Slip’s 2015 LOGS, STATUS AND STRATEGIES… 2ND HALF EDITION

[Slip Sinker]

... postings concerning the second half season of fishing 2015

[Slip Sinker]

20150928 ~ MASTER ANGLER SMB AT 21.25" 

...caught on UL gear with 4# test Berkley Nanofil baited with a 2" Berkley Ripple Shad

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... tagged the day after a full moon!

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20150929 ~ 90 days till hard water season and some of the toughest open water fishing still to come.

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20150930 ~ Its verified and in the books!

My P’Seed at 9.0” is verified and certificate is in the mail. To top it off it was caught on my Birthday… what a gift.
The fish was caught drop shotting the original lake edged of a small reservoir. Great electronics in that of the Elite 7 HDI allowing me to create a precise pinpoint map of the lake bottom in 1-0’ increments earlier last season. Down scan imaging showed wood, stumps and debris along this edge. Casting parallel with the lake edge I scratched the structure with my UL drop shot setup loaded with a GULP (you guessed it… lol) Pink Waxie until this fish was tagged and brought to boat. I new as the fish was lifted from the water it was a trophy and possibly a Certificate fish… careful measuring by pinching the tail brought the fish into certificate spec. Pictures were taken and the fish was quickly released to fight again. This memory will forever be etched in my mind.

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20150930 ~ Official verification with the DNR Master Angler Database!

20150930 ~ Official verification with the DNR Master Angler Database! Two Master Angler sized fish caught within 9 days of each other is amazing in itself but get this... one on my Birthday and one fish caught on my sister Lori's Birthday!
Searching the Master Angler database there has been no listings for master angler sized fish in the Lakes history up until now. Fishing with Earl Colmus 2015.08.30 he tagged a trophy Master Angler sized Yellow Bullhead that hasn't been registered yet! The first 2 Master Angler Entries came from my boat!

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ahhh... October and falling water temps... big fish putting the big feed bag on

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20151004 ~ even though I was still in a bit of pain with the neck I decided to do a little shore fishing down the street. It was an argument that needed to be decided …. My spine was saying no and my mind was saying yes… the mind won and I’m glad it did. I was greeted at the site with medium cold winds from the north and gray skies… water was clear of floating debris and the weedlines were thinning and dying off.  I knew the main bite was SMB deep in the adjacent holes so I started casting with my favorite SMB bait …. A 3” Berkley Power Minnow in Olive Green. At this time of year as waters are cooling the SMB’s are  moving from the main river part of the reservoir into the deeper main lake basins. After quite a few casts I was ready to switch down to UL for crappie and B’Gills when I felt a strong tug on the bait and set the hook with no response. A short strike im thinking so I picked up an UL setup with the Tabbert Jelly Jig and mad a short cast over the break where the strike accrued. After a few short casts into the area I felt the tiny tick of a fish hit… with a short quick snap hookset I connected with a solid tag… what a horse with a deep down bull dog fight… with the way the fight was going I  immediately thought Lunker LMB.

After a few minutes with a good pressure bend in the UL with 2# braid the fish came to net and I was surprised to see a Trophy SMB of Master Angler proportions slide into the net a quick measurement proved a bit short by about .4”. I was shaking. With respect to this magnificent fish I took a few quick snaps and put it back into the net for a recovery dip and release. Still trembling I cast into the same area and quickly got another hit… setting the hook with a quick slack braid snap I felt “nothing but air” a northern or a walleye escaped with some lip jewelry with a bite off. I quickly tied on a 2” Berkley Power Minnow and resumed action with a medium Yellow Perch and a dink N. Pike.

The action slowed and the lwr back started barking so I decided to head home. Passing the western shore I spur of the moment thought I decided to fish that bank. Started with the bigger baits I ended up empty handed. So I switched down to the 2” swim jigs and immediately started hitting the SMB s… one after another. The first hit was a missed fish of very large proportions. The lunker came halfway out of the water and released the bait. Stunned and shaken I resumed casting. After catching a series of fish in the small to medium sized range I tied into another lunker again with a fantastic aerial display. With a huge amount of resentment she finally came to net. I was please to see another fish of a lifetime magnitude come to net with Master Angler proportions. A quick measurement showed a “just short” fish… a few quick snaps and this magnificently colored was quickly released. A Master Angler to fight again with a chance of being tagged next year with a 21”+ proportion.  

I finally left the bank tremendously satisfied. I love Fall Fishing for Small Mouth Bass!!

i ended up the evening bite with a Limit plus 1 in SMB... with (2) top tier trophy fish... all CPR'ed

the 1st and 2nd place fishes of the day!