Blankety Blank

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I honestly cannot remember the last time I did not get a single bite in over 5 hours of serious fishing. Well, now I can. It was today on Willard.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Wildcat94, toadly and myself launched tube and toons about 8:30 at the north marina ramp. Completely clear as far as we could see in all directions. There was some rotten ice crowding the shoreline in front of the campgrounds...and a piece right in front of the north marina area. That's it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water temp was only 38.2 at launch and about 2 degrees warmer when we came in. COOOOOOL. We all threw plastics and dragged minnows and crawlers. None of us admitted to a bite. Nasty. Did not see many blips on sonar either.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Talked to a couple of boaters and neither of them scored either. One of them was Crankem's son, Mike. We were reminiscing about him getting trapped in the shifting ice when we met up there last year. Much more open this year. But no fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I did not come home empty handed. I found a brand new kayak paddle. Still had the $31 price tag on it. I also found a somewhat waterlogged mallard decoy. I propped it on the front of my apron. Didn't help bring in either fish or ducks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Glassy calm all morning. A light cold westerly breeze started up just after 11. Standard. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I'm through with pioneering this year. I will get more interested when somebody else reports catching some fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The upside? No water skiers, no jet skis, no bugs.[/#0000ff]
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[ydoc]

Well TD, sorry to hear about your FISHING misfortunes, but it HAD to be nice just to get out...??

I drove by our local ponds and small lakes today on the way home, and they're still completely iced-over (Omaha, NE). Not any where close enough to being safe to walk on, but still solid none the less... [:/]

We have a couple of warm days approaching (forecasting 63* on Thursday), so it won't be long now. Hope to put line on my reels and get everything ready on my day's off this week (Wednesday & Friday)... heck, my NEW ODC420 is still in the unopened box from my late-December purchase!! [crazy]

Soon my friend... []
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[albinotrout]

Nice hood ornament (quack quack) and you can say now that you were not up a creek (in the bay) without a paddle.[:p] Too bad on the fishless day. They were probably out hanging under the edge of the ice laughing at you.[unimpressed]
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[Bassamatic]

TD - at least ya got out there and had some fun!! Nice find on the paddle and decoy! I now have my H3 and all my rods/reels/tackle boxes ready to go and intend to go out for the first time on April 3rd IF I can wait that long. Really looking forward to that first hookup!!
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Sometimes the anticipation is the best part. The actual fishing can be disappointing after all the buildup. Kinda like marriage.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck and start the countdown.[/#0000ff]
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[flygoddess]

[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff]Sometimes the anticipation is the best part. The actual fishing can be disappointing after all the buildup. Kinda like marriage.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck and start the countdown.[/#0000ff][/quote]


Ba Da Dum (best drum roll I can write) add an OHHHH to that [shocked]
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[pontoonman]

Note to citizens: It is now temporarily safe to go near the water...[]

Pon

[#0000ff]"Stand clear...and don't get between me and the water if you don't wanna get hurt.[/#0000ff] "




[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff]Sometimes the anticipation is the best part. The actual fishing can be disappointing after all the buildup. Kinda like marriage.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck and start the countdown.[/#0000ff][/quote]
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[idahoron]

Jacob is still smelling like skunk, and he lost his sushi board yesterday. I was glad to get the smell off me but I wished Jacob would have hooked a big old cat.
I am betting that your smell of skunk will wear off quickly. Ron
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[aztoon23]

I thought that only happened to me....I went out on February 18th and the same happened to me, I left the lake smelling like freshly run-over skunk. but it was nice getting out. I was going to make it up this week during my vacation, but I caught a cold a bad cold.. so here I sit looking out the window at the sunny weather. I figured I should at least attach a few pics of the last outing to Patagonia lake in southern Az.

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the sympathy. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I lived in Tucson for about 10 years and fished a lot at Patagonia...also Pena Blanca, Parker Canyon and some of the other lakes down there. Brings back old memories...good memories.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]February is just at the staging point. Crappies will be moving in around the reeds soon. Used to get them up to almost 4 pounds at Patagonia.[/#0000ff]
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[ydoc]

[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff]Thanks for the sympathy. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff][#0000ff]February is just at the staging point. Crappies will be moving in around the reeds soon. Used to get them up to almost [font "Arial"][size 5]4 pounds[/size][/font] at Patagonia.[/#0000ff][/quote]

Four pound CRAPPIES????
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[albinotrout]

[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff]. Used to get them up to almost 4 pounds at Patagonia.[/#0000ff][/quote]

Now those are some big crappie.[shocked]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Patagonia is a small lake down near the Mexican border. It produces big fish in all categories...bass, catfish, crappies and several species of sunfish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here are a few pics. Biggest crappie I personally caught was 19" and about 3 1/2#. But, I saw two that some old boy caught on live shad (legal in Arizona) that were over 20" and over 4#.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most trips during prime times produced grundles of crappies all over 12".[/#0000ff]
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[TubeDude]

I remember fishing in that cove! I wanna go back!
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[idahopanfish]

Can I come and you show me how to land one of those,
PLeeeeease![]
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[TubeDude]

[quote idahopanfish]Can I come and you show me how to land one of those,
PLeeeeease![][/quote]

[cool][#0000ff]You cain't ketch 'em where they ain't. And the really big crappies ain't in Utah and very few in Idaho. We both got a lot of decent sized fish but anything over 12 inches is considered big. In Arizona a 12 incher was a dink.[/#0000ff]
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[albinotrout]

[cool][#0000ff]You cain't ketch 'em where they ain't. And the really big crappies ain't in Utah and very few in Idaho. We both got a lot of decent sized fish but anything over 12 inches is considered big. In Arizona a 12 incher was a dink.[/#0000ff]

Now those are big fish. Gotta get to powell. they have a few there but not that size of course.[:/]
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[aztoon23]

Now I am really wanting to get out......Pena Blanca was emptied in 2008 and refilled just this year. Of course they only stocked trout and we will see what happens in the near future. The mixed bag is one of the reasons I love Patagonia....hurry up Monday.