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Author:
PECo
Date:
Oct 07, 2012
Subject:
Mansfield Hollow Lake 10/05
Message:
There was still a lot of lake to check out after my last trip to Mansfield Hollow Lake on 09/30, so I headed back, again. NWDarkcloud (aka Bob) and JJay (aka Jason) left insanely early to get there, and got on the water at the Mansfield Hollow Lake Boat Launch in Bob's boat, The Way More Better, at around 7:30 am. Just before I launched in The Other Woman at 8:30 am, Jason texted me a photo of their first fish, which was a short largemouth bass that he caught tight to the shore with a wacky rigged five inch Senko: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1687/img3800cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] Since Bob and Jason were in the lower lake, I headed through the culvert right after I launched. It was a beautifully windless, cool and foggy morning: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7954/img3752croppedjpg.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] Yeap, that's Bob and Jason in The Way More Better, somewhere along that shoreline. :o I started by slow rolling a black Strike King Midnight Special spinnerbait from the shore, while trolling a Perch Rapala Jointed Shad Rap JSR07 behind me. As I headed clockwise along the shore toward The Way More Better, I got a hit on the Perch JSR07 and boated my first fish, which was a cannibalistic yellow perch: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2994/img3754cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] As I pedaled past The Way More Better, I asked Bob for the water temperature, because the in hull transducer in The Other Woman hadn't warmed up, yet. The transom mounted transducer on The Way More Better read 65 degrees. I continued to work my way down the shallows along the east shore, while Bob and Jason motored off down the lake toward the dam. I didn't get any hits or mark any fish on my fish finder. By that time, the fog had begun to burn off, but it was still a beautiful morning: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/781/img3756cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] A little after 10:00 am, Jason texted me a photo of Bob with a small largemouth bass that he had caught near the dam: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5519/img3801cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] After I struck out with the Midnight Special and a white slow sinking five inch Sebile Magic Swimmer in a shallow cove along the east shore, I headed down the lake toward the dam. I trolled a Perch Rapala Shallow Shad Rap SSR07 when the water was less than eight feet deep, and switched to the Perch JSR07 and a Silver Shad Rapala Jointed Shad Rap JSR07 when the water was deeper. As I approached the dam from the east, the fog had completely given way to bluebird skies and I easily spotted The Way More Better off in the distance: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1705/img3761cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] I couldn't believe how shallow the water is on the south end of the lower lake. The deepest parts of the channels are only eight feet deep and they're surrounded by huge flats of two to four feet deep water. In the full sun and completely calm water, I could see the mucky brown bottom four feet down. I decided to hit the shady shore to the south of the dam and threw a wacky rigged green pumpkin/red flake five inch Senko at it. It wasn't long before it was picked up by a short largemouth bass: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/6274/img3762cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] After I made my way over to The Way More Better, Bob and Jason decided to head back to the east shore and continue working their way down to the southeast corner of the lake, where the Natchaug River flows into it. I struck out in front of the dam and soon followed them. I went only part way up the river, while they went as far up as they could go in The Way More Better. I saw only one short largemouth bass in the river that picked up my wacky Senko a couple of times without catching the hook. At 12:45 pm, TurtleKiss (aka Kira) texted me that she was finally on the water and had gone through the culvert into the lower lake. I advised her to try the upper lake, instead, since the bite was so slow in the lower lake. After I headed out of the river, I continued clockwise around the southeast end of the lake and along the south shore. The water was less than three feet deep and fairly weedy all the way along the shore. I saw The Way More Better motoring back up the channel that runs along the north side of the southeast end of the lake, so I decided to follow. After I got into the seven to eight foot deep channel, I cleared the weeds from The Other Woman's drive fins :roll:, and began trolling, again. As always, a couple of cannibalistic yellow perch couldn't stop themselves from biting the Perch SSR07 and the Perch JSR07: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2628/img3763cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] [img:99eb624ce6]http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/417/img3764cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] I got back to the north end of the lower lake without getting another hit on my trolled crankbaits. However, I enjoyed the beautiful fall foliage: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6821/img3765cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] At about 2:30 pm, I finally pedaled past Kira in Dinghbat. She had caught some short largemouth bass with a spinnerbait along the west shore, just south of the culvert. As I headed toward the culvert, I got one, too, but with a wacky Senko: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/6328/img3767cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] When I approached the culvert, sbehuniak (aka Stephan) paddled out of it: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/5389/img3768cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] Hey, Stephan! :D I told him that the bite was slow in the lower lake, but he decided to check it out, anyway. I decided to throw a wacky Senko in the culvert on my way through it: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/610/img3769cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] As I emerged on the far side, I got a hit and boated another short largemouth bass: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/1903/img3770cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] I decided to head straight to the northwest corner of the upper lake, where the Fenton River enters it through a large double culvert. I knew that largemouth bass held there from a couple of trips I made to the lake last year. Along the way, I trolled the Perch JSR07 and Silver Shad JSR07, but didn't get a hit or mark any fish on my fish finder. When I got to the second (i.e., north) island, the wacky Senko got me a dinky smallmouth bass. :shock: Yes, that's right, I said a [i:99eb624ce6][b:99eb624ce6]smallmouth[/b:99eb624ce6][/i:99eb624ce6] bass. Unfortunately, as I held it in my left hand while I reached for my camera with my right, I squeezed it a little too hard, and it squirted out of my hand and back into the water. :cry: And like a bar of soap in a prison shower, I wasn't able to bend over and get it back. :lol: I continued to throw the wacky Senko at the edges of shallow weedbeds between the island and the old tree, but didn't get even a nibble. I'm surprised that the old tree didn't come down during last year's October snowstorm: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/9796/img3774cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] When I got to the culvert, the wacky Senko quickly got me three largemouth bass. From 4:08 pm to 4:16 pm, I got a 13 incher, a short and a 14 incher: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1858/img3775cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] [img:99eb624ce6]http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/8093/img3777cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] [img:99eb624ce6]http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/5895/img3778cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] After the slow bite all day, I never thought that I'd have a shot at a five fish bag of largemouth bass, so I didn't weigh either of the two keepers. I headed east along the north shore, through the weedy and shallow two to four feet deep water. When I finally got out of the weeds, I trolled the Perch SSR07 behind me as I threw a small white Strike King Redeye special spinnerbait and a wacky Senko toward the shore. And, of course, the little cannibals couldn't help themselves: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/218/img3780cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] [img:99eb624ce6]http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/1545/img3781cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] When I spotted an old stump in less than two feet of water, I threw the wacky Senko at it and the Senko actually got picked up by a fish: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8871/img3783cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] Whoo hoo! :D The lunker 16 inch largemouth bass wieghed two pounds, two ounces. After I rounded the northeast corner of the upper lake and headed down the east shore, I spotted another old stump in less than three feet of water. I threw the wacky Senko at it and got a hit from a fish that swam back down into the stump and broke me off. :shock: I quickly tied on another wacky Senko, threw it back at the stump and got another hit. I boated three largemouth bass off of that stump. From 6:03 pm to 6:23 pm, I got a short, a 12 inch keeper that weighed 14 ounces and a 14 inch keeper that weighed one pound, seven ounces: [img:99eb624ce6]http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/696/img3786cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] [img:99eb624ce6]http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2382/img3787cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] [img:99eb624ce6]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8135/img3790cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6] I actually got a full five fish bag! Whoo hoo! :D Assuming the two keepers that I got near the culvert weighed the same as these two, my five fish bag weighed 6-3/4 pounds. We all got off of the water as darkness quickly fell, at about 6:45 pm. Surprisingly, despite the full sun, the water temperature never quite hit 68 degrees all day. Although I had a pretty decent day of fishing in terms of results, I still felt like I was missing something, since I had ended up boating 11 bass, which is one bass shy of an even dozen. :? But when Bob, Jason, Kira and I stopped for dinner nearby at the Altnaveigh Inn & Restaurant in Storrs, I soon fixed that :D : [img:99eb624ce6]http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/2798/img3794cropped.jpg[/img:99eb624ce6]

Author:
DirtyDawg10
Date:
Oct 07, 2012
Message:
Nice Bass in that last picture...looks like a smallmouth to me

Author:
PECo
Date:
Oct 07, 2012
Message:
Oh, I almost forgot. Just before Bob and Jason decided to head back to the ramp, they were fishing close to Kira over some shallow weedbeds near the west shore of the upper lake. Kira told Jason that he should tie on a frog, so he did. A Stanley Ribbit got him a topwater hit from a largemouth bass. He set the hook and boated it: [img:6e6c9321c9]http://imageshack.us/a/img585/2227/img3809cropped.jpg[/img:6e6c9321c9] I envy his topwater hit, because I could only get the bass to hit a wacky Senko.

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