05/04/2000
- Article
A
Stable of Hotspots
By
Noel Vick
Timing
is everything. Great
efforts are made to greet peak snow goose migrations through North
Dakota; walleye forays up the Rainy River, and whitetail rut
throughout the Midwest. Timing
is also a function of coordinating spring fishing trips with
favorable weather, which of course is a rigorous task.
I
have a knack for bringing out the worst in meteorological
conditions. In fishing
circles, I’ve been referred to as the “Cold Front Kid” –
influxes of high pressure and plummeting temperatures make me their
Pied Piper. From a
waterfowling vantage point, when low sailing clouds, chill, and
misty air improve gunning, my mere presence has been known to
liquidate cloud cover and summon bluebird skies.
A
recent excursion produced another opportunity for me to decree
weather conditions.
The
phone rang late on a Tuesday evening.
My man, Griz, was searching for a fishing partner with camera
and pen. I bit. It had been too long since I last cast softwaters, and this
chance wasn’t going to slip by.
As
expected, the next day’s forecast called for blustery weather
complete with snow, squalls, and a stiff breeze – not the stuff
spring panfish outings are made of.
But the beauty of fishing with guys like Griz is their
diversity, diversity of destinations.
He first stoked up the notion of hitting the Mississippi at
Red Wing for walleyes and sauger, but Griz soon recanted when he
realized we’d be up against spawning fish.
His next suggestion was further upstream; closer to I-494,
where Griz believed backwater crappies and a few walleyes would be
willing. East and West
Rush Lakes came to mind, but conditions wouldn’t be in our favor
there either. Finally, Griz thumbed through his mental filing system and
came up with the Chisago Chain of Lakes.
Griz grew up fishing the chain.
His breadth of knowledge and experience angling Green, North
Center, South Center, and the other members is unmatched. Adverse conditions or not, Griz was confident we’d get into
panfish on these waters.
A
nearly vacant boat landing was indicative of the weather.
On this mid April afternoon temperatures ranged just above
the freezing mark and a southerly gale felt more like a northeaster
– there was no sweet smell of lilac in the air.
I
wondered how on earth we’d hook crappies and bluegills in this.
Griz remained confident.
He fired up the outboard and turned her south, into the wind.
What
to me seemed like a long boat ride, balled up and facing the
captain, concluded in a location that looked an awful lot like
dozens we’d passed since leaving the landing.
A nondescript shoreline point formed the lip of a shallow
bay, which covered 10-acres or so.
A nod of his uncapped head and gesture with his raw exposed
hands, and I scrambled to secure the anchor.
Griz
anchors often. He views
anchoring and casting as a lost art in the modern age of
electronics. Shallow-oriented
panfish are spooked by even slow moving watercraft.
In a perfect world, anchors are lowered off both the bow and
stern, thus eliminating pendulum-like boat swings.
Boat
position is a crucial component of still fishing. Griz situated the skiff so that our bow faced into the wind.
That way, we could cast up and away, allowing our
presentations to drift back parallel to the boat.
Griz says that lazily drifting and bobbing bait is both
natural and deadly.
As
I have since childhood, my first cast was unleashed hastily.
My rig hit the water while I fumbled with a pop bottle,
tackle box, anchor rope, camera, and recently tipped over coffee can
of minnows. Finally, I
got situated, looked up, and my bobber was going under… A firm snap of the rod tip and a half-pound crappie was at
boat side. Griz looked
over with a grin. He
knew the weather would lose on this day.
Time
to re-bait. My offering
consisted of a Rocket Bobber, greenish Northland Tackle Bob-A-Bit,
Berkley Power Nuggets, and a crappie minnow.
Rocket Bobbers are amazing panfish tools.
Adjusted properly, the two-tone (orange/yellow) float lays on
its side until a visitor arrives.
Light biters cause the spiked end to stand on end – time to
set the hook! Aggressive
ones can take it down like a traditional bobber.
Possibly its greatest merits are overall weight and
aerodynamic design. Despite
the Rocket Bobber’s sensitivity traits, it launches like a Patriot
Missile.
Vertically
hung Northland Glow Ants and horizontal Bob-A-Bits draw the ire of
springtime panfish. As
a bonus, I like threading a single Berkley Power Nugget (chartreuse)
up the hook shank before adding the real thing.
The bottled morsels add color, flavor, scent, and backup in
the event live bait is stripped from the hook.
Oftentimes, an initial strike rips the minnow or waxies off,
leaving you bait-less. But the cast can be salvaged if the bait-thief or another
fish strikes the remaining hunk of Power Bait.
Think about it…
Griz
chose wax worms while I opted for crappie minnows. The results were as expected.
He caught more fish and most of the bluegills. I smoked bigger crappies and a dozen or so largemouth bass,
which shared residency with the panfish.
Out-of-season bass commonly mingle with springtime pans –
put them back in a hurry.
Cast
after cast, fish after fish. Cold
conditions kept our quarry in 6 to 8-feet of water, just outside
desired feeding and spawning terrain.
Ugly weather dissuaded them from pressing shallower, but it
certainly didn’t suppress appetites.
Griz
works like a Texas oilrig. Cast,
tighten the line, let her float, bobber down, set the hook, fight,
catch, size it up, release, check bait, and cast again.
Keeping
a tight line is paramount to success.
Crosswinds endeavor to bow your line, especially on long
casts. It’s important
to constantly reel in slack line.
Many a fish is lost because someone set air instead of fish.
Speaking
of ripping lips, Griz lays into his fish with a stiff but sweeping
rod motion, employed by a lengthy Fenwick pole – 8’ 6” to be
exact. The frail-mouth
of a crappie or nimble lips on a bluegill demand a firm blow, but
not a jarring one.
Regionally,
panfishing prospects only improve as we enter May. Griz professes that crappies will remain active right through
spawn. At which time,
he searches out emerging bulrush beds, cattails, and submerged
timber – favorable breeding habitat for crappies.
Later, which constitutes the backside of May and early June
on metro waters, he hunts breeding bluegills over shallow sand and
gravel flats – reasonable proximity to soft bottoms is a favorable
trait. As always, take
it easy on crappies and sunfish while they’re busy making babies.
Griz
kept his eye to approaching cloud decks and wind shifts, and he
occasionally commented on changes.
Conditions were worsening.
Air temps were sliding – another crappie on the line.
Wind velocity spiked by at least 10 mph – Griz unhooked a
plump bluegill. Moisture
arrived in the form of an April snowstorm – a double.
Nothing it seemed could quell the bite.
An
hour or so of absorbing snowflakes, even while putting on a panfish
clinic, wears guys down. Jackets
fully saturated and dexterity waning to the point where threading a
minnow on became arduous, the consensus was to head in for a burger
and beverage.
The
silent and eerily falling snows whirled around the back bay.
Another wet snowflake stuck to my eyelid.
Griz turned to hurl a last cast into the whiteness while a
trio of Canada geese, undaunted by the wintry storm, winged and
competed to form a breeding pair.
Anchors
up. About face.
We hit the main lake with gusts to our back, but the
afternoon’s deteriorating weather made the boat ride more
miserable than before. Griz
shielded his view with a snow blocking open hand – my guide looked
like he was heading out for February walleyes on the river.
Even
the hardiest souls, or foolish fishermen, have rivals.
On this day, the mighty Griz motored back to the landing
while a ragtag, but youthful crew struggled to launch their
14-footer on icy concrete. Griz
shook his head while the snowmobile suit clad voyageurs embarked
into the whiteout. I
bet that a few decades ago my trustworthy captain was one of those
boys. It’s good to
know that there are young Griz’s coming down the pipeline…
Editor’s
note:
You can book a trip with the legendary Griz (Dick Gryzwinski) by
calling (651) 771-6231. Currently,
he has openings for walleye and perch trips on Lake Winnibigoshish
(May & June), multi-species fishing on the St. Croix River
(May), walleye and perch fishing on Mille Lacs (June, July, and
August), and trophy bass fishing on the Chisago Chain of Lakes (late
June, July, and August). And
trust me, Griz is result oriented…
|
