The ultimate goal was flathead catfish at Mazonia's Monster Lake. The plan was to catch a few bluegill and then toss those as flathead bait. Besides the windy and cold stuff, I discovered another obstacle when I got there and that was chocolate milk water. This was sure to make it hard for the bluegill to find my little wax worms. Oh yeah....it probably didn't help that I forgot to buy some.
I tried some small plastics but the fish just had a hard time seeing it in the muddy water so I decided to throw on a really small safety pin spinner. That didn't take long at all to get some attention from a surprise, but not what I was looking for, crappie.
While not the bluegill I was looking for, at least I had something getting some attention. Over the next few hours, I ended up with three more of those things!! The biggest was 10.5" and the smallest was 6".
In between the crappie, a few small bass came out to play including this little 14 incher
With the winds picking up and the temperature dropping, I decided to put the flathead quest on hold. Perhaps I will go for it again next weekend and if I do, I'm hoping the water clears up. Of course, even though things didn't go as planned, I - as I always do - had a blast exploring a new body of water.
As a very young guy, 60 years ago or so, I remember the wind blowing off Lake Michigan. I get frostbite just thinking about it. Cool crappie!
ReplyDeleteWell it wasn't frostbite cold....pretty close though! Now, had the sporadic and brief drizzles been more steady, then it definitely could have been a hypothermia day
DeleteIn the late 90's I wandered all over the 200 or so little lakes and ponds. The area to the west that's along the Mazon River. Had a 10 foot jon boat then, plus bushwhacked into others. Mapped out a lot of access points, but that map is long gone. If you're going to continue fishing out there, it will be worth your while to get those portable wheels for your kayak or invest in a belly boat. You'll be surprised at what is in some of those little holes. Even the 1 and 2 acre ones.
ReplyDeleteBy 1999 I got tired of hauling around a boat and stuck with wading rivers and creeks. Much easier.
And, if you do this, spray down your whole lower half with tick repellant...
I never really gave Mazonia that much thought because it was over an hour drive to get there. Now that I moved, it's only about 35 minutes so it has become much more interesting to me.
DeleteThe wheels are definitely coming next year which is probably when I'll do a lot more exploring in between the spring coho and fall king salmon runs.
The smaller, more untouched ponds are the ones I am looking most forward to hitting.
Good to see you stop by!
Crappie are a blast, and a nice surprise to come by. I'm always thinking I hooked up with a bass or bluegill, but when I see a crappie, I get excited. Way to get out there in that crappie weather!
ReplyDeleteThanks Justin! Crappie have been a consistent surprise I always enjoy
DeleteState record Pike is from Monster Lake if I'm not mistaken?! What was the water depth you were reading down there Nick?
ReplyDeleteSure was! Deepest was around 60'. Average mid 20s if say
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