Pacemaker Fishing Forum

i really got into them this morning
at 8.30 am the water was steaming, a crisp frost on the grass, and standing shallow puddles skimmed w/ ice

most of the silt from all the rains has finally settled out

i went to a bluegill Rapala DT-4

long casts, stop & go retrieve, vary cadence

the dt got down plenty deep, would touch bottom, stop, let it back off the slop, stayed pretty clean, or
feel it load, have a pause for a 1' rise, snap it clean

strike was almost always on the lull

in 2.5 hrs, a conservative figure of 25 bass, averaging 1.5 to 2 #, well proportioned and fat bellied.
Had 1  that was 3# easy, another pushing 4#, as well as mingling of 2.5's.

i am pretty confident of a 13# bag, allowing for the chance of going too heavy with the eyeball

I landed two yellow perch also, 1 say easy over 12"-i think closer to 14" , had another the same size shake off,
missed a bunch of hits i suspect were perch as well. i pull the center hook off the dt-4, and oversize the rear treble, as i saw KVD do on the bass pros
this was helpful in reducing the amount of grass i picked up, made fish easier to release, but the YP
were tougher to stick w/ their smaller mouths.

this is the most fertile body i've ever fished. the profiles of the fish show good balance.
obviously, at some point in recent years it was surveyed and a calculated stock released.
the volume of water in the neighborhood of beach and alder combined

i know i have caught several hundred fish there since early november
days like these were once a fantasy

afterwards, i walked the rip rap at ashburn, and got skunked. looked like dead water