I pulled into the parking lot at Heidecke Lake around 3:00 pm for a couple hours of afternoon fishing since it wasn't looking likely I'd have another chance to get out this week. I was surprised to see an almost full parking lot. As far as fishing goes, I wasn't expecting too much since I never do very well at this lake when its sunny. On top of the bright sunshine, there was also very little wind keeping the lake almost like a sheet of glass.
Small Striped Bass
I ran to an area of the shoreline that did not have any other boaters around and began to beat the shore line pretty good. I saw a lot of Freshwater Drum cruising by, and even a few Common Carp getting ready to begin their spawning ritual. It took a while, but I eventually tied into and landed a small Striped Bass
A Real Nice WalleyeA short time later I had another fish on the end of the line. This one was much bigger and put up quite a fight. I had the net within reach and decided to use it once I saw that I had a good sized Walleye clamped onto my crank bait. I scooped him up, took a couple photos, and released him to fight another day.
A little Smallmouth Bass
A nice Musky
Shortly after I got to another spot that I wanted to try before I had to head back home, another good fish hit the crank bait. This time I knew I had a good fish on. It fought hard and made a few powerful runs before I got it close enough to see I had a good Musky on. I grabbed the net and quickly realized that the fish wasn't going to fit, and before I knew it, the lure got tangled in the net with the fish thrashing next to it. Luckily I was able to get my hand under the fish before he got away.
Released to fight again another day
After a few quick photos I lowered the Musky back into the water and he took off like a torpedo. I untangled the lure from the net, put everything away, and called it a day. So for not expecting much, it turned out to be a great outing. The water temp was 62 and the air warmed to 65.
Nice mixed bag! I've never seen a striper without stripes...is that common?
ReplyDeleteMaybe your next post can be focused on how to pronounce Heidecke
Hy-deck
Hey-deck
Hy-deck-a
Hey-deck-a
I'm just not sure. After that can you tackle Shabbona?
Bill were you using spincast or casting reels? I have found in colder water I sometimes get more hits using lighter line and smaller lures with a spincasst. ALl great looking fish for an afternoon trip.
ReplyDeleteGreat mixed bag for not expecting much. Well done.
ReplyDeleteTight lines
Pronounced Hi Deh Key
ReplyDeleteI was using Baitcasting and Spinning gear. There will be an algae bloom there soon and the visibility will go way down.
good on ya releasing those beautiful fishes...
ReplyDeleteBill, just chiming in here with the rest of your readers. What a great day when a couple of hours turns into an exciting time with several different fish species. That can't be easy to do.
ReplyDelete