My wife and I rented a cabin at Crescent Lake Resort this past Thanksgiving weekend for 3 nights. My friend Doug (Bend Fishin ) joined us for dinner and a day and a half of fishing. We got there just before noon, put the turkey on and launched the boat. My wife stayed in the cabin with the dog and prepared our feast while Doug and I got about 3 hours in before dinner. It was warm and the lake had a reasonable chop. Thanksgiving blessed me with this 20 pounder about an hour in.
I caught one more and lost a couple and Doug finally got this one right before dinner.
He was a little worried that he would not get one before dinner and we sure didn't want to be late for Thanksgiving dinner!
The weather forecast for the next day was kind of nasty, it rained all night and changed to light snow by early morning. There was a bit of chop on the water and with the barometer fluctuating, the macks were not interested in what we had to offer. After 4 hours without a fish we came in for lunch. After lunch (turkey and turkey soup) we headed back out. The weather started to break and we had a stellar afternoon. Doug outfished me getting the 1st 2 fish. The biggest was this fat boy of about 14 lbs.
Then I got a massive takedown and had a long fight with what I knew was a quality fish. We finally got him to the boat and he barely fit in the net. We weighed him and released him. 22 1/2 lbs.
We managed 5 to the boat in 3-4 hours. The clouds strarted to clear and the temperature dropped like a rock all afternoon. By 3pm my guides were icing up bad. I new it would be cold that night. I'll share a couple late afternoon pics of the lake.
We said goodbye to Doug and had a quiet evening in the cozy cabin. Later that night my friend Mike (Klamanite) showed up and crashed on the couch. The next morning Tim (Ommedia) who jumped on my open seat offer from last week arrived at 7AM and we were off on another day of chasing Mr. Mackinaw. Tim said his truck thermometer read 6 degrees as he pulled off the highway. Brrrrrrr!! The dock line was fozen solid and one wet reel that I left in the boat was frozen solid and would not respond at all. People sometimes ask me why I keep an ice scraper in my boat. Well.....it was a vital tool that morning. I had the hot rod that morning, getting the 1st 4 fish including this 17 1/2 pounder.
As you can see, the lake was flat, the sky was blue and the pipe was in fine working order.
Tim got his 1st 2 macks ever including this midteen fighter.
We broke for lunch with 6 fish to the boat in the morning and enjoyed some of my wife Pam's delicious turkey soup.
We headed back out and started trash talking poor Mike who was fishless so far and had swung and missed at a few. We tried some new water and new gear combos and never got another fish to the boat. It was a great day for me and Tim. Mike, not so much. It was still nice to see and fish with Mike.
The next morning we slept in and I made a deal with Pam. She is not a fisherman and has spent maybe 8 hours in my boat in the 3 1/2 years I have owned it. She agreed to take the dog and her book on the boat for an hour or so if I went for a walk with them 1st. So it was nice and warm (well maybe 33 degrees) and sunny and calm when we got out on the water. In barely over an hour I managed 2 more macks about 13-14 lbs and Pam did an expert job netting this guy for 1 final fish picture.
What a great way to end a perfect weekend. Thanks to all who participated and helped make it a memorable experience.
fish-on-bend
Thanksgiving Lakerfest
Looks like everybody that was fortunate enough to go out with you did pretty well............ Except me of course 
It was nice to see you and Pam again and enjoy some of her turkey soup. That hit the spot after a chilly morning 
It was also nice to have met Tim (OMMEDIA) and watch him get his first 2 Macks. All in all an awesome day with a couple of great guys and good fishing 
Re: Thanksgiving Lakerfest
I made some on Sunday and needless to say they didn't last very long 
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