CTFishTalk.com: Mohawk Pond today (5-27) - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

Mr.Cranky · Joined: 26 May 2012 Posts: 57

1st time on the water there this year. I had perch and bluegill on my mind as I'm not much of a trout enthusiast but will keep one if I catch one. Had the portable Humminbird hooked up to learn the layout and contours of the pond.Got on the water about 11:30 AM. I followed the shoreline off to the right of the boat ramp, out toward the little rock island there. Anchored in about 12' of water to cast in to the shallower stuff. Boated a small 'gill, then foul hooked another somehow; both were returned. Fish finder beeped with a bigger fish symbol under the boat. I quickly reeled in and dropped the lead head jig with a 2" twist tail grub down to the approximate depth and jigged it a bit and bingo, fish on. Stayed deep, long runs to the side, not your typical sunfish type fight, nor a bass heading up to the surface to shake things loose. I'll be darned if it wasn't a rainbow, 14" it turns out. 1st one I've caught in probably 40 years (since I was a kid). Put him in the cooler for eating tomorrow. Spent the rest of the afternoon (until 3PM) working the drop offs and shallow waters. Ended up with 5 big bluegills, 2 perch about 11" or so and the rainbow. Toward the end of my time there, I went in real close to the edge, like 2-4' out and hooked and landed a number of LM bass, only one of legal length and him just barely; could have gone either way so back he went.

Nobody else on the water when I got there but lots of swimmers and kayaker's when I left. All in all, a great way to spend a few hours on this holiday weekend.

Trout for lunch tomorrow! Ken
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Nice job on a too sunny day, Ken! Very Happy

Stocked trout are dumb fish. Chain pickerel are almost as dumb, but they're a lot more fun to catch. But, hey, at least you get to eat your dumb catch! Laughing

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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

Mr.Cranky · Joined: 26 May 2012 Posts: 57

I did hook one pickerel, I'd guess 10-12" long, he spit the hook just as I got him to the side of the boat, thank goodness. The good Lord put too much slime coating on that species, in my opinion.

But you're right, they are fun to catch, though.
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Fishing brings out the kid in all of us

Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

Nice job on your first day out!

I find pickerel to be a very fun fish, esp for how aggressive they are and the fight they put up.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Yeah, Michael, I guess that I really meant "aggressive" when I said "dumb". Laughing

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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

rxpxtx · Joined: 06 May 2012 Posts: 259

Pickerel arent exactly stupid...they're just kind of like that skinny kid in high school who's eyes look off in two different directions, has two beers, and all of a sudden whacks the football captain in the kisser. Your like, really??.... my frog was 2 feet from the boat you psycho. I love catching them. I hate shredding new rubber on the first cast. The honey badger of the lilly pads. Now stocked trout are just plain hung over. I dont even know how they survive (lake) I dont own a bread ball, red ball, red egg or what ever else those f-tards eat. Im thinking of putting a Merc Black Max on my canoe with outriggers and trolling bunker trebles at 40 mph across cedar lake. If I cant get a trout, maybe a nice 60lb kid from Camp Hazen would grill up nicely.
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Dave..... I can be a pain in the bass.

anointed130 · Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 4:13 pm Post subject:

How did your portable fishfinder workout for you, i just got a piranha 150, still getting use to reading the fish, looks like your doing well. I initially got the humminbird fishing buddy which was a total bust for the kayak.
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"Come after Me, and i will make you to become fishers of men"

Can i be a fisher of fish too?

~Tony~

Mr.Cranky · Joined: 26 May 2012 Posts: 57

Anointed, I like it very much; just need to figure out exactly how to run the thing. I have a Humminbird 571 DI portable. I looked hard at the Piranha 230 before settling on this one. I have an older portable thats probably 15 years old that I upgraded from with this unit. It still works but I wanted more power and a wider swath of bottom viewed. It was only a 16 degree beam. I just can't get a handle on which beam is the best choice for my style and depth of fishing. The one beam is 20 degrees wide which equals a view of about 1/3 of your depth. The other is much wider and should be just about equal to your depth. But I can't get it clear in my head which setting on which view (there's a bunch of options there, too) I should be using. I love being able to view the bottom structure and contours and it seems to pick up fish alerts quite well. I have sensitivity set close to the top. I expect most of my depths to be 30' and under and I prefer to have that thing beeping on stuff that is hiding in the weeds. I've looked at all the videos on Youtube; most are for the side imaging and not the downward imaging. The owners manual is clear as mud, at least to me and I'm not an unintelligent man. I'd love to have an experienced user point out to me the best options. I'm hoping that more time spent fussing with it on the water will gain me some ground.

For my fishing, I'm hoping to zero in on groups of fish rather than individuals. It does, however, quickly eliminate those areas of the lake that aren't worth working over.
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Fishing brings out the kid in all of us

anointed130 · Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 5:53 pm Post subject:

Ditto to eveything you said, the manual does not give a lot clarity at all. My fish alert goes off a lot but I have not been able to pinpoint which area its seeing the fish. How does your model perform in less than 4 ft of water?
_________________
"Come after Me, and i will make you to become fishers of men"

Can i be a fisher of fish too?

~Tony~

Mr.Cranky · Joined: 26 May 2012 Posts: 57

To be honest, I seldom pay attention to it in that depth water; I'm seldom that close. I have the depth alarm set at 2', but I'm usually out in a bit deeper water casting in to the shallower waters. If I do plan on spending any time in water less than 5', I'll slide the transducer up out of the water and turn the unit off. I don't want to get it tangled in weeds and stuff.
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Fishing brings out the kid in all of us