Falls/Beaverdam - 4/18 (kayak)

[Jeffonc]

With ogrefish covering this morning, and Lefty heading out tomorrow morning, I figured I'd take the evening shift at Beaverdam tonight. Launched at Old Weaver around 6pm and found it 'hopping'. Probably 2 dozen folks bank fishing, a rowboat launching as I launched, a touring yak coming in as I was headed out and a square-end canoe came back in with me. Water level is a little high - just up onto the lower lane of the road that separates the pond from the road, but not covering the road all the way. Perfect kayak launching. Great weather. Full moon. Now to find some fish and complete the slam....

I crossed the lake and headed for the deeper wall toward the bridge. Rowboat crossed and headed into the big bay directly across from the Old Weaver launch. Thought I would work my way upstream toward the creek channel and the little bay right by the bridge. Absolutely dead over there until dusk when the baitfish and the small white bass started moving. I had tried a shakey head, shad raps and the king shad with no takers at all.

Headed to the riprap by the bridge and tied on a horny toad. First cast = first topwater fish of the year. Very fat 2lber. Couldn't decide if it was a young female full of eggs or a happy little shad-vacuum.

(welcome back to the infamous foot-cam!)

Worked my way down the Old Weaver riprap and got a 2nd one - definitely a male and definitely working his tail on a bed.

(camera pulled a lot more light in than there really was, but the one with flash made it look like midnight).

That was the last fish of the evening.

Made a moonlight paddle back to the launch area...

Moon shot

Tower Shot
(across the lake from the launch - cell tower or something)

The launch was awash in lighted bobbers and lanterns, which was pretty cool.

I talked to the rowboat guy on my way back and he had caught a good 4lb+ bass back in the bay, and 2 more smaller fish over toward Old Weaver. Canoe guy had a slow night on the crappies - 1 decent one and a couple of the little white bass. Not much catching going on at the bridge or back at the launch.