The Bite Was ON!!!

That's how Ron started his latest email to me. And while he was chasing bass yesterday, Charlie, on the other hand, was out photographing hundreds of snow geese (see photo at right).

Ron started yesterday's exploits with a 0200 trip to the HRBT. Between then and 0430, he caught three stripers, which all were short by a hair. Adding to the annoyance was, as Ron described it, was "some kind of weed/grass floating around" that kept hanging up his lure. "Very frustrating reeling in clump after clump of the stuff," he said.

Not satisfied with the way his morning turned out, Ron went home and took a nap, then headed to Albright's, where he fished from 1200 until 1700. "The river gauge read 1.35, and the water was crystal clear, with no wind," as he described the conditions. "Nice temperature to be out."

At the end of the day in Albright's, he had caught six bass, nothing over 13 inches (one of 'em is pictured at left), and lost a couple on the XTS Minnow. He also lost a nice big chain pickerel alongside the yak.

Meanwhile, a friend with Ron was using the exact same set up (casting an XTS and trolling a beetlespin) and caught 16 bass (two 16-inchers, two 14-inchers, and a bunch of dinks). He also managed two crappie, two white perch, and a nice chain pickerel.

Said Ron, "He was working the 'inside,' and I was working the 'outside' in the back of Albright's. Most of the bites were on points or at feeder-creek entrances."

Ron finished his email by saying he had plans to take off a half-day today and go again, using a fluke this time. "'Twas so nice to be out just relaxing, not all bundled up, no headlamp, no gloves, and not fighting current and chop," he noted. "I have been missing the fresh water and look forward to hitting it hard in 2017."

I had planned to hit the water yesterday, too, but a cluster headache, accompanied by nausea, from the night before, had me at parade rest for most of the day. I have an alternate plan in the works, though.

Ron's plans for his half-day off today changed once he got to Tecumseh and saw white caps. Instead, he went to Lotus Garden to launch and fished Muddy Creek almost to Back Bay. He ended up with a nice assortment of fish, including seven bass (the biggest weighing 1-5 and 1-6), three crappie between 10 and 11 inches, one white perch, one yellow perch, and five chain pickerel up to 18 inches.

While protected from the wind, Muddy Creek was very shallow. Visibility ranged from clear at the beginning to muddy toward Back Bay.

The XTS minnow was Ron's go-to lure. He tried a fluke, shallow-water crankbait, beetlespins, and whopper plopper--all to no avail. Meanwhile, the XTS minnow kept producing, as long as he maintained a slow, steady retrieve just below the surface. 

"Enjoyable" is the way Ron characterized his trip.