37.7903978 Degrees(Harsens)

[ficious]

Hit the island this morning, fished the "borrow" canal next to the road. When I first got there it poured like crazy, fished from shore til it passed. Managed a few decent perch, then collected bobbers on the down wind side, I think they use the canal to spawn:lol:

One of the new patterns out produced some of my old standbys, looking forward to next winter(who'd have guessed):rolleyes: All perch, no gills/crappies. Minnows/worms/waxies



My day ended up abruptly when I did a Lambier-esk flop out of the boat in the middle of the canal(anchored). Instinct kicked in and I did the breast stroke to shore(snowsuit and Mickeys). Got to shore when the realization kicked in that the boat was still mid-canal. Took the 100# snowsuit off(remove wallet and phone) and went wading to see if I could find the anchor(wind was cross canal and I dropped anchor near the road shore).....no luck(yes, the water was still cold)


Got the extendable snow scraper out of my truck and waded out as far as I could when the wind slacked and the boat almost came into reach. Both of my custom perch rods were on the bottom of the canal as well, but I was able to retrieve them by following the line back from the bobbers. I was very happy the boat took water but didn't sink(no floatation). Some of the bobbers(and some of the perch) were accidently released back to their element.

No one on shore realized that I was the days entertainment. I don't advise swimming in Mickeys. When I finally climbed the shore and got out, the weight of the snowsuit was incredible.

ANOTHER day on the water I won't soon forget.

[ih772]

Nice going Harry. :lol:

[stinger63]

Sounds like fun im glad no one else was in the boat with you to go swimming:lol:Glad you got all your equipment back :) maybe we got a new nick for ya harry Divericious:lol:

[Joeker Jr.1]

:evil: im gonna leave this one alone................ watch out, im sure that Joeker fella will have somethin to say about this:16suspect


good job gettin everything back tho!

[Joeker51]

Man............you really got this thing about trying to walk on water over there the last couple of years.:16suspect :nono:

[jiggineyes]

You always said the ice season aint over till the catficious swims!:lol:

Seriously though, Glad youre ok Harry! Did you atleast keep the catch in the boat to take home for your troubles?

[ficious]

Yeah, I came home with 12-15. I figure I lost at least a couple. Morning was good, the rest of the day was hit and miss. Some nice ones in there.

Harry

[gilly]

Funny story but I'm sure you weren't too amused at the time. How big were the perch?

[ficious]

gilly,

Hey, really like your screen name!! PM sent.

Harry

[MSUICEMAN]

harry, glad to see you're alright... thats one thing that scares the hell outta me with a snowsuit/bibs on.. i'm trying to go as light as possible now, but sometimes its just not possible.

[ficious]

Steve,

The snowsuit was overkill, but the last nights forcast said rain most of the day, lots of wind so it seemed like a good choice.

I didn't really try out all the different swimming strokes, but the breast stroke worked well because I wasn't getting any help from my feet. Total distance was about 35 feet, but that's an amazing distance dressed like I was.

Going back in after the boat was the really cold park, especially the third time. Rode home in rain pants and field jacket, didn't have a big selection of extra clothes, took my jump bag out of the truck after iceout.

Hope no one ever needs the info,

Harry

[DE82]

WOW Harry, not fun, glad your okay though

[salmonslammer]

Seen the title of the thread and thought to my self.....

Wonder if that was harrys body temp when he got done fishing?

Guess I wasnt far off! Glad u got all the stuff back and ur semi annual bath in!

[Michael Wagner]

Do you play the lottery???

[mczerny]

Where do I sign up for your swimming lessions! Ha-Ha. Welcome back to dry land!

[ficious]

Humor aside, that could have been a very interesting situation under different circumstances. Had it been a canal with seawalls on both sides, climbing out(if possible) after a prolonged swim would have been difficult with the added weight.

Message on my part has been taken, processed.

Harry

[Mark Sylvester]

Glad you are ok my friend. You are quite entertaining though.:evilsmile:chillin:

[stinger63]

Sounds like fun im glad no one else was in the boat with you to go swimming:lol:Glad you got all your equipment back :) maybe we got a new nick for ya harry Divericious:lol:

MODS PLEASE DELETE THIS POST ABOVE


Harry all kidding aside Im glad your back with us I wish your fishing trip wouldnt have had the abrupt ending that it Did .Sorry to hear about your swimming lesson I know it wasnt fun in that cold water had it been summer Im sure you wouldnt have minded better luck next time May the fish god bless you:)

[fishinthed]

Nasty way to find out ice fishing season's over, eh? :yikes:

Glad you're OK. The snow suit might have prevented a lot more heat from escaping, but it is a good thing you didn't have seawalls to contend with. Yow!

[DE82]

Your right Harry that could've been VERY BAD. Glad to hear you came out of it okay and thanks for posting this too because while you are getting some razzing, we all know you posted this to give people a heads up so something like that doesn't happen to them, as a canoe fishermen, I appreciate it a lot :) so thanks and again glad to hear your okay and made it out of there -Bryon

[stinger63]

I always kidded with my buddy Jeff when we were out in the canoe last fall and winter about going swimming but in all actuality Im very glad we didnt.I used to swim in some very cold waters in 40 something * range when I was younger but I dont think the ole ticker could take it anymore and I wouldnt want to find out the hard way.

[ficious]

After some time to stink about it, I know what happened. I had a 3/4 full cull bucket AND the minnow bucket on the side of the boat that my torso was on. When I leaned back to lift my foot over the seat, that's all it took.

Jon has NO flotation, glad it didn't fill/sink. Thinking of adding my own with some of that expanding foam under the seats.

It would have been easy to not post my stupidity, but if it helps anyone in the future, it was worth the embarassment.

Harree

[Shoeman]

That could have ended bad. Glad you were close to shore

[HoytKimberShimano]

Glad to you hear that you're OK.

Ironically, I was getting a fishing report from a friend today when he was telling me the story about a guy falling off his boat at Harsens and trying to retrieve his boat with an ice scraper! :dizzy:

He said that he helped you get the boat loaded up and that you were mighty anxious to get home! He also said "sounds like he posts stuff on the internet"....which led me to look for your "report" here... :lol:

Again, glad to hear that you're OK, and he agreed that you had a story that you wouldn't ever forget!

Good luck next time and stay dry!

[gilly]

I here ya Harree. I bought a 10 foot Jon one time to throw in the truck and hit some small ponds. Bro in law was up from the south and took it with my trolling motor/battery. He got in by shore to row out and the boat sank to the bottom right there. It wouldn't float with him and the trolling setup. Got rid of it as it seemed un-safe for sure.

[ficious]

Hoyt,

Was he the guy with the kid or the two guys in waders??

gilly,

I know its tippy, but I like a boat I can carry some distance. I just row because I like it and I don't want the weight of a battery and motor PLUS the 10# of stuff in a 5# bag. I don't think a 12' would travel gracefully in a shortbed either.

Bottom line, I know it's limitations and I ignored them for a moment and got a bath as a reward for it. Hard to move around with Mickeys and a snowsuit too.

Harry

[Highest Bidder]

You're invited to fish with me anytime...I have one requirement though.... It's special design fishing suit that you can wear, it consist of duct tape , rope, hand cuffs, and plastic wrap. I heard it was "a little resrictive". But it gaurentees not falling out of boats. :rolleyes:

Glad to hear it all worked out. Seriosly could of been bad.

Good to see those "CAT-LIKE REFLEXIS" kick in.....:lol::lol:....:yikes::help:....:lol::lol:

[Mark Sylvester]

Catfiscious Like reflexes...............................



WWWAAAHHHHEEEEEE!!!!!!! :evilsmile

[eyecatcher]

Glad your safe. I only tried swimming in my mickies once never again. from now on stay dry. Be safe. Its a good thing the fishing gods watch out for us fools.
Happy Easter.