With local walleye waters frozen yesterday, decided to hit the Big Pond to get in on some of the brown trout action we enjoy here this time of the year. With temps forecast for near 40, and light westerly winds, took my son and his buddy along,thinking they’d be comfy and cozy even if the fish did not cooperate. A buddy of mine joined us too, and was quickly nick-named Netboy, as one of the youngsters took us to school right at the get-go. The warm-water discharge wall made famous by Eric, was surprisingly only occupied by one other boat when we got there at 11 am, so we slid right in. Temps at the discharge were at 54 degrees, with 38 to 48 degree water in other areas of the harbor. I rigged the boys up first, and before I got done, one of them had a 5 lb. brown on, caught on Gulp. He got two others while Iwas trying to get the other rods rigged for shiners and spawn, hanging over the boat in the 27 FOW we were parked in. If it wasn’t for Netboy, I would have had a very busy afternoon.
It was not fast and furious the whole afternoon, but we did manage to boat 9 browns, between 3 and 10 lbs, and lost several others in this size range plus two larger fish before they met the net.
I have to admit that I have not been totally sold on the effectiveness of Gulp, but on this afternoon, all fish came on Gulp, with no exceptions. Unfortunately, I only had one bag with 3 left in it, and after the first few came in, I rigged a second rod with the gulp, and handed it to my son. so the boys proceeded to get bit, while my buddy and I threw about every other plastic we had, with no fish, except snagging the large shad that were in there thick. When one of the boys took a candy break or rest, we’d pick up the gulp rod, and catch a fish or two, before they demanded it back. No hits on spawn or shiners or blade baits or cranks… 
So now I’m convinced that for some reason or other, the Gulp made all the difference on this afternoon. The third piece of gulp was saved for the highest bidder, but I eventually used it to re-rig one of the boy’s rods when the old one was pretty well demolished. Another interesting lesson for me to learn…very particular fish that wnt after only one specific bait. So the Yarcraft was put away today, and the 12 foot winter boat made ready for a winter open-water fix if the opportunity presents itself.
Happy turkey day to all you IDO’ers.
