In my last post I mentioned that we were preparing for another full night on the water. Here’s a quick update on how that trip panned out.

Joe V and I arrived at the lake at around 2:30 PM., launched the boat, and began scanning the lake in order to dial in my console sonar unit. We were fortunate enough to forgo the usual bait collecting rituals this week, having been given a well full of big goldfish that a friend scooped from a draining pond (thanks Justin).  A storm blew in on us shortly after we arrived and dumped steady rain for several hours straight. However, Joe did manage to get the HDS 7 looking and reading well by the time the storm had passed.

We chose our fishing location for the night at around 7:00 PM and promptly deployed baits. Our first fish of the night bit at 9:45 PM, a healthy 32 pound female.  This fish completely obliterated its goldfish meal, leaving only a smashed tail still impaled on my hook. This was a first for me. After a quick weight and a photo, she was released to grow up.

After this first fish swam off, the lake fell silent. Joe and I enjoyed some of the Perseid meteor shower through passing clouds, and eventually drifted off to sleep on the deck of the boat. All was still until around 3:30 AM when the sound of Joe’s penn clicking steadily woke us from our nap. Time to put the new rod to the test. This fish was smaller (around 15 pounds), but as our late friend Robby Robinson always said, any flathead is a good one. He was quickly released unharmed.  We settled back into our respective napping areas to try to catch a few more hours of sleep, but were again awakened by steady clicking.  Our third fish of the night bit at around 5:30 AM, and after an impressive display of close quarters combat another flathead met the net.  This fish weighed in at 30 pounds and some change, and was also released promptly after weight and a photo were taken.

Dawn came and the sun rose without another click. Ideal fishing conditions had shifted to drastically less ideal as the morning wore on, so we packed it in and trailered the boat.  Any night involving the capture of a reservoir flathead is a good one, so we were quite pleased with our three. Fishing should only continue to improve from this point on into the fall. We will be out regularly until our lakes go quiet for the winter, so updates of this kind will be posted as often as we can gather them.

Now, a bit more on the new rod I mentioned.  Joe picked up an American Spirit “Monster Cat Series” rod in the 7’9″ XH model, and it performed quite well.  Despite the photos of this rod online (showing a prototype made with cheaper components) the rod comes built with an aluminum down-locking reel seat, nickel colored stainless steel guides, and a unique but useful hook keeper design. Most of the blank is painted orange and black, with a high-vis chartreuse tip section. The s-glass/graphite composite blank responds much like the Bottom Dwellers Tackle Knockout edition rod under load, with a bit more play in the tip. Rated for 20-60 pound-test line and up to 16 ounces casting weight, this action is designed for trophy cats indeed. Here are a few shots of the components.

For a full description of the rod and ordering options for this and other models, check them out at catfishconnection.com.

 

Ironscale, out.