For Week Ending Sunday, March 26, 2017

Monday, March 20, 2017..."For the first day of spring," said Ron, "the gauge was way too low, so I opted for Tecumseh. The water was a bit murky, but the temps and wind were nice." He was rewarded for his efforts with three bass (a 1-2, 1-8 and 2-14), as well as a couple of chain pickerel "slime darts" (the biggest 21 inches, with both easily unhooked--thankfully), and a nice 14.5-inch near-citation crappie that weighed in at 1-6. Ron noted that the crappie appeared to have teeth marks on him. As has been the case for most of his recent trips, all the fish today fell to the XTS Minnow. "Nice to be back on the water today," concluded Ron, referring to the fact he just returned from another ski trip.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017..."This low gauge is killing me," said Ron in his email report. Accordingly, it was back to Tecumseh this evening. He managed to catch one dink and a 22-inch chain pickerel. A friend and Ron also combined to catch eight decent crappie between them for the skillet. The crappie all ranged between 11 and 13 inches. With a slow bass bite, Ron indicated he suspects they are getting ready to spawn.

Thursday, March 23, 2017...While the sun was shining, it wasn't much help to the low temps today is how Ron characterized the conditions he found today on the water. Three hours after he had started, all he had to show for his efforts was, as he described it, "one measly chain pickerel. The bite was non-existent, but I enjoyed the low wind and sunshine," he said. In conclusion, he noted that the ospreys and eagles were having much better luck at catching than he was.

Friday, March 24, 2017...Friday evening was warm but windy, and the water was very murky. Ron fished Milldam and caught a 3-7 bass on a Whopper Plopper to avoid the skunk. His son, Alex, got a 13-inch crappie, also on the Whopper Plopper. Said Ron, "The river is a mess from all the low water."

Saturday, March 25, 2017...Ron had a goal to find some protection from the high winds today. It took a couple of launches before he found what he was looking for in the upper North Landing. From there, he headed south to No Name Creek, where he managed three dinks to 12 inches and a white perch. About 6:30, he was headed back, going through the culvert (North Landing Road at the drawbridge), while trolling an XTS Minnow behind him. Halfway through the culvert, he got a solid hookup and had to peddle like made to get through to the open water. "Then the fight was on!" he said. He managed to land the "real drag screamer," as he described the fatty, which appeared to be a hybrid or perhaps a pre-spawn striper. After managing to snap a picture of the fish, with its messed up tail, he accidentally dropped her overboard before he could weigh her but said she easily was 5+ pounds--maybe over 6. Ron said he caught everything on the XTS Minnow and noted that he also had a bunch of short strikes on the Whopper Plopper. "Am pretty sure I lost a bowfin, too" he said. Ron talked to six other people today who all reported they had been skunked.

Saturday, March 25, 2017...I knew I was going to be pummeled by the high winds today, but after being shut in for the most part of two weeks with that doggone cold, I simply decided to "go for it," 'cause cabin fever fast was overcoming me. With it being Saturday, I headed straight to Albright's this morning to get away from the usual weekend West Neck traffic. I checked out three of my favorite areas down there without so much as a bump, then retreated to the cut-through ditch where I had some action a couple or so weeks ago. Finally, I felt a strike and set the hook on a dink bass about 10 o'clock. Subsequently, I picked up a spinnerbait and stayed with it about 80 percent of the time for the rest of the day. I had two hits and set the hook both times but didn't get hooked up. In hindsight, I realize I should have been fishing a trailer hook. I ran across Rob and Dave while I was in Albrights and later learned that Ray had been down there, too. Ray told me he had a serious skunk going until about 10 minutes before he quit, when he caught a couple of dink bass and two bluegill in quick succession. Am hoping to get in another trip this coming week ahead of our next tournament on Saturday. Will have to wait and see what the weather does, though.

Sunday, March 26, 2017...Today's nice weather was just too good for Ron to pass up. He and a friend headed to Tecumseh, with plans to go to the burrow pit. However, they started catching fish in Tecumseh and decided to stay there. Ron ended the day with a mixed bag, consisting of a dink and a 1-6 bass, three decent white perch, a tiny yellow perch, an 18-inch chain pickerel, and three crappie between 11 and 13 inches. He also lost a good sized gar alongside the yak. "The osprey and eagles were doing very well, too," Ron noted. "From what I could see, they were getting shad or white perch...whole bunch of them just tearing it up." He wrapped up his email by saying he didn't see any snakes today but that his friend did.