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Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2003 - 6:55 a.m. (This entry was composed on 11-11-03, but wasn�t posted because someone cut the fiber optics line connecting my computer (and about 2/3rd�s of Mohall�s population, too) to the Cableco. One very good thing about the cable being cut today- at least THIS TIME it wasn�t cut by an employee of the NDDOT. We are all off today for Veteran�s day. Not likely that any of our digging equipment did the damage�..) If you were out sightseeing today, you would call the conditions �terrible�. Overcast, intermittent showers, with a strong wind from the southeast. If you were me, and your goal was to catch White bass, you would call these conditions �perfect�. I started my day fishing the beach area of Wilber Creek, on B.A.C.E. Lake. At the time (8am), there wasn�t much of a breeze blowing yet. There was a light mist, hanging in the air. I had to work a little for the keepers, but managed to throw a baker�s dozen into my 5-gallon bucket by 10 am. The fish had stopped biting at this time, so I decided to clean what I had and move on to the next spot. One problem- the Corps had already winterized the fish cleaning station. They wrap a layer of snow fence around the cleaning area, just to make sure that no one tries to use it anyway. My solution? I used the lid of the carcass box (empty, of course) as my cutting board. It took a little longer than usual, cleaning them this way. Not to mention how much leaning over messed with my lower back. But any flat spot in a storm. I rinsed the lid off with the water that was left inside of my bucket, and head off to my other destination. My freezer has only on package of bluegill remaining in it, so I was hoping to catch enough of these fish to put one or two dinners worth back for winter. This has been the one species that has not been easy for me to catch this summer. I have caught plenty of the �gils when I have tried for them at B.A.C.E. Lake all summer. Just not a lot of keepers. I have seen this happen with crappie before, but never bluegill on this particular lake. There has always been enough large fish to make cleaning a mess not much of a problem. But for some reason, the big ones just aren�t there this year. It could mean that a year �class� of fish had a very poor spawn. This lake is used for flood control, and some years the dam is closed in spring after a heavy rain. This can cause the lake level to rise several feet in one day. If that happened during the spawn, the bluegill could abandon their beds, causing the eggs to die. I am only guessing here, but that might be the problem. I drove to Findelay Bridge, one of my all-time favorite bluegill spots. I used to fish this bridge a lot, but I kinda fell out of love with the spot in 1995. One day that spring, Codeman and I were pulling over to park at the bridge when a hick in a 1978 LTD II ran into our rear in at 65 mph. Totaled the Daytona. Sent us airborne for over 100 feet, with only the guardrail to keep us from ending up in a very deep ravine. We walked away from the damaged car. The backend was about 3 feet shorter than it should have been, but somehow none of my fishing rods were broken. I used one of those rods today, too. My best ultralight rod, it has had at least 4 different reels attached to it in the past 16 years. Might have to write the whole wreck story here someday. Maybe the next �nothing� day at work? Anyway�.. I fished around the rocks for about an hour, and finally managed to cull 15 keepers out of many smaller fish I pulled from the rocks. Not a major catch, but enough to make it worth taking them home and cleaning them. The whole time I was working the rocks, seagulls were schooling just 100 yards or so to my south. The birds would hover over the water, and then dive onto the surface, pulling baitfish out of the shallow water. I watched this until something finally clicked inside of my thick head: if the seagulls are eating the baitfish (likely gizzard shad), white bass should also be in the area. I carried the bucket over to the southwest corner of the bridge. There, the rocks end and a flat, sand and clay area stretches for about 50 yards to the south. Similar to the conditions where I fish at Wilber Creek, only more secluded. I caught 4 keeper-sized whites in my first 5 casts. I didn�t even move from the spot I made first cast. In the next hour and a half,I worked this 50 yard stretch and caught somewhere between 75 and 100 white bass! I caught some in water so shallow you could see the fish run to the spot where I was retrieving my jig from whatever rock or stick they were hiding behind. I didn�t keep any of these fish, even though all but a few were large enough to keep. I even threw the bluegill back. Once I started catching these whites, I didn�t want to have to clean them anymore. I had a couple of jobs I needed to do once I came home, so it was either release the bluegills or stop fishing for the aggresive white bass. �I�ll take �release the bluegill� for $500, Alex�. When I finally left, it wasn�t because the fish stopped biting. They were still moving in and out of the flat, tearing up my chartreuse twister tails. I went through 12 of these soft body grubs without loosing one jig head. Pretty lucky, yes, but understandable because the fish were feeding close to the surface in shallow water. The thumb and forefinger on my left hand look like someone rubbed them with course grit sandpaper. Those are the two fingers that I grasp the mouth of any larger fish( to minimize the damage caused by touching the fish).I then remove the hook using my right hand. This is the most white bass I have ever caught in one day in my life. And that includes the day last summer when I fished with Moose in his special spot. That was my personal best, until today. I have caught more white bass this summer and fall than in the previous 5 years combined. It has been a great year for them, and I have found the time to chase them, too. I still have those 4 extra hours of personal business to burn. Might have to keep an eye on the weather forecast to see if I can have one more afternoon close to this� Other �nature� sights seen today: A large blue heron, slowly stalking baitfish on the edge of the beach at Wilber Creek. He was no more than 100 feet away from me, but didn�t seem to mind my intrusion into his hunting area. Two male and three female ring-necked pheasants, standing motionless in the ditch alongside of state highway 182. Sightings of these beautiful birds are rare, compared to what they once were. Their habitat is shrinking, and several hard winters in the early 80�s really cut their numbers badly. They were across the road from an area of wildflowers/grasses, planted by a local farmer. It is some kind of "set-aside" area for wildlife. Looks like it�s working�� Without cable or Internet access, I guess I will have to call the local bank�s weather hotline to see what to expect tomorrow. That, or drag the 13� up from the basement. That is the only TV we have that still has an antenna attached to it��..
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