Pacemaker Fishing Forum

We took our first real vacation in over 3 years.  Got a condo at a Marina on SML.  Came with a boat slip and nice pool access.  The place was really nice and super quiet due to private property and tucked back in a cove away from the main lake.  My wife and I honeymooned at the lake and came back one other time about 21 or 22 years ago.

I towed my jon boat to fish.  It turned to be a lot of work for a few fish.  I bought new tires, packed lots of stuff and ended up having to unpack and re-pack gear each day as boat slip was open. 

First day, I went out in the afternoon.  Fished shade lines near shore mostly.  Lots of fish surfacing (shad or white perch) and a few blow ups.  It was frustrating when I could not get them to bite.  I ended up catching a couple sunfish on a ned rig and one small bass.  There were these cool trees overhanging the water with hair-like flowers.



The next day I went out in the morning.  It was super frustrating because I forgot to unplug and run out the gas in the motor.  It gets flooded.  I was able to start it up after many pulls and I made the mistake of just motoring out to the end of the no wake zone.  There were lots of bait balls and blow ups, so I was casting to them.  When I went to re-start, it would not turn over.  I was out there pulling for about a half hour and getting exhausted.  I gave myself a blister on the right hand between my fingers.  Two older gents in a really decked out pontoon boat (Mec 200, 2 talons etc.) were motoring out and asked if I needed help.  I said I think so due to motor not turning over.  I knew it was just flooded, but did not want to get stuck out there.  As soon as I gave them the rope and they started to pull me, I was able to get the motor started.

I thanked them and the guy tossed my rope back and I had to gun it to get it running good.  As I was going out, they gunned it as well and I was on the inside.  We passed another pontoon boat fishing and I just barely missed running over a line he had out.  I saw the float at the last second.  The guy in the boat did not say anything, but I felt bad.  I ran out into the main lake and over to a cove on the other side.  I stopped a re-started the boat a couple times and it was still a little hard to re-start for a while.  I ran back and finally got it running right again.  I tried to fish some, but cut it short as I was beat. 

I was able to salvage the day when my wife agreed to to for a ride and try for panfish.  There are lots of beautiful lake houses and of course she out-fished me 5 to 1.

We enjoyed the area and went to eat at a good restaurant once per day.  My daughter brought her best friend and they swam in the pool, which was nice.  The people at the rental agency and the marina were super nice and helpful.

The next day, I went out in the afternoon/evening after we went to the Book T. Washington Museum.  I decided to try trolling a Rapala DT Thug (shad rap style bait).  before I even got out of the marina area I caught a bluegill and a small yellow perch.  In the next 200 yards, I had something bigger hit and get off and one more bite.  I got snagged, but was able to get it off.  After about 30-45 minutes, I casted the Thug and caught this 12" LM.



And then I started trolling a hooked a really chunky 12" white perch!



And I saw a nice buck with 2 does coming back in.  Not the best pic of just the buck and one doe.  After that, he was staring me down when I was casting until he determined I was no threat.  I got within 25 yards of them.




Thursday, I went out in the morning for a few hours.  Everything was working properly and it was mostly cloudy.  After no luck on the bait pods, I decided to fish a shaded shoreline.  I was using my 6 pound setup with a ned tiny child rig and caught a green sunfish.  A couple casts later, I cast a little further off shore and let it sink.  I lifted it and let it drop and something started swimming with it.  I did a sweep set and there was a good fish on.  I was reeling it in and it pulled drag.  I got it to where I could see it's back (clear-green water) and it was a good LM that looked to be about 4-5 pounds judging from the size of it's back.  It swam out and I could tell it was getting ready to jump.  I went to get the net, while putting the rod tip down in the water to avoid the jump and the fish broke me off.  I had neglected to check the line before casting it back out since I had been using it since the previous day.  I did catch another smaller LM using a dropshot with a Damiki stinger and then this 12"er on a ned rig.



We went to a cool restaurant at a marina on the lake.  Here area couple pics.






Overall, a great vacation.  Lots of wildlife.  Saw very few masks.  People were living their best lives.

My motto for the trip.