Opening Week 2021

[John Pensyl]

Well I managed to get out 5x this week for a total of 41 hours.  Mostly night trolling with 3 trips that extended into daylight for 2-4 hours jigging.   The bite has been tough, no real defined weeds yet and fish have been tough to dial in all week.  It doesn't help that the only fish who have dropped into the traditional haunts seem to be the big females, and all the space filler males and what little guys we do have must still be hanging on the banks.

Anyway opening day i launched at midnight.  I was running a cross current trolls over the shallow structure in the triangle at about 130am when my rod dumped hard in 10 fow.  Fish ripped really good and pinned the rod, picked it up and she felt great and then about 3 cranks in she pulled free.   That would've been too easy.  I fished hard until daylight, then dragged tubes in the fog until about I'm when I had to call it quits.  Day 1..  nata.

Day 2 I launch at 9pm with Mike fretthold.  We troll the traditional triangle structure until 1am when he had to get going.  Nothing to show for it.  I dropped him at the launch and headed back out.  I thought I was alone out there when around 330am my phone rings.  Its a "big fish" phone call from a NMA member known for big fish.  What he pulled out of the net was just that but ill let him tell the story at some point.  Im just happy I was there to see it.   I trolled out the darkness without a sniff rigged the casting rod with a tube at daybreak.   First drift I finally felt that all too familiar bite that has become far less familiar on the Niagara these days.  Thump, set, fish on.  I crank her to the boat at record speed and then remember im all alone and should probably get the net.  Sure enough while dragging her to the back of the boat she pops free.  Typical solo tube nonsense.  Solid 45 off and swimming healthy.  After 16 hrs ill call it a win.  Lol.  I stuck it out for 3 more hours with nata.  Day 2...  skunk again.

Sunday night I headed out solo for a quick trip to race the storms.  I worked a new area and found where all the tank walleyes were hiding.  I managed 2 giant 30" class eyes but no muskies.  I did get another phone call and get to take another photo of a beautiful fish for 1 of the newer members whos quickly becoming known for big fish magic out there.  We were both chased off by the storms around 1am.  Day 3..  skunk.  Im a photographer now.

I took Monday night off to get a few things done and headed out Tuesday night around 930 for another all nighter with Cullen.   I had grabbed something different off the bait wall hoping these old fish might react to something they hadn't seen.  I dropped down a 10" Kirby with a purple back and a chartreuse belly.  Far from my confidence colors but at this point confidence was scarce.  45 seconds after dropping the bait back my rod starts ripping drag straight out while on the outside of the turn.   Pick it up and it feels great, into the bag she goes and ive got a 47.5 to finally get my season started.  She releases strong and off I go working up the edge of the structure with cross current passes.  45 minutes later Cullen's rod dumps.  Into the bag goes a beat up low 40.  They are chewing....   We decided to slide back down to where the first fish ate and start the run over again.  I give cullen the wheel because he turns a bit different and runs at an angle harder into the current and sometimes that difference makes a difference.  1st turn and the kirby rod pins and starts screaming drag.  Like screaming like its bottom but going away at the same time.  One of my beast eats ever in the Niagara.  She surfaces way out and sharks right in cooperatively and then proceeds to go nuts at the back of the boat and get stuck in the rim of the back.  Cullen stayed cool and flipped her in right as she straightened the split ring and twisted the center hook right off of the bait and came free inside the bag.  Way too close for comfort but it all worked out.  I cut the hook out of the front of her face and bumped her at 49.5.  Looked at the photos later and noticed a moss covered tag.  I forgot to even look...  3 fish in less than 2 hours, now we are on em.   We trolled hard until daylight, dragged tubes until 9 without another sniff.  Good 2 hrs, followed by a long 9 hours.  

Went out again the next night hoping for more of the same.  I kept it short and was hoping sweet but a quick 4 hour trip from 10-2 didn't pay off.

So basically 39 hours of grind and 2 hours of great fishing.  I won't complain 1 bit.  Off to the larry for a week to increase the torture level.  Get out there crew, they are finally grown and waiting.  Go fish.

[Tony Scime]

Great report John. It's good to see that hard work and time on the water still pays off! Beautiful fish. Good luck at the Larry. I'll be at Chautauqua for a week chasing bluegills with the great-nieces and nephews. And maybe a little musky fishing in-between.

[jojo wilczewski]

Goodday brother
Nice work n report
Jojojealous

[John Jarosz]

Nice report. Ever yday out is a good day, just some days are gooder than others. Time on the H2O will do it everytime!

CONGRATS!!

[Scott McKee]

Bluegills, huh?  I think it was 2005. Me and a few of my idiots were on Pigeon staying at this terrible, awful business of a resort opening week.  There was a group of eight guys from Ohio who were also staying for the week.  Their four boats were the most pimped out, perfectly outfitted bluegill crushing machines ever.  They had electric anchors and trolling motors off the fore and aft.  Live wells everywhere.  Comfortable captain chairs.  Built in cricket cages.  A dedicated cooler for worms. Bait wells bursting with minnows.  They had more and varied bobbers than Jojo has baits.  G-loomis ultralight rods and Stradic 1000 reels.  These guys were serious about their bluegills and they kept everything.  They would fish for awhile and fillet for hours.  They crammed the lodge's chest freezer with more bluegills than there are in Silver Lake.  I don't think they slept.  We were coming back to camp around 3am and there they were filleting and freezing bluegills.  These eight guys had a powerful lust to slaughter bluegills. They were bluegill terminators.  I've never seen anything like it.  Thousands and thousands of bluegills gone in a week.  At every bluegill post office there is still a wanted poster of these guys. Bluegill public enemies number 1.  

Tony Scime said:

Great report John. It's good to see that hard work and time on the water still pays off! Beautiful fish. Good luck at the Larry. I'll be at Chautauqua for a week chasing bluegills with the great-nieces and nephews. And maybe a little musky fishing in-between.

[Tony Scime]

We practice blue gill catch and release. We might keep a fat perch or three.

[Louis M. Long]

Big fish is awesome 

[Jay Nannen]

John you repeatedly prove that persistence pays off.  Congratulations on putting some beautiful fish in the net.