Pre-Fish Little Boy/Wabedo

11:00AM-1:30PM Little Boy
46-48℉, MC, 3-7mph  NW S E

We headed up to the NW corner of the lake just north of the Camp in the reeds. The very first thing to happen was the screw that held the trolling motor handle in place fell out.  I didn't think anything of it thinking it was a simple fix. As it was we were limited to full speed or nothing. We worked our way South for maybe a hundred feet or so and then stared back to the north. We came to a spot that just looked prime where the cattails and reeds met and sure enough, Bill pulled a two-pounder out of it on a jig. We then went out and worked in some of the deeper reeds and Bill got a 3lber out there on a Yabbie. We came on by shore and I got a bite on a craw tube that didn't hook up. We went back out to the deeper reeds and I missed a bite out there on a Hack Attack Jig. The shallow rice and pads had nothing going on.

We then went to the North end to try a few docks and the outlet area. I thought it was an inlet, but Bill told me the water flows out which makes sense as the Boy River flows to the North. Bill had a 3lber jump him off under the dock where I caught my lunker the last tournament out. The reeds in this area and basically everywhere we fished weren't nearly as thick as the last time we fished the lake. It looked like we were going to get some rain, so we headed back to get Bill's rain gear at 1:30 or so. When we got back Bill had to call Bruce to find out what he did with the keys. Bruce had left them in the cabin. Bruce wasn't that far away, so he volunteered to get them. I learned a knot from Bill while we were waiting. Because Bruce was there we pulled the boat out so he could fix the handle on the trolling motor. The mechanical aptitude to take it apart and put it back together correctly was shocking to me. Bruce and Bill eventually got it figured out, but then the troller didn't work at all, no power.  It was now coming up at 4PM and I was chilled so I called it a day.

Although the day was short I learned some valuable lessons. The water is more tannic than I remembered for one. And the difficulty of catching fish behind Bill is another. This will be my fourth Tournament with Bill as my boater. The last two have been disasters with 1 fish on Mission and 3 fish on Pokegama. If the fish aren't jumping in the boat I am going to need to bring my A-game.