Fishing With Face

Quote: Face

I don't know which is worse, a new motor blowing stranding me with my son on board, Ash boating the goby, or the fact that I just can't catch her in the point totals

It's the points [g]

Quote: Face

Captain Jax, Ash, and I spent Friday at the local hole handpicking our bait, instead of paying some $6 a dozen at the launch, and after 45 minutes or so, had a cooler full of craws fit for a good night out on the lake.

Very nice. How many was that? I think I see 24 in the picture but I can't be sure.

Quote: odiousgambit

It's the points [g]

It’s killing me! I’m finding it to be a lot like every other sport. As you can see, I’m killing it in “total fish”, leading her 44 to 27. But it’s the “mistakes” that are drowning me; all the garbage fish have sapped my points to the point I just can’t pass her.

And she’s caught the only rockie all year.

And she’s caught the only white bass all year.

And she’s caught the only steelhead all year.

And other than the tourney, she’s taken Biggest almost every time.

I’d be disgusted if I wasn’t so proud =D

Quote: JB

Very nice. How many was that? I think I see 24 in the picture but I can't be sure.

At least 30. Didn't ever count them, but know it was about that. I thought it'd be enough, but just Ash and I nearly ran through them all in about 3 hours. If we had culled the bigger ones, we would have. They were killing the bitty ones.

The bigger ones seemed too big for the smaller fish. I kept a 2lb'er in my tank for a year and it ate anything that came near it, but for some reason, only the big fish were hitting the big craws. Makes it worth it when you get one, but the action is slow otherwise. Lesson learned.

In other news, I'm an idiot. I took the boat to the shop only to notice, as soon as I got there, that 4 ground wires were hanging loose in the ignition. The Best Mechanic I've Ever Met went and got a $0.05 nut and bolt, hooked them up, and she fired right up.

Son of a bitch XD

So hopefully I'll have a free day on Labor Day, and Ash, my retired uncle and I are going to head to "Lake Perfidy" at the end of the Ohi:oh and try our hand at our first walleye trip.

Odd story - My grandfather was displaced by the construction of said lake, a lake that was created by everyday working men who wanted a place they could relax and call their own, so they created the "Beaver Club" as an homage to their dam building ways, which is the club I've played hockey for for the last 14 years.

I can't tell if that fact bothers me, or if I'm bothered because it doesn't bother me.

DATE: 9/01/13
WEATHER: Overcast and sketchy
TREND: A lot of sun and warm temps early in week, cold front and storms moving in

Shit got real today.

We went back out to the city after spending 2 hours at the crick getting 50+ craws. I figured it'd be a good day to kind of make up for the tournament trip and get some pics of the area. It still kind of throws me, going out to do "nature stuff" and having to pass through forgotten industry. Usually it's a lonely bridge or a fallen tree that let's me know "I'm there". Here, it's the old Bethlehem Steel plant and its long since abandoned stockyard that's the marker to paradise. It's just weird, there's no other way to describe it.





Just down the road from Bethlehem, the Skyway starts and we get off, as that's where Dug's Dive and the marina lie. Again, I'm used to setting off pretty much in the middle of nowhere. But here, giant reminders of Buffalo's heyday are everywhere you look. Giant storage sheds behind the marina, the old grain elevators, and the hubs and docks where barges of immense size used to drop their wares. It's a wild scene.





We had left for the water in the rain, pretty much hoping it would clear, but knowing we were going out regardless. I been saying all week that I was going to "go out in a thunderstorm if I had to", and damn it, I was going to. But our launch was calm and the skies had somewhat cleared, which allowed me to get caught up on the picture taking. I was so caught up that it wasn't until we were well passed the breakwall before I finally looked up to navigate, pointed us to where I though the shoal was, and saw this...



As dark as it looks, it was mid day. You can actually see the little nub of that giant buoy off the bow, right on the leading edge of what looked to be a downpour. But to hell with that, there was good fishing there. I just knew it. And it's just water, who cares? Right?

We hit the buoy, got anchored, and began setting up in a light wind and very little wave action. I hoped it was going to be one of those days where everything just sort of missed us. It's happened before, maybe we'd luck out again. Once the boat was hooked up and was wagglin' at the end of the anchor line, I met Ash in the back of the boat and we began setting up our rods.

Mine was nearly water ready, while Ash had to reset her gear. Once I quick switched a hook, I slanged a craw on, grabbed my pole, and... POP! "What the fuck was that?" I wondered to myself. I looked at Ash, who hadn't looked up from tying her own gear, and went to go set my line again. Fizzle sizzle buzz POP! This time I got her attention and asked her wtf was going on. She asked wtf I was talking about, when I noticed it again. I told her to "watch and listen" as I lifted my rod out of the boat and pointed it in the air. As soon as the rod went past horizontal and began pointing to the sky, sizzle fizzle hum buzz. I put it down. Silence. "You hear that?" I asked her. "Hear what?" Of course. Keep forgetting she can't hear well anymore. I said "listen" and began raising my pole again. As soon as it went past horizontal, sizzle sizzle fizzle crack. I saw her straining to hear, so I lifted it straight up. fizzle siZZLE POP POP CRACK! and I dropped the damn thing. "WTF is that?! It just...What is that?!" I grabbed the pole again without waiting for her to answer, brought it into the air, sizzle sizzle sizzzZZZZLE POP! and the goddamned thing shocked me. Ash saw it shock me, and we both looked everywhere for the source of this black magic. It had started to rain a bit and batteries were everywhere, maybe it was one of those? I saw I was completely removed from everything, held the rod up again (fizzle sizzle sizzle) and I heard Ash say "I can feel it". I finally looked at her, and all of her hair, ALL of it, was standing straight up in the air. And it finally dawned on me. I didn't say a word, I just dropped to the floor of the boat.

It finally hit me, some long lost article I read when I was a kid, stored and stuffed away deep in my brain. "Survivors of lightning strikes often say they noticed things before they were hit. Buzzing sounds, tingles, hair standing on end. If you ever experience anything like this, get low and get out". And there was nothing I could do. "Home" was a good, 45min wide open rail across the lake. The engine was up. The anchor was out. There was at least 5 minutes of "standing up in the middle of the boat" work that had to be done before I could even set off. So I just sat on the floor, curled up as tight as I could, as far away from the shell of the boat as I could get, and just stared at Ash's hair reaching for the sky. I wasn't scared; I pretty much know that life can end any minute, and this death would be a quick one, but man, it was wild. Just sitting there, in a place you usually feel safe and "at home" in, and any minute, any random organization of energy, and ZAP. 1.21 gigawatts to send you to Valhalla. Just before I checked out of rational thought and began to turn inside my mind, the skies open and it downpoured. We did our best to cram into what little cover we had (basically crawling under the dash and squeezing ourselves into a space made just for feet), and when it finally passed, the rain had taken the static out of the air and everything was back to normal.

Nearly died? Who cares! It's time to fish!

We set about the same way we did last time. We waggled back and forth over a drop, and sort of jigged our craws back and forth. As soon as Ash hit the bottom, she hooked up with first of the day and brought in a smaller bronzeback.



As soon as I hit the bottom, I hooked up too, and hauled in... a freakin' goby. Off to another gangbuster start.

We kept on 'em though, and soon got into a "fish for fish" groove. Ash hauled in the first Biggest of the day, and I fired right back, trumping her Biggest with what would be the day's leader. Ash even bestowed upon me the "Prettiest Fish Award", for one of my last catches. Hey, it's something ;)







After several hours, we had to pack it up. The rain came harder and harder, along with the wind, and we were drenched and cold for a long time. We decided to save the remaining craws for tomorrow and headed for home. I took a pic of the wind farm on the way in, and surprisingly, you can see the rain in the pic. I know I've taken pictures in monsoons before that came out perfectly clear; that should give some idea as to how hard it was raining tonight.





About the time we hooked around the wind farm into the protection of the break walls, the rain stopped and the wind got blocked by the wall. We putted around, looking at all the old docks for the barges, imagining what this place looked like in the '50s and '60s. I can even remember back when the coke furnaces belched great towers of fire and the entire area smelled of rotten eggs. Today, it had sort of a haunting serenity to it all.



And that ended the day. About the time I got the boat out of the water, Jonny L texted to confirm he was down for a trip tomorrow, and barring a thunderstorm, we'll probably be out again in 12 hours and counting. "Barring a thunderstorm" lol. That's funny. I'll have more pics tomorrow come rain, shine, or the wrath of Zeus ;)

ID:	Total:	Couples:	Fishing Team:
Me	22 (14)	17 (14)	5
Ash	24 (5)	18 (5)	6
Johnny L	4	N/A	4

Ah... you have a great gal there.

She sees you "hit the deck" real fast and you don't have to gesture to her or anything. She gets low too. And when its over, she calmly fishes.

Many people hit by lightning write about their experiences but its so much better to not be hit in the first place.

A dirty lightning trick, to not be taking place anywhere else but starting with you! Well, maybe the stuff you described was fair warning.

Did you ever get any bolts nearby?

Quote: Fleastiff

Ah... you have a great gal there.

She sees you "hit the deck" real fast and you don't have to gesture to her or anything. She gets low too. And when its over, she calmly fishes.

Many people hit by lightning write about their experiences but its so much better to not be hit in the first place.

She's something else, that's for sure. And I agree; it's oh so much better to write about it without having to go through it. I hate being electrocuted ><

Quote: odiousgambit

A dirty lightning trick, to not be taking place anywhere else but starting with you! Well, maybe the stuff you described was fair warning.

Did you ever get any bolts nearby?

We sure did. I didn't notice much on the way out, but then again, I doubt I would. A 2 stroke at full tilt pretty much drowns out all sound, and other than a brief glance up looking for the buoy, most of my attention is focused immediately in front of the boat, reading waves.

After our scare and subsequent hunkering down, quite a storm raged over land. Some real good bolts, too, the ones that branch out before slamming the ground and sort of hold for awhile. By that time, it was kind of late to be worried about getting struck, so we just watched and fished, figuring it was "passed us" and blowing even further away. Which it was. It wasn't until I heard a good crack from behind me, on the shores of Canada and therefore heading for us, that I finally gave in and beat feet for land.

It was an experience I won't soon forget. That much is certain.

Catch this one on 10lb test line

here

Hah hah hah.

Face, have you seen how many views this thread has? "Face fishing" I think people are coming here expecting something else. Either that, or you've attracted really enthusiastic fishing fans.

Quote: rxwine

Catch this one on 10lb test line

here

I wouldn't catch that period. Methinks I'd break out the knife and cut the line at first sight o.O

Quote: rxwine

Face, have you seen how many views this thread has? "Face fishing" I think people are coming here expecting something else. Either that, or you've attracted really enthusiastic fishing fans.

I have. I'm oddly proud of it =)

Granted, about 200 of those views are just me, but my 5,000+ views on "Firearms" thread gives me hope that it's not a complete fluke =)

"Fluke". Get it? That's the type of writing that puts the asses in the seats! XD