Well got back yesterday from the Moon River.
Weather held up from Thrusday through Saturday, Monday forward was a rainy, T-stormy mess.
As for bugs, suprisingly, no black flies nor mosquitoes. We were plauged with a pine roach infestation in the cabin and djune (sic?) bugs that would fly into your head or straight into the campfire. I hate those things.
Fishing was less than spectacular, but here's a breakdown:
Friday morning wake-up 7am. While I'm prepping sandwiches my buddy (fisherman from Spain down here for the summer) heads out in a kayak and nails a good 8-10lbs pike right infront of the cabin on a 4inch clown patterened grandma. After yelling instructions from the dock how to handle the fish, he gets it in and releases it; a sign of good things to come?
After a cup of joe, we head out in the motor boat. Water temps were just a hair under 60F. Three hours of casting/trolling produces not even a bite. That evening I make the 7.2 km trek to the launch to pic up another family member. Taking casts along the way, nothing again.
We all go for a brief evening fish and located a nice little enclosed rocky bay. First cast, Spain hits a hammerhandle pike again on the grandma. My cousin, targetting walleye, tosses a lindy rigged worm and gets into another shaker pike. I was skunked that evening. What was disconcerning to me, we set the girls up with worms under a bobber and they didn't even get a bite.
Next moring, I got up early again. My buddies were a bit groggy from the night before so I decided to head out with my younger cousin within earshot while the boys get their act together. On the way out I see something on the surface, as I approach, a see a gar maybe 2feet long; pretty cool to see them in the wild. I'll admit, I dint know the regs for them, but tempted, I took a couple casts, to no avail. So we're just bobbin around rocky points, my cousin on a worm and bobber (nothing) me on a silver and black j-13. I get a tiny, tiny pike. Small but happy that I actually caught something. lol.
We all head out, high blue-bird skies. I was using my J-13 alot as a search lure. I would cast it in close to shore, crank it down and bounce it off structure. I got alot of follows but no takers. The pike were extremely lazy. Slow retrieve was the key but once it got close to the boat it would spook and turn for the depths.
That evening turned out to be our last day of fishing as the other nights we were rained and t-stormed off the water. I spent it with my cousin, searching for healthy weeds, balls of bait fish, anything as the markings the finder were desolete. We found one bay that was teaming with bait fish and what looked like other bigger fish picking them off. My cousin casts his drop-shot and worm, nothing. I cast (to the same spot lol) with my J-13, crank, hit a rock, let it float half a second, another crank, WHAMMO, The fight was definately on. After a couple of deep runs it jumps, a nice-dark 4lb smallie. I get it in the boat and quickly release it as they are OOS. We moved out to a little depper water, so as not to target the bass, that's when the thunder storms began.
In all, 6 pike and one smallmoputh bass were caught. We were disappointed with the fishing, but the scenery and the tranquil sounds of being on the river system is absolutley priceless.
I didn't have my camera, but I'll posts some pics when I get them from our friends.
Hope you all had a good long weekend.
