Hook, Line & Sinker...

After watching all those bass being weighed at the Stateline Bass Anglers open tourney this past Saturday, I just had to see if I could find a few fish of my own today at West Neck. I began my search above the bridge but fished my way nearly to the S-turn without even a bump while using a spinnerbait, a couple of crankbaits, and a Rapala SubWalk. Because I didn't get started until 10 o'clock, I decided to run back to the other side of the bridge and see if I could get something going. Before making the run, though, I changed out some of my baits in hopes I'd also change my luck.

As I neared marker No. 7, I throttled back, shut down, and got on the trolling motor. I hadn't gone very far at all until I boated my first fish of the day--a 12-inch bass. The productive bait was a chartreuse with dark back Bill Norman Thin N--one of those baits I had tied on before running back through the bridge. I stayed with the same bait the rest of the day and managed to boat the two fish pictured here--a 1-9 in the top photo and a 1-3 in the bottom photo.

None of the fish slammed the Thin N. Instead, the bait just suddenly would stop, and I'd feel pressure. It wasn't until I set the hook that I got any action. All three fish put on some acrobatics, but the hooks stayed put in their mouths. The bait's rear hook caught the tongue of the 1-9, but I fortunately got the barb out without the blood bath that usually follows.

All three bass that I boated today came between 1 and 2 o'clock. However, I stayed with it until 2:45 and just had made what I knew was going to be my last cast of the day, when I looked into the water and watched my Thin N tracking back to the boat with a pickerel in hot pursuit. I actually tried to pull the bait away from the pickerel, but he kicked in his turbo and nailed the bait before I had a chance to do anything.
 

Here's a photo of him hanging over the side of my boat, with both hooks of the Thin N still firmly planted in his jaw. I snapped this picture then got out the pliers and set him free unharmed. I didn't try to weigh him but would guess he probably would have gone 2 or 2.5 lbs.

The water temp when I started this morning was 46.9 degrees. It had only risen to 50.5 when I tied everything down and headed to the ramp this afternoon.

When I arrived at West Neck this morning, there were a couple of trailers in the parking lot. They both were gone when I recovered my boat, but Chris Fretard's rig was there instead. I had seen him on the water and waved, but we didn't stop and compare notes.

All in all, it was a slow day but a very satisfying one, as far as I'm concerned. If I had stayed home, I would have had to listen to the washer and dryer running all day, and for some reason, those are about the most annoying things I have to listen to, besides my neighbor who, at least twice every day, takes the leaf blower to his yard. It's as though he can't stand the sight of a single leaf on his driveway or in his grass. Oh well, to each his own.