A GPS isn't enough to keep boaters safe in a heavy fog

[Spiel]

A GPS isn't enough to keep boaters safe in a heavy fog

 

 

Sept. 25, 2009

TERRY CURTIS / www.northumberlandtoday.com

 

 

 

Off and on. On and off. That's how the fishing is the last week or so in our neck of the woods and there's not much we can do about it until we get some consistent cold nights where the thermometer drops below the freezing mark.

 

We need the cold, frosty weather to convince the bass and walleye to put the feed bag on for the duration of the fall season and nothing sets them off like the first really heavy frosts of the year that prompt the frogs to head from the grass and reeds down to the shallow water edges where they begin to bury themselves in the mud for the upcoming winter season where they hibernate until spring.

 

These migrating frogs make perfect snacks for shallow-water fish and you can rest assured a lot of them get gobbled up as soon as they hit the water. Those sneaky walleye, especially, will be cruising the shallows in anticipation of some early evening dinners as soon as we get the weather we need to get the frogs moving.

 

That said, though, I'm not saying the bass and walleye have really shut down with a complete case of lockjaw.

 

We had a few cool nights with a nip or two of the much needed frost and the fish were stating to hit pretty good. Then, in came some hot, humid weather patterns that shut them down somewhat.

 

But that doesn't mean they quit biting altogether. No siree! It just means you have to work a little harder to get them to take a slam at your bait of choice.

 

A couple of hints?

 

If you are throwing a buck-tail jig for walleye, don't rip it quickly through the water.

 

Hop it and pop it at a slower, lazier rate than you would in the spring when the fish are very active. Let it lie on bottom before you start to retrieve it back to the boat. And watch your line closely for any little twitches or hops. Some of the bites you think may be panfish are actually walleye. They aren't smoking the jigs right now, just feeling them out very cautiously and it's easy to miss them.

 

Throwing a crankbait for bass or walleye right now!

 

Shame on you if you aren't!

 

Smallies, largemouth and walleye are all hitting them, although very softly.

 

Perch or craw patterns are tops without a doubt. Lures that have a very wiggly pattern like a Rapala Tail Dancer in the green hue are one of my top choices at this time of year for walleye. For bass, oversized, fat wide body cranks are without the way to go.

 

Crankbaits aside, don't forget plastic tube baits and slashbaits for bass, either.

 

They always take their share of bass at this time of year and can be deadly on frosty mornings when the fog is lifting from the water, especially the slashbaits.

 

Just remember to fish them a little slower than you would in the summer, just as I said about the hair jigs.

 

And speaking of fog, here's a little reminder to all boaters.

 

One day this week I was at the boat launch at 7 a. m., ready to hit the water for some walleye but it was so foggy I couldn't see 15 feet off shore.

 

So I sat there and talked to several other anglers who also knew it was too dangerous to venture out until the fog lifted.

 

These were the smart anglers.

 

But, as always, there were a couple of knuckleheads who hit the water anyway, saying they would use their GPS units to guide them too their spots.

 

Unbelievably, they actually took off full throttle from the launch! Not even idling out, full bore!

 

This in the thickest fog I've ever encountered on Rice Lake. I know that lake inside-out and I wouldn't even think about leaving the docks. Keep in mind, the visibility window was, at most, 15 feet.

 

Any idiot can follow the arrow on a GPS unit to get to their fishing area, but what if some other boater was stuck in the fog that quickly moved in and was in their path? Or a dock had busted loose from its mooring or a log had floated into their travelway? No GPS unit in the world could relay that information quickly enough to prevent an accident.

 

What disturbed me more was the fact two of the boaters who took off at full speed were tournament anglers, guys who are supposed to set an example for other boaters and know better.

 

One in particular has done very well in tournaments and I used to think he was a pretty smart guy.

 

Not anymore.

 

A swelled head means a swelled ego and he sure proved it. The sponsorship for a tackle company he asked me to endorse for him? Gone!

 

It's idiots such as that guy who give the rest of safe boaters a bad name and are the cause of the useless, money-grabbing boater's licence we're all required to carry now.

 

Use your head out there! No fish is worth your life or, even worse, someone else's -- is it?