I managed to sneak out Sunday afternoon before the dreaded "Polar Vortex" struck again. Temps were dropping as I fished. Weather reports showed high teens but winds were gusting up into the 20's. I was fishing a lake in Waukesha County based on a tip from a friend. As it turns out, it was a good tip. Being an exploratory trip I packed light, no tip ups. I didn't have my shelter either, so it was a hood up, hunched over a hole kind of day.I found bluegill. The smaller gills were about 25 yards closer to shore in 6fow. These fish were fairly aggressive. The larger specimens were in 7-8fow and were very negative. I did manage to get a few of the bigger gills to come in for a look and managed to hook a handful or two. Once a fish came to look at the bait, the technique was a dead slow, and I mean dead slow lift. If they had a chance to study a stationary presentation, they would swim away. If I moved quickly, they would just follow, but not bite. Using some ice that built up on my line as a reference, I would lift the bait as slow as I could until the slightest resistance was felt, then set the hook as usual. Sometimes, this technique did not result in a bite, so, using the same technique, I lowered the bait slowly to the bottom, beginning my ascent all over.
this weather has certainly put fish in the negative moods, im going to try a dead slow lift next time, ive been struggling with lots of fish turning away
ReplyDeleteBlake, this weekend is looking on the bright side. Unfortunately that only means 18 degrees around here! I forgot to mention, I of course downsized as well. Size 14 or even 16 if you have it, tungsten jigs with a single spike or trimmed plastic. One fish took the bait on a dead slow drop, like a spike that fell off the hook and was slowly sinking. Good luck out there, stay warm.
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