Fishing with Benji, Keith, and Max 8/25/17

We headed north out of the harbor, and set up west of Gull in 34 foot of water. We were after some striped gold today, an we found them on the first spot. The size was very good, and my crew was starting to get the hang of it.  Then, I heard...."SNAP", and I turned around to see that one of the new Denali perch rods had snapped in two when Benji set the hook. I was pissed (not at Benji, but at the stupid rod). This was the second Denali perch rod to do that in just a couple of months!  

I had forgotten to put the extra rod in the boat, like I kept telling myself to do since the last one broke, so I did the only thing I could do, and that was to give my rod to Benji to use. 

Now, this is not just any old rod, this is a Fenwick Ultra Light that I have used since 1989 to catch bluegills and perch on. It used to be a 6' rod, but back in the early 90's, while fishing on the lake my parents live on, I broke a foot off of the tip when a giant Dog Fish chomped on the bluegill I was reeling in.  So, it's been a 5' ultra light since then, and never broke again.  So, I'm always a little leary to give away my "good luck" rod to a customer. lol

I had resigned myself to sitting this one out, and Benji said, "Here you keep fishing", as he tried to hand me the rod. I said, "No, no way...this is your trip. You keep fishing. I'm good".  As I sat there watching them all though, I got the idea to just fish with the broken rod tip and some line tied to it.  I tied the Skipper 9 rig on and the weight, and tossed it over the side to let just the right amount of line out, and then ran it through several guides, and tied it off. This way, I could still hold the line on my finger and feel the bite, just like I normally do.

It worked. I caught fish by setting the hook, tossing the rod tip down on the storage compartment, and then handlining the fish in the boat.  I think I caught 15 or more that way, and had fun doing it. Well, fun until the wind would blow that 30 pound Power Pro and tangle me up, and I would have to spend 5 minutes untangling things.

Anyhoooo...it all worked out in the end. They caught bunches...only 3 short of their 3 man limit, and everyone had a good time.  The bite was the best I've experienced in the past two weeks, so maybe this cooler weather is helping with the bite a little. The bites were definitely stronger, and not as light as the previous trips out.  I'm hoping they remain there for the weekend. I have two more perch trips tomorrow and Sunday, and would like to limit out for a change. :)

We shall see....

Tomorrow I fish with Ryan Faulk and his Dad (I think it's his Dad? I can't remember), and we'll be launching out of Catawba, simply because they are staying at Beach Cliff, which is right down the road, so that's more convenient for them, and it makes no difference to me if we launch there or out of Mazurik's.

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls