Plunking for steelies

Chris Nordling · 12-17-2001, 07:37 AM

I went to check out the local plunking scene at Meldrum yesterday, and am happy to report a fresh winter buck now resides in my fridge, soon to be in the oven :grin: :grin: .

One thing is for sure,the water sure was cruising. Lots of sticks, logs etc were making for some interesting line bumps. It appeared that this was also the go-to spot, the parking lot looked like springer season was here. Apparantely the bite had been real good before the new batch of rain took over. I think we counted 15-20 rods in the area we were at, which is enough to create a good "wall" of lures.

By "placing" my lure in three feet of water ( no casting needed here), I was only able to fish the one spin-glo setup. No room for a second or even a third plug rig . Choosing can be tough, epecially when you've got your two best setups all ready to fish. I stuck with the flo. orange.

An hour later, rod bounces, and the guy fishing next to me sets the hook ( I'm drying in the truck :smile: ) and it's FISH ON ! The fish was already there, having taken all three trebles in the lips and gums. A beautiful double-clipped buck ( pretty sure this is an E.C. fish) flopped on the bank in disbelief he actually fell for the orange smelly thing.

After tagging the fish, my buddy insists that we go somewhere else, leaving fish to find fish. Oh well I say, the tide is over and I just got the only fish caught so far, and probably that morning. The guys that were there could hardly believe we were outta there so soon after catching the fish. The race began as we were pulling out in our rigs.

We end up at the hatchery at E.C., looking at the collection of winters they have started. WOW ! There are fish in the creek. Lots of fisherpeople too. The water was on the rise, but very fishable. We didn't even wet a line. We have lunch, and watch the rain pour down,all while we are busy pouring leads for future boat adventures.

My winter trips may include more plunking this year, but I usually like to wait till later in the year. Having a chance at a springer too always makes this a top option when all is blown out :grin: . Besides, I think gets really hot in the end of January and the start of February. But I can't complain.....

Chris

~ Team U.S.A. ~

[ 12-17-2001: Message edited by: FWF1 ]</p>

ampersat · 12-23-2001, 08:57 AM

well, action wasn't too bad on the bar yesterday. my fishing buddy was of course hung over and not going to make it so i decided to hit the lower bulkhead. there were two fish taken, one lost (because of a broken hook!) and another real nice looking native. the river was fairly churning along and we had our share of wood to contend with, including a rather large log that, after swirling in the back eddy of the bulkhead, made its pass right down the bank, giving everyone something to do besides stand around the fire.

my buddy's advice was four ounces of lead; i went with three because that's what my rod is rated for. turns out my rod doesn't even blink at three ounces of weight. most guys there were doing five to six ounces, and now i know why. i run a double rig with spin-n-glows that are a little bigger around than those fat pencils we were taught how to write with. with three ounces of lead, i could barely hold the bottom and tighten my line to get the spin-n-glows working in the current. i probably spent most of the morning with both my rigs laying flat on the bottom looking up at the fish passing by. lesson learned there.

in hindsight, i should have heeded my instinct, gone up to oxbow and plunked the boat ramp. on friday, there were quite a few fish taken up there. on the other hand, i wouldn't have learned the valuable lesson i did about fishing the bar.