Basscat
10-24-2000, 11:13 AM
I have not been seeing many posts here lately, so I hope you don't mind if I do a long one with lots of pics.
I went fishing at LK Erie for Smallmouth bass over the weekend. We had a Really good day on Saturday. We put my boat in at Cranberry creek(small boat ramp with small marina 20 -30 minutes past Sandusky). This is where Ruggles Reef starts. If you find Vermillion on the map, this is where it is at. We were on the water by 8:30. We fished about a quarter of a mile straight out and slightly to the east of Cranberry creek in 14' - 17' of water. We used a drift sock tied to the side of the boat to control the speed of our drift. We were using 4" tube baits with a 1/8 oz jighead stuffed inside. There wasn't very much wind and we were not fishing very deep, so we did not need alot of weight to keep our baits on the bottom. Our best color was avocado and accounted for 90% of our fish. We caught 25 keepers on Saturday and lost 5 or 6 more fish. We had 2 over 4lbs, 10 over 3lbs, and the rest over 2lbs.
Sunday: Should have went home instead. Weather forecast. Winds NE 5 - 10mph. Actuall winds were 10 - 25mph. You can never trust them weathermen. We drive down to the water and it does not look that bad, so we decide to go. Launch boat at 8:30. Idleing out of channel into main lake, we take a nice wave over the bow. The water is only 1'8" at end of channel where it enters lake and the waves break where it drops off at the ends of the channel. Get out to the lake and the waves are only 1 - 3'. Not bad, I fished tournaments in worse. Drop drift sock over the side and throw 2 casts. I notice the boat is not drifting properly. I look down at the drift sock only to find that it is no longer attached to the rope which is tied to the side of the boat. With the increased drift speed we opt for a 1/4oz jighead( it was still to light to keep the baits on the bottom) to get the baits on the bottom. We drift around for 2 1/2 hours before before we get our first fish( 13 1/2"). We try different spots along the reef but can not catch any fish at the depth we did the day before. We pulled up the lines and decide to run out a little deeper. The wind is blowing pretty good at this time and the waves have built to 2 - 5'. We had a hard time getting out into the lake and decide to head in before it gets to bad. We end the day with 1 fish.
Me and a nice smallmouth
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428574&Sequence=0&res=high
Two more nice fish
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428576&Sequence=0&res=high
Friend with nice smallmouth
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428626&Sequence=0&res=high
Friend fighting fish
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428623&Sequence=0&res=high
Another nice fish
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428577&Sequence=0&res=high
tube jig with 1/8oz jighead stuffed inside
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428629&Sequence=0&res=high
Drift sock: Used to help control boat drift speed. Smallmouth bass also in pic
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428578&Sequence=0&res=high
Overall I had a good weekend and I always enjoy my fall trip to Lk Erie! Now its time to put the boat away and time to do some serious deer hunting!!!
Basscat
I went fishing at LK Erie for Smallmouth bass over the weekend. We had a Really good day on Saturday. We put my boat in at Cranberry creek(small boat ramp with small marina 20 -30 minutes past Sandusky). This is where Ruggles Reef starts. If you find Vermillion on the map, this is where it is at. We were on the water by 8:30. We fished about a quarter of a mile straight out and slightly to the east of Cranberry creek in 14' - 17' of water. We used a drift sock tied to the side of the boat to control the speed of our drift. We were using 4" tube baits with a 1/8 oz jighead stuffed inside. There wasn't very much wind and we were not fishing very deep, so we did not need alot of weight to keep our baits on the bottom. Our best color was avocado and accounted for 90% of our fish. We caught 25 keepers on Saturday and lost 5 or 6 more fish. We had 2 over 4lbs, 10 over 3lbs, and the rest over 2lbs.
Sunday: Should have went home instead. Weather forecast. Winds NE 5 - 10mph. Actuall winds were 10 - 25mph. You can never trust them weathermen. We drive down to the water and it does not look that bad, so we decide to go. Launch boat at 8:30. Idleing out of channel into main lake, we take a nice wave over the bow. The water is only 1'8" at end of channel where it enters lake and the waves break where it drops off at the ends of the channel. Get out to the lake and the waves are only 1 - 3'. Not bad, I fished tournaments in worse. Drop drift sock over the side and throw 2 casts. I notice the boat is not drifting properly. I look down at the drift sock only to find that it is no longer attached to the rope which is tied to the side of the boat. With the increased drift speed we opt for a 1/4oz jighead( it was still to light to keep the baits on the bottom) to get the baits on the bottom. We drift around for 2 1/2 hours before before we get our first fish( 13 1/2"). We try different spots along the reef but can not catch any fish at the depth we did the day before. We pulled up the lines and decide to run out a little deeper. The wind is blowing pretty good at this time and the waves have built to 2 - 5'. We had a hard time getting out into the lake and decide to head in before it gets to bad. We end the day with 1 fish.
Me and a nice smallmouth
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428574&Sequence=0&res=high
Two more nice fish
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428576&Sequence=0&res=high
Friend with nice smallmouth
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428626&Sequence=0&res=high
Friend fighting fish
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428623&Sequence=0&res=high
Another nice fish
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428577&Sequence=0&res=high
tube jig with 1/8oz jighead stuffed inside
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428629&Sequence=0&res=high
Drift sock: Used to help control boat drift speed. Smallmouth bass also in pic
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1244394&a=9193067&p=31428578&Sequence=0&res=high
Overall I had a good weekend and I always enjoy my fall trip to Lk Erie! Now its time to put the boat away and time to do some serious deer hunting!!!
Basscat