First day at this lake, it was cold, it was windy, it was rainy cane pole action. Of course, I left the long one home and I needed it. Wind in my face, I only had my 9 foot telescopic which made for a long day.
I landed a batch of bluegills and a few small channel cats on my old graphite pole.
First time out 48 fish - a decent day. First day fishing in 2010 included hooking my own lip, nicking my little finger (think that was a baby channel cat spine) and getting soaked on the warm-water lake in Braidwood.
My craziest cane pole catch was this Japanese Koi on 3 lb. main line and 2 lb. leader with size 14 hook:
This fish made my cane pole creak and moan and my line was screaming, it was a miracle and a blast to land on a pole with no reel. I was hanging at the edge of the pond balanced on one leg reaching out as far as I could to keep the line from snapping.
My most recent cane pole catch was 157 fish in a post cold front condition with high winds. I really worked in that wind and cold to get the fish feeding.
Here are some highlights: 1st fish