Finally.... My First October 2009 Fishing Trip!

After my false start on Thursday... Flat Tire... I finally got to fish during the Oktoberfest. Our local restaurant doesn't open until 7:00 a.m. on Sundays. That's no problem... I'll wait. :D

After breakfast, I checked all four tires on the truck and the two on the trailer. No Flats! I'm good to go... took all the gear out of the locked bed and returned it to the boat. I ready whatever I could before leaving the restaurant parking lot to save me time at the launch.

The launch had several trucks and trailers parked in it this weekend morning. Unlike the weekdays when I've been the only tow vehicle in the entire lot, this morning had bass anglers on the water already.

I launched the boat using a rope which makes it rather easy. I then tie it to the dock, pull the trailer out of the water, and park the truck and trailer. I would say I can get that all done in approximately 10 minutes or so.

There were two bass anglers heading into the creek and fishing the shoreline looking for bass. They had been to the dam and told me that they were pumping so much water that it was impossible for them to fish there. Yep, that's the way most the summer has been. Except for some short off moments, the dam has been generating electricity pretty much 24/7. I suspect that with TMI shutting down soon, the other local power plants will be sending electricity up the grid to all the folks serviced by the nuclear power plant. TMI will be removing the old steam generators and replacing them with those new French-made ones we've been seeing so much of lately in the news reports.

My day started out rather slow with only a few smaller bass on a Bandit 100 and a Big O 3/8th oz. I tried a buzzbait early and a spinnerbait. Neither one drew any strikes. I stayed with the spinnerbait for quite some time and even tied one on with a slightly larger #4.5 silver blade.

As fall approaches, the shad and minnows will have grown larger and the larger blades work well. The silver blade choice was because it was very sunny skies today and the silver gives off a nice flash. Today, I had no hits on any spinnerbait I tossed.

The water was higher than in my most recent trips to this area so I was able to explore some spots I hadn't gotten to for awhile. No one else was around which is nice and I was able to pull a few more 14" smallies in on the crankbaits.

I met up with a fellow who has a cabin on one of the islands below Otter Creek. We got to talking and sharing some fishing stories from the area. I learned that his grandparents had owned the cabin and he has fished this area all his life... Cool! We also talked about the eagles that live nearby. I very rarely hit the lower part of this lake and he told me of several eagles' nesting down below his cabin.

I had seen the matured bald eagle this morning as I was heading to my first fishing hole. I hadn't seen this one for about a month. I also saw one of the immatures sitting on a power line and another flying nearby. At one point, the mature and immature were soaring together above an island just south of me.

I love to watch these majestic birds of prey as they hunt. Watching the eaglets grow in that sanctuary on camera this past spring/summer gave me a much better understanding of the size of their talons. When the staff tagged the birds during the season, one could compare their size with a human... those things are huge!

I had a very good stretch of fishing at one point today when I caught an 18" walleye, two smallies (14.5" and 16"), and a 18" channel cattie. All came on a Cotton Cordell Super Spot in Chrome with a Black Back. Three species, one lure, in one general area! :) I was able to share my walleye with a young gentleman who was fishing to feed his family.

The walleye will be running in this area very soon and it will be exciting.

The water temperature was 58-60 degrees depending on where I was fishing. The clarity was a bit off due to recent rains and green... not dirty. The level this morning in Harrisburg, Pa. was reading at 3.8'. The winds were quiet when I arrived and picked up as the sun came out from behind clouds. Accuweather showed the winds at 14 mph in Willow Street when I returned at 2:45 p.m.

I put in at 8:30 a.m. and fished until 2:15 p.m. That's 5 hrs. and 45 min. of fishing. 11 bass, 1 walleye, and 1 cattie came into the G3 today. I also missed three that I felt hit and pause my crankbait.

I had a few spots that I threw tubes. I also used a tube and Magic Stick to follow up on rises... None of them were taken.

A highlight of my trip today was meeting a fellow who was starting to smallmouth bass fish and had been into SFT to speak to the Acords about it. He was fishing along with a buddy. This fellow's son attended the school district that I worked in for 25 yrs. He also has runs for river rescue. I have great respect for anyone who does such a public service... police, fire, rescue. Our volunteers make this country great. The United States has such a fantastic core of volunteers who are willing to reach out and help each and every one of us! Thank you to each and every volunteer for dedicating your time to help others. :)

dadTB