Fisherpete Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Went out for a day of panfishing with Nick, my 11 year old fisher-in-training. He had been bugging me for days to get out, which is odd, I am usually the one pestering him to join me on my excursions... I guess he had a notion that today would be a good day, and he was right... Target species for the day : crappies. We got on the water around 1pm, and I happily noticed that the water temps had raised dramatically since last week (went from 42F to 56F) We immediately hit a school of huge sunfish. These things were awesome, both in size and in scrappiness. A few of them were actually the biggest sunnies I have ever caught... including one at 10" and one at 9.75", and so many over 9" that Nick and I lost count. Over the next six hours we boated over 400, and kept a few dozen of the best of the best for the pan. Anything tipped with a nub of worm would get destroyed within 5 seconds of splashdown. Sooo much fun on the ultralight gear! So what about the target species crappie? Only two smallish ones were caught during the entire bluegill bonanza... oh well, can't complain! On our way back to the launch, with darkness setting in, I decided to try a few casts at a dock that has held crappie in years past... and was immediately rewarded with a nice sized gold and black treat! Next cast... my tube jig gets SMASHED, and I fight what is the biggest crappie I have ever seen to just out of nets reach - splashing and thrashing and then he is off, I was in too much of a rush and horsed it a bit, straightening the damn hook... arrrggghhh!!! I would estimate it at 14" and over 2 lbs... After I finished cursing myself, and my heart rate slowed down, I continued to pepper the dock with casts, and caught good sized crappie steady for the next hour and a half. The second last fish of the night was another biggun' - this time I took it easy during the fight, and Nick stood on guard with the net ready... SCOOP! 12.75" and thick! Beats my previous PB crappie by 2 inches! And an upgrade for Team One Rippin' Weeds panfish category, with 2 bonus OFAH inches to boot. Well, the worst part is now done (2 hours to fillet all those tasty fishies), but I have a great fish fry to look forward to tomorrow... turned out to be my best sunfish and crappie day ever, and Nick and I both had an absolute blast. So glad I took that "One last cast" today!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alphaalpha Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 nice work, always great when you have a young one with you and you get into that amount of fish. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvette1 Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 nice haul of panfish congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Good shootin' Pete! Don't you just love when everything just comes together like that? I'm sure the youngster will be talking about his outing for a while to come. Congrats to you both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmer Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Those are some of the biggest pumpkinseeds that I have ever seen. Great report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Shirley Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Very nice day out with your kid. He'll remember it for a long time. WTG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 nice haul on all those fish. what time is dinner ? ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinnerbaitking Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Great Day on the water if you ask me, congrats Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackal68 Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 I hope you dont mind my asking But where did you score that BONANZA. Its great when you're with the kids eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassman87 Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 are you sure the one that got away wasnt 3 lbs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskeybugged Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Should have used the cradle on the 4 lb'er!! Nice haul anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Ill bet the young fella was worn out, but will be begging for a next time reel soon. Yay Team 1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherpete Posted April 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 (edited) Oh skeeeeeeeeeeeeter!!! Dinner is ready! Mmmmmmm.... so tasty! And riverfisher, I think you may be right... the big one that I lost may have even pushed 5 lbs lmao! Seriously though, it was a tank, but I guess we will never know for sure... until I catch him later this week... Edited April 7, 2010 by Fisherpete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stern Rules Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Seeing those crappies just makes me drool. Good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC1OZ Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Looks like fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehg Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 HaHa great post, the sunfish/bluegills are way scrappier than crappies. Lots of times they are together at this time of year and you could always tell a bluegill when it hit the tube, kinda like a litle bass. The crappie fight like wet socks in comparison. The filleting of the fish is the least fun but eating them can't be beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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