Pickwick 1-17-2013

[Alphahawk]

Thought it would be perfect day to get into the whites at Pickwick today....cloudy and misty until in the afternoon. Well it wasn't great but far better than it has been for me the last 6 or 7 trips down. I caught a dozen whites all at the 14 inch mark. Caught all of them on a Lindy River Rocker. It took me over 3 hours to catch those so I decided to go up into lake to look for Gills and Smallies. I caught 20 Gills all between 7 and 8 inches and two Shell cracker at the 8 inch mark. I lost two trophy size Smallies. I lost a lot of good Gills also as the fish came unbuttoned from my tungsten jig. These jigs I am using this year have a very fine wire hook...#12 and #14. It is almost like they have no barb it is so small. Going to take those hooks off and solder some steel #8 or #10 in place of them. All the Gills were caught on a Bison and sometimes Purple Redemption Trout Magnet. It was good to finally get back into some fish. Looks like my spots at Pickwick may be getting into the fall pattern. Even though today was not great by any measurement it was far better than I have been doing.





Regards

[MNfisher]

Nice report! Good to see you catch some!

[nomad60]

Once again, nice going, Alpha! I was using a crappie magnet today and at first, I was fishing it without a bobber but kept getting snagged and losing the lures so I switched to a bobber. I caught lots of bluegill but I also had a lot, and I mean a lot of fish hitting the lure without ever taking the bobber under all the way. The bobber would start moving, go under for a few seconds and then come back up so they were taking it and letting it go, I guess. Any hints as to what I could do to get them to hold on a tad longer?

[cat-tales]

Nomad, try a "quill" slip bobber, very little resistance.........we do well on the bigger ones with that set up.

[Alphahawk]

Once again, nice going, Alpha! I was using a crappie magnet today and at first, I was fishing it without a bobber but kept getting snagged and losing the lures so I switched to a bobber. I caught lots of bluegill but I also had a lot, and I mean a lot of fish hitting the lure without ever taking the bobber under all the way. The bobber would start moving, go under for a few seconds and then come back up so they were taking it and letting it go, I guess. Any hints as to what I could do to get them to hold on a tad longer?

If they were holding it under for a couple of seconds I would set the hook the minute you see it start under. Having said that it could also be little ones nipping at it. If the float was moving instead of going under that could be bass. Bluegill will usually pull a float under quickly.....a crappie will pull it down slowly and a bass is subject to move sideways with it. You could try tipping it with a crappie niblet but if it is bluegill they can be notorious for just mouthing a soft plastic and not have all of it in their mouth.


Regards

[Alphahawk]

Hit Pickwick again this morning and for an hour and a half it was a lot of fun...then it stopped. Caught 30 Gills like the one in the pic...7-8 inch fish and had 5 shell crackers at the 8 inch mark. These fish were really showing color today. There was a boat very close to me with an elderly man catching fiddlers....a term they use at Pickwick for small catfish. He was pulling them in one right after another. They stopped and so did my Gills. He looked at me and said "When they quit they just quit".....LOL. Well he was right. He cranked up his boat and headed to the ramp. I fished for another 2 hours without a single bite. Went below the dam but nothing happening there. They were not running much water. The fish were caught bumping a Bison Colored Trout Magnet on the bottom in 30 feet of water on an 1/8 ounce lead head with a #8 Steelhead hook. Will hit it again Monday.




Regards

[MNfisher]

Nice gill!

[nomad60]

If they were holding it under for a couple of seconds I would set the hook the minute you see it start under. Having said that it could also be little ones nipping at it.

Ok, maybe "a couple of seconds" was an exaggeration LOL More like a fish hitting the lure, and pulling the bobber under for a split second...I think you're right, they were smaller bluegill, nipping at the lure. It was fun though :)