Went out to one of my favorite local rivers on Sunday after a stretch of bad weather that had it out of shape up to recently.
The water still had quite a bit of color, but was getting to that jiggy stage.
I started on the oars and had the guys in front sidedrift eggs. It didn't take long to hook the first fish....but it came unbuttoned. Looked like a summer fish to me so I wasn't too bummed. A short while later Bill hooked a chrome winter hen which put up quite a fight but wound up getting bonked in the end.
Mike hooked another mint winter hen a short while later. This one fought tooth and nail, but wound up in the bottom of the boat nevertheless.
After Bill and Mike had hooked and lost a couple more fish apiece, I had Bill take the sticks and climbed up front to get some fishing in.
I whiffed on my first pickup.......and couldn't get it to bite again. Mike hooked a chrome winter buck in a fast slot.....but it laughed at him as it sailed out of the water and over a nearby log while we drifted downriver. Bye.
About the time we got to the homestretch before the takeout, I was thinking I'd go home without. Within sight of the takeout, I had a fish pick up my bait again......I let it chew a second and then stuck him with a good hookset.
This fish was an animal. It zigzagged up, down, and across the river several times and made several long runs which looked like they could end in a log jam. Luckily, fish are stupid and he worked back to the middle of the river again. After an epic battle, we netted a 16-17 lb. summer run buck that was still bright and thick. He too got the wood shampoo.
I fished the jig quite a bit, but couldn't get one to take it. When the bait kept producing, I put the jig rod down. I guess it pays to have both with you........gotta give the fish what they want.
I was too lazy to take more than a couple pics all day. I did get a nice pic of one of the winter hens we kept. See below.
Had a great day on the water, and met a couple guys from the various fishing BB's I check out. Gonna slap the summer-run on the BBQ and the winter run on the smoker.......which makes for great snacks while watching bowl games with a cold one.
[ 12-23-2003, 07:46 PM: Message edited by: DanS ]
Do they want a jig or bait?
Penobscot
. Sounds like a good day on the creek, way to go. Enjoy the bowls, go PAC 10. Gotta say those Beavs started it with a bang. Glad to see Jackson depart.
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