P'View Last Hurrah 11/16

[RockyRaab]

Kent once again was king enough to have me along to snag a boat load of crappie. We were afloat at 8:30 and I caught the first fish (it's a tradition) shortly thereafter.

Kent then cleverly positioned my end of the boat over a lure-grabbing snag that kept me occupied again and again while he boated crappies after crappie. I broke a rod (the first time ever for me) trying to get unsnagged and Kent hooked a huge tiger muskie named Minn-Kota. Helluva mess of line for him, and a chuckle for me.

We boated a lot of fish, lost a few lures, had hot meals afloat, and finally got blown off the water about 2:30 when the wind got stronger than the trolling motor.

A great day, a great guy, and a suitable end of the soft-water season for me. Plus, I get to shop for a new rod!
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[Kent]

Rocky, it was a pleasure. My neighbors were thrilled to receive the 13 crappie that we kept. We should have kept one more or one less. One of the better crappie outings I have had and it was fun targeting a fish species that I rarely target.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Glad you were able to get in another soft water trip before wimping out for the year.

Sorry about the rod. Sounds like angler error...a loose nut on the handle of the rod.

Interesting about the muskie named Minn-Kota. There is a huge trout in Starvation that also has that name. It was hooked by SBennett on a trip where we were using the IPilot to hold over a small school of perch and walleyes. Shane was soaking a second rod...in spite of the fact that we were over deep water and were swinging back and forth in the building breeze. Suddenly that second rod started bucking wildly and line was screaming off the loose drag. After a diving grab and much excitement the "trout" bit through the line and Shane belatedly realized what had happened.

Kent is becoming recognized as an angler who attracts excitement, drama and disasters. The list of "happenings" on his trip grows ever longer. Might make a good basis for a new book. But most readers would label it strictly a work of fiction. Who could experience all that stuff in real life?
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[RockyRaab]

The broken rod was indeed "pilot error". I know enough not to pull on braid with my hands, and simply hauled back on the rod to break the leader or straighten the hook. Turns out 10# fluoro is harder to snap than a Shimano graphite rod. Then, when I DID wrap the line around something that won't bleed, the hook did straighten. Got the jig and the rod tip section back.

See ya tonight!
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