Sometimes a fishing trip is simply perfect. The weather cooperates. The fish hold to a pattern. Your gear works flawlessly. Even your casts just seem to land right where you envisioned them in your head.
This weekend was not one of those trips. Slow fishing, a broken rod and a fried deep-cycle battery made for an expensive and frustrating weekend.
Overcast skies on Saturday morning made perfect conditions for spinnerbaits and stickbaits. Within the first 20 minutes my buddy John hooked into this nice northern pike in about 20 fow using a Jr. Thunderstick. We were back on familiar waters on Badger Lake at Lost Lake Woods Club near Alpena, MI.
A big fish right off the bat is usually a jinx for the rest of the day. We proved this theory correct. We fished for another 3.5 hours only landing 8 more fish. Most of them were hammer-handle pike. This decent northern destroyed my spinnerbait in about 15 fow. It swallowed the hook so we had him for dinner. (Visit the “videos” tab for a quick video about filleting pike)
We tried more spinnerbaits, jigs, brushhogs, wacky-rigged Senkos and crankbaits but couldn’t find another big fish. Brandon, John’s brother-in-law, did manage to land this chunky bass using a top-water popper along the edge of some deep lilly pads. Click the picture for a video of this bass being landed.
The battery was drained from running the trolling motor most of the day. I attached the charger for the evening and went to bed. The next morning the battery was fried. It had a slight charge so we headed back out on the water. One bass and a few more small pike were all we had to show for another 3+ hours of fishing. On the way back to the dock I hooked a small pike. As soon as he got into the boat he freaked out and snapped the rod tip.
I had enough. Time to pack up and head home.
In addition to a new battery I’m going to get a trickle charger called the Battery Tender. For about $50 on ebay this charger will ensure no more fried batteries. And now I have another excuse to head to Bass Pro Shops for a new 7 foot medium heavy action spinning rod.
All things considered I still had a good time. The highlight of the weekend was Branden diving for his lost spud. Here’s a video documenting the snorkeling trip.
Hunt Ducks Hook Fish 
Good looking snot rockets….might have to sneak the Triton past those red and white posts some nite!
Posted by angling obsession | August 4, 2010, 4:29 pm