Punyville Pineview 11-6-14

[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Hit the Port Ramp at Pineview with HighNDry about 7 this morning. Air temp 31 and water temp 49. Lovely sunrise and calm conditions all morning. Too calm. At least on our lines.

Started catching dink crappies shortly after launching. Continued through the morning. And got a few dink perch for variety. Ho hum.

About six or seven boats launched after we did. Those we talked to reported about the same. A few small crappies...but a nice day.

Oh well, now I have my annual Pineview disappointment out of the way and I can focus on better prospects.

The bright spot was seeing my old buddy Wildcat94 backing down the ramp as we were loading up to go. His two young fishing buddies are sure cute kids...and already good anglers too. Their daddy is a good teacher. Hope they did better than we did.
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[RockyRaab]

Thanks for the report, Pat. I think the next time I hit P'View will be on the hard deck.
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[zman2]

lotts of small fish seems to me no food could be an issue
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Food is always a big part of the equation when fish are small. But in this case there is also the matter of the cyclical nature of the perch and crappies in Pineview. With the rising and falling water levels, and the weird weather patterns during spring spawning periods, it is uncommon for either perch or crappies to have a "normal" spawn.

Seems like about once every 4 or 5 years there is a good spawn and good recruitment. For the next few years there is an abundance of fish...but they are all competing for a limited amount of food. As natural predation and angling harvest reduces the number of hungry mouths a few of the remaining fish in that year class finally get larger as they approach the end of their life cycle. They are generally heavily harvested during the ice season. The remaining larger fish spawn and die in the spring.

Any year when there is at least a mediocre spawn there are initially a lot of fry swarming around the flooded brush in the shallows. But when water levels drop and the young of the year have no protection they are quickly slurped up by all the hungry mouths in Pineview.

After a good spawn there are still lots of small fry left over at the beginning of winter. They go deep and you can find them in clouds on the bottom in the deepest spots. At least we used to be able to...until the buoy line was moved further away from the dam. My best late fall spots have been off limits for several years now. And I suspect that if we were able to fish those areas there would be more of the bigger fish showing up.

Howsomever...crappies and perch do not live on meat alone. They also feed heavily on zooplankton and other invertebrates. Fishing crappies at night under the ice can be an education. If you have a good sonar you will see a line or band forming above the bottom. That is a zooplankton convention...if you are in the right place. When a roving band of hungry crappies finds them your screen will light up and your rods will bend. But if the zooplankton disappear, so will the crappies. And it is surprising how large the crappies are that are feeding on bitty bites.
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[TubeDude]

[quote RockyRaab]Thanks for the report, Pat. I think the next time I hit P'View will be on the hard deck.[/quote]

[#0000FF]I doubt I will bother with Pineview this winter, unless some larger fish magically show up under the ice. I have allowed myself to succumb to optimism for the past 5 years...telling myself that THIS will be the year that the fish are bigger. Then, no matter how hard I squint...or how much magnification I use...those fish are still not worthy of excitement.

I may be old and have SOME memory problems but I DO remember times of footlong perch and 15 inch crappies. At least I think I do. I'll get back to you after I finish hunting for those Halloween eggs I hid for myself.
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[gofish435]

I always enjoy reading your reports, Pat.
I've tried to decide if you can't sleep well at night or you just have to be the first one on the water when you go fishing. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one catching fish that look like bait.
I can tell HighNDry must have gotten to close to your ride and got infected with the PVC virus.[]
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Yeah, yeah. Pick on the little guy (me...little?).

I have always been an early riser and I usually like to hit the water at first light. Sometimes it pays off when there is an early bite. It always pays off to be able to watch the sunrise and to experience the world awakening to a new day.

Sadly, I fear that there is a "PVC-bola" virus...and that I am a carrier. Lotsa tubers and tooners have gotten too close to my craft...or my "tubeatorium" and have experienced an outbreak. Not terminal but definitely recognizable symptoms.
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[RockyRaab]

Haven't fished with TD for months, but last week my ice sled broke out in a minor PVC rash. Seems my Scotty rod holder just fits into some thick-wall sprinkler pipe. Instant rod holder base. Only a minor infection so far, but as we all know, that kinda thing spreads like creamy Skippy.
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[high_n_dry]

I have to agree with Pat on the morning atmosphere being a prime motivator for hitting the water early. I have never been a morning person, and it was very difficult at first to arrive before he was half way across the lake or totally out of site. My first trip with him was to Deer Creek. When I drove down the ramp to get ready for launch, I heard an eerie voice coming from the dark mist. "Radio on channel five". It haunts me to this day.

The morning dew, the sun rising over the mountains, the reflective flat water, it's all very addictive. Enough so that I've gotten better at doing it now and usually arrive before he has left the ramp. The early morning bite is definitely worth the effort too from what I've seen.

As far as the PVC-Bolla thing, it's definitely an airborne disease, and both my pontoon and Fat Cat have contracted it. They don't call him TUBE Dude for nothing []. And everyone thought it was because he floated around in one, hah!

With PVC, you can't beat the cost, weight, and ease of customizing when using SS screws for assembly. My biggest issue is that it constantly mutates. It seems like there is always another useful goodie showing up, or a better and easier way to do something. This is one bug I'm grateful to have picked up. Can't really say that about the other nasty ones floating around out there these days.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Most folks associate FTD with florists.

It also stands for Fishually Transmitted Disease.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]Astute and insightful observations...Grasshoppah.
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[TyeDyeTwins]

Those fish look about perfect for me considering the weight restrictions on my wrists. Can't wait to hook a few of those myself when the hard deck forms.
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