[Phish]

Time: 5:30AM - 2PM
Water Temps: 58 - 66 degrees
Clarity: Crystal clear
Skies: Clear early, scattered clouds after noon
Wind: Calm until the clouds appeared, then 5-10MPH
Depth: I mostly stayed in 0-10 FOW

Started out early near the island and the shallow hump (3-12 FOW) out off the island. I was throwing some large swimbaits (8-12 inches) both hard and soft looking for some of the giants that feed on trout. I threw mainly 3:16 lures in trout, shad and sunfish colors. Some were wake baits, others sub-surface. No takers, just a lot of followers, the best being around 3 pounds. Started mixing in a Reaction innovations Vixen in trout (surface walker) and picked up a short SMB and a 1.5 pound LMB on the front side of the island in about 4 FOW.

Switched to a slightly deeper running swimbait for the next hour or two and finally tired of the inactivity and switched over to finesse stuff. Figured out that they were shallow, close to shore and relating to wood or starting to bed. The spawn looks like it's just starting to heat up and I would guess they'll be in full swing by the end of the weekend. Most beds were on the west side and looked brand new. Mostly bucks. Spotted this girl on the south side of the island in a nice group of rocks.


Got her with a River2Sea Standin' Yabbie paired with Diawa Viento reel paired with a 6'3" Diawa Steeze MH on 14 Lb flouro. The twitch bar on the Viento reel is awesome with this bait, which is tail weighted with air pockets in the pinchers. It stands up in a defensive position and when twitched with the twitch bar just looks awesome. She hammered it. Just short of 3 pounds. 2 FOW. Note, this fish wouldn't touch a Senko (wightless and then weighted) earlier in the morning. The combination of the Yabbie and the wind picking up triggered her.


Also picked up this 2.5 pounder on a pumpkin Senko on an Ike's Spike in about 3 FOW just off a rocky outcrop on the west shore.


In all, a great day. My wife joined me for the last two hours which is always fun. Best 5 would've gone around 10 pounds. It was a possibly my last trip for a while due to some upcoming knee surgery, so I as you can imagine it was nice to put some fish in the boat. BTW, anyone looking to have some fun with kids, the bluegill and sunfish were EVERYWHERE. Take your kids out to the shallow hump off the island (marked by the buoy) and you'll have an awesome time!

[chuckc]

Nice report Jed!

[PECo]

Nice! You might have even gotten me to bite on that crawfish lure!
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[Phish]

Yeah PECo, River2Sea makes some really good looking stuff. This bait comes in a number of sizes and colors and can have a brush guard. My only complaint is that the eyes fall out if left alone. Once I figured that out, I solved the problem with some softbait glue. The bait lasted through that bass, a few good snags, and 3 or 4 rock bass before one of the pinchers came off.

Thanks, Chuck. I needed some redemption at West Hill after the knee-pain shortened outing at our club tourney.

[pdcrack]

Always love your reports Jed, great job catching and thanks for sharing the info
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[DV]

Nice pictures man

[DirtyDawg10]

Nice job! Looks like you had a good day.

[Phish]

Thanks, DV. My wife and I have really gotten into photography to chronicle life with our 4 kids! Canon Rebel XSi. First time I've taken the "good" camera on a fishing trip.

[Bluegill Terminator]

Ya I love those river2sea swimbaits I got the Kong Trout slow sinking which I can pretty much fish at any depth its like a Rapala Countdown, and I've had action burning it just underneath the surface.

[MarkO]

Great post Jed! Best of luck with the surgery and lets hope your recovery time is short. Pain medication is your friend.

[TurtleKiss]

Glad you had success Jed. Seems like this past week the bite started to pick up for everyone (except me, due to back injury.)

You should ALWAYS bring your good camera with you...there's no knowing when you'll have the opportunity to capture something rare or phenomenal in high-resolution.

Best of luck with your surgery! If you decide go one final last time...I'm free Tuesday.
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Kira

*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*

[DV]

Your welcome and thanks for the camera info, I am looking into getting a nice camera soon.

Goodluck with the surgery, knee pain is noooo fun.

[Phish]

Thanks for all the well-wishes. It's my 4th time with this knee, so hopefully 4's a charm!

Kira - my instinct is that Tuesday is out...but you never know. I may get all my pre-surgical errands done early and have some time. I'll let you know.

DV, the Rebel paired with good lenses in a great camera. I've been told by a number of really good photogs that while the base is important, the real money should be spent on the lenses. I'm sure you'll do your research and get the best setup for your needs.

[asianfisher]

Great camera and they do make a great polarized lenses for that camera.....

[PECo]

I drove past West Hill Pond on my way back to Avon from Montreal this evening. When I read your post, I didn't know that the pond is so close to where I live. I might go check it out in the morning tomorrow. With any luck, I'd have some time to throw a few drop shots in there before any storm activity starts.

I hope your knee is all good now.
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!