbed.

No fish today, we got skunked. Got one nice tug and that was about it. My son had a great time body sliding on the ice like a penguin and did a great job cleaning the holes after I drilled ’em. Give a 5 year old boy a snow shovel and a ladle and the possibilities are endless. Some guys near shore had caught what have become known as “McBride ‘Gills” but nothing more. The group of 4 guys had 9 nine fish between them, so action was slow.

I think I need to hit some of the deeper water if I am gonna ever find those yellow perch in there again…

Regards,

Joe

Sounds like things were pretty slow Joe. I hit MacBride for about two hours this afternoon and finally pulled a pair of crappies. Together, they measured almost 8″! Gills and Specks showed up, and tried to hide the fact that he was impressed with my ability to jig up the lunkers with lots of laughter and finger-pointing.

The bigger ones are there somewhere. I think next trip I might head for the South arm. I went and got the boat, so my GPS is no longer hostage in the glove box. We’ll try to find some “old reliables” to sit on.

From the time that you left Gianni to about 7:30 I only caught two devil Crappies
Man what a change
I’m not whipped yet though
when the going get’s tough, the tough get going & leave
The next time down there It’s the S or N arm, I’ve got plenty spots in
mind. Yea right,,, Gianni is thinking

Well, the good news was that I took a screwdriver along this time and got the auger a little more in tune. When I got home I fired it up and did the final fine-adjust.

Now, at least when it’s warm, I can at least turn the lake into swiss cheese when I’m bored. Maybe next time I’ll leave the rods and shack at home and just throw in a 5-gallon gas can.

I spoke to a co-worker today and he apparently got a handful of decent specks over at PC this past Saturday on jigs tipped with waxies. He was “Bogarting” some already drilled holes left by someone else between the dam and beach area on the north shore. This would be in the same general area the guys at Fin and Feather were gabbing about on Friday (though not up in the timber in the north cove)…so why did I fish the SW end this past weekend?

As for the Mac, I have some ideas too. Have you guys ever fished the cove on the south shore east of the causeway? Its rumored to have some decent structure. I might try that area one evening this week.

Btw, the “crew” was out in force yesterday over off of Blairs Ferry along Chain Lakes in those backwaters of the Cedar. They lit up their colemans and were still working it in the dark as my son and I drove home Sunday night. One of these days I’m gonna pull off Blairs Ferry and see for myself if there are any fish in there or not.

Regards,

Joe