Saturday, April 4th, 2009
Wow! Now that was cold! The tournament started just after daybreak. It was very windy from the east with sporadic rain. I was layered instead of neoprene today. Except for the feet where I wore neoprene booties. BIG MISTAKE! My feet have never been so cold! I went through 4 pairs of gloves and 3 handwarmers. The neoprene gloves worked the best. Now for the fishing report.
Right after I launched I paddled to one of my favorite spots on the lake. I got two channels in the first 45 minutes. There was a lull in the wind as it was changing from East to NE bringing with it much colder air and ice crystals that stung when they hit my face. I was even wearing a boony over my stocking cap! Then NOTHING! Nobody was catching fish as I found this out when checking in my catch. After that first hour the fish just shut down. I was the only kayak. There were many boats and a lot of those teams did not get a fish at all. I figure I finished in the top five or six as I left before the awards because of the intense blizzard introducing itself. The roads were not iced over yet but soon would be. I used Shad Gizzards today for bait on a carolina rig with a “no flip” sinker and circle hook. I put a large bead above the swivel as well. It was fun being out there as this was quite a challenge. Some things I must improve! Fix my livewell! My aerator went out so I had to use a cage. Also, I’ve got to find the solution for cold feet! Once they got cold I was screwed. I even changed to my gortex shoes with thick socks about 3 hours later. I should have used my fish finder as the cats were in 5-15 feet of water and I couldn’t tell at times. My plastic covered chain link drag anchor worked well with a perfect drift speed.
I wish there were more kayak tournaments close by so we could participate. It’s a lot of fun!
