It was a fine fall day out at Parker Canyon Lake (PCL). The sun is rising near 0630 in the morning and the temperature was in the low 40's F. I didn't manage to get an early start and it appears that it didn't matter that much either. It was one of the more awkward starts today. I wasn't sure if the weather would be suitable for a run out there as we've had a storm front roll through bringing the cooler air setting the stage right for fall.
I started the morning by getting the gear stowed into the truck and heading out at first light. It was a nice drive out there as I could see my way without the headlights. Yeah still kept them on as that road is treacherous with all the animal and human activity through those narrow spots. Good thing too with the later start there were quite a few vehicles out and about.
I figured out what I forgot when I arrived at the lake. I had left my sand chair in the storage room. Oh bother as that meant that I would need to sit in the bottom of the sportyak to keep a reasonable trim on the craft. This made for a rather low rider experience in casting and working the rod as I had to hold it high enough to clear the sides.
I chose to run all spinning reels today. Everything from light to heavy all on spinning reels. The only issues were two loop knots that I was not able to clear on the very light 2 lb test mono. Fortunately there was not a lot to be lost by that.
I did use the heavy rig to start out the day by flipping about the weeds. There were people on the fishing pier but not that many water craft, at least not yet. So I paddled about the shallow cove dropping the skirted jig here and there. Not a single nibble. This continued for almost 2 hours. I even left the weeds and made my way over to the dam for a change.
The breeze picked up dramatically and I'm glad that I brought an anchor. Unfortunately it was not up to the task of station keeping with the stiff breeze. So there were several occasions where I had to abandon fishing and take to collision avoidance. I need to see if there is an alternate anchor that I can use without resorting to the very heavy piece of metal. I should also consider some different rope too. Something that will not soak up so much water.
It wasn't till about 11a that the fish woke up and took to the bait being offered. It was quite the experience tugging at the fish using the light 2 lb test mono. I had the drag set pretty low and it seem to work well in getting the fish to connect and stay connected. In retrospect all of the fish caught today were tied into the 2 lb mono and all of them were well hooked. Two of them did not have the hook penetrate but the hook was well placed securely. So it does seem the reel down hook set has some merit. I rather enjoy using the light line as it is much easier to cast. It would be nice to find some bulk spools of it at a reasonable cost. I'll keep my eye open when shopping.
I got a few bites at the dam and moved over to the weeds near there. Nothing in poking about the openings in the weeds. I suspect with the cooler temperatures it was taking a bit longer for the bass to respond and be active. I was right. Shortly after noon I made my way along the edge of the lake and went back to actively flipping about all the areas that look promising. I got to one where I flipped the jig in and immediately got a tic. That turned into a light tug and it was followed by a stronger tug which I responded to. Ooops, missed that one. Darn, that felt just like a LMB on the other end of the jig. I will not find out. It turned out to the be the only plausible LMB strike of the day.
I made my way back towards the boat launch thinking that I would be calling it a day. In dealing with the wind gusts, the boat got turned about so I got a look at the rip-rap near the docks. Surprise to me. All those folks that were there earlier in the day had vacated the entire expanse of rocks. Odd too as the dock area was packed with people. Fine by me I'll have a go at it. So I adjusted course and pulled in near shore and weighed anchor to keep me within casting range of the rocks.
I made about two casts and tied into a green sunfish. Oh that was great fun as I had not caught too many today. It turned into a banner afternoon as I kept casting and catching sunfish. None of them were all that big. Most were less than 5 inches. All were great fun on the light weight setup. Those flexible Daiwa poles really respond when something loads up on them. Sort of like using a fly rod. Interesting as I managed to keep everything that connected to stay on till I got it to the boat.
Since the regular 2 inch grubs were working so well I never even bothered to try the micro jigs that I had purchased. Maybe next time.
I did tie into one rather sizable green sunfish. Upon getting it to the boat, I cleared the jig from its mouth only to see two wires coming out of its mouth. At least I thought they were wires. A look down the throat revealed two small pinchers protruding from the sphincter along with the tentacles that I thought were wires. Yes, the tummy was quite plump on this sucker too. That one did give me a good tussle. Again it is sure fun on that light rig.
I ended up just going back and forth on along the rocks and enjoy a fish on pretty much every cast. Again not very big fish all of them were pretty small but all were great fun. Eventually I needed to head home as I was getting hungry and tired too. I stowed the boat into the truck and stopped in the store to grab some peanut M&Ms. A personal favorite. While in there I noticed that the fishing equipment had been stocked with some new offerings. Alas, a whole load of Z-Rays. I recently found out that that Whitman lures is closing up operations after 60 years of production. So I was seeking out some Z-Ray just to stock up. So I picked up a a couple. I may need to get a few more on my next trip over there. I can't speak to how many fish I've caught on those lures. Especially since next week the trout stockings should begin at PCL. Oh joy!
Cheers!
