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.
