Should I stay or should I go this am.? 20 mph from the West at Colchester reef at 6 am. and it was howling at the house in Essex. Looked at the Diamond data and it was a tale of two cities. 5-7 mph at Diamond. Game on!
Solo trip today just like a month ago only this time the lake was 10" higher. No one at the ramp but Super cab ahead of me going perchin. The trailer tires were at the end of the new ramp. Last month it was past that on the old ramp and the old concrete bars look like a train wreck at the end of the new ramp. No man's land. But the lake at 94.71 feet is a good thing. Need more rain still.
Had the motor just about out of the water as I made my way out for the first 200 yards or so. No problem. Starting setting up at 9:15 am. where I left off a month ago in deep water west of Garden Island. Screen was blank as the waves were about a foot setting up. The autopilot was keeping me at 190 degrees side ways to the west chop. I was seeing a good temp. break at 60 feet. 54 degrees. This is cool! Surface was 58 degrees.
Went over to Split Rock past the ball grabber down to the Unicorn and came back thru the Randy's Abyss. Wind really started kicking up now from the West about 18-20 mph and about 10:30 am I pulled em and ran right in front of the Essex Ferry turned south and set-up in a 6" chop with deep water and great protection. Marking very little as I ran 115 feet of water down the shoreline and back to Split.
By this time I had 3 stockies to show. ShayeD called to check in and then Todd. Well they brought me some luck. Hit a master angler Cisco with the tail squeezed for a precise measurement it hit 14" and 2 lbs on the IGFA certified Boga. It hit a Crazy Ivan "Army Truck". Gotta love that pattern.
Set back up and this time and then the rod parked at 60' ft with the probe. The rod pops as I hear some drag with a Bomb Pop. Hoping it's a good salmon, but it stopped running and there was the familiar concrete block at the other end. Remember that one I lost with Surprise on Feb. 1st this year on his boat? This one wasn't quite that big but it did tape out at 27" and 6 lbs. on the Boga and it was in the same spot where we lost the big block. Well after a slow effort at this point I was ok with a pre-spawn mature laker. Wind laid down again and finished the troll at 12:30 pm and scratched out a legal salmon on the bigger bomb pop.
For a windy day forecast up north on the main lake I was happy to get out and add 3 more hours to my meager 8 hours total on the water with the lines down for the past 3 months. Would have preferred to fish out of the Coast Guard station and zipped across to Willsboro but it is nice to get out and fish in the very fishable area near Converse. It has saved us dozens of times in the past 6 years to get out fishing. The Bomb Pop's continue to amaze me as I keep at least two in the water along with my fixed cheaters. Returned to 4 trailers at the launch with two of them showing Mass. plates.
Life is good!
Just a disclaimer for the ruler photo. 
