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Author:
PECo
Date:
Nov 06, 2010
Subject:
Manitook Lake 11/06
Message:
I just had to take my sexy new kayak out for a spin, so I met up with DirtyDawg10 (aka Derek) and we checked out Manitook Lake for the first time this morning. Derek paddled The Manatee (aka his inflatable kayak). I haven't chosen a name for my new boat yet, but what do you think of "El Mango"? We had permission from a riparian property owner to park in his lot and launched in the south end of the lake. We got on the water at 7:15 am and were off the water by 10:45 am. Derek got called to help his wife with a power outage at their house and I was shivering by then, anyway. I wore my winter coat and waterproof pants, and even fished with gloves on for a while, but [i:b5d981d2e6][b:b5d981d2e6]brrrr![/b:b5d981d2e6][/i:b5d981d2e6] I felt almost blind without the fish finder on my Hobie to tell me the water depth and temperature, but "[i:b5d981d2e6][b:b5d981d2e6]freakin' cold[/b:b5d981d2e6][/i:b5d981d2e6]" sums up the conditions fairly accurately. The air temperature ranged from the mid 30s to the low 40s. There was a cold mist when we launched and the sun peeked out from the behind the clouds for only 10 minutes during the whole time we were on the water. Thankfully, there was little to no wind until 10:00 am, when a slight breeze began to blow steadily from the north. It ended up pushing us along on our way back to the south end when we were leaving, so it wasn't a bad thing. The south end of the lake is a narrow channel that's only two to three feet deep. Since the water was so cold and shallow, and there was a fair amount of green slime on the bottom, we decided to paddle straight to the main body of the lake. When we got there, we spotted a romp of otters in the water. They porpoised up and out of the water to check us out from a distance, and then quietly disappeared into the shoreline on the east side of the lake, which is largely undeveloped. It was still misty and cold, so we decided to continue paddling all the way to the north end of the lake. Derek trolled a shallow diving white Bomber crankbait, and I trolled a 1/2 ounce red spinnerbait with double willow blades and a trailer hook. We didn't get any hits along the way. The north end of the lake is pretty shallow. Although the water was pea soup stained and clear down to only a couple of feet, we could see the bottom. I began throwing the spinnerbait toward the center of the lake and got a good hit on it. I caught a 15 inch chain pickerel, which was unexpected because the Angler's Guide lists sunfish and largemouth bass as the only species of fish in the lake. I didn't want to put the pickerel in the boat on my lap and it shook itself off of the hook beside the boat before I could get my cellphone out to take a photo of it, but trust me, they're in there. I began throwing the spinnerbait to the south, parallel to the west shore. About 10 feet off of the tip of a laydown on the shore, I got another hit and landed a decent largemouth bass: [img:b5d981d2e6]http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/6774/1106100853corrected.jpg[/img:b5d981d2e6] The bass was 19 inches long and weighed exactly three pounds. And you can see that I was fishing with black leather gloves on! :D Unfortunately, neither Derek nor I got any more action after that. There are definitely some decent largemouth bass in Manitook Lake. A guy who was taking photos on the shore told us that ice fishing is popular there on the weekends during the Winter. I'd love to head back there in the Spring, but would rather fish a larger lake or a river in this frigid weather. [i:b5d981d2e6][b:b5d981d2e6]Brrrr![/b:b5d981d2e6][/i:b5d981d2e6]
Author:
Daryl
Date:
Nov 06, 2010
Message:
Phil, I hear your new kayak is sexy because she has great curves. Is this true?
Author:
PECo
Date:
Nov 06, 2010
Message:
She has a sexy "Swede form design". :D Ooo la la! For a shorter kayak (i.e., 11-1/2 feet), she tracks really well. And the two cupholders really work. I didn't spill a drop of my coffee. Perhaps I should name her "Sexy Mango" or "Hot Mango". Too weird?
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