CTFishTalk.com: Winchester Lake 10/21 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

When I typed the Subject for this post, I mistyped it as Windcheater Lake, which was apropos, considering the conditions we endured today. By "we", I mean Redneckangler (aka Brian), DCAJ (aka Dave), bass tracker (aka Greg), Bill, x182dan (aka Dan), Derek, NWDarkcloud (aka Bob) and mep21 (aka Mark). Ironically, we were all who showed up for the CTFishFinder Fall get together and we're all mostly CTFishTalk guys. Wink

SeaDog1 (aka Stephen) made a special appearance and saw us off at the ramp when we launched into the already windblown lake at 8:00 am:

We had a largemouth bass lunker pool and fished from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. The air temperature stayed in the low to mid 50s and we enjoyed mostly sunny skies all day. The water temperature ranged from 52 to 55 degrees and the water was crystal clear. During the rare moments of calm water, you could see the bottom of the lake very clearly more than six feet down. It would have been a really nice day for fishing, except for the wind. Confused

The forecast I saw predicted winds up to 11 miles per hour. If only! Rolling Eyes

By 9:00 am, the five to 10 mile per hour north-northwest wind rose up and began blowing at 15 to 20 miles per hour, with gusts over 20! Shocked

Yeap, we all got chilled pretty quickly; I ended up putting on my rain gear just to keep warm. I threw a jig & pig, a wacky rigged five inch Senko, various spinnerbaits, a five inch slow sinking Sebile Magic Swimmer, a Texas rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hog and various Rapala crankbaits, and got only one bite all day. It was 1:00 pm and I had reached that moment when I thought, "I don't want to get skunked. Please let me catch just one fish." Now, something I learned today is that when you ask the fishing gods for a fish, you should be specific about the fish you want. If you don't ask for a BIG fish, this is what you get:

Thank goodness for the Perch Rapala Jointed Shad Rap JSR07! Very Happy

As 2:00 pm approached, I let the wind push me down the lake to the ramp:

When I got close to the ramp, I saw Brian in his boat, Dan and Derek in theirs, Bob and Mark in theirs, and Greg and Bill in theirs. I looked around, but didn't see any sign of Dave. Confused

That's when Bob told me that JJay (aka Jason) had shown up with his girl for a short paddle in their kayaks in the middle of the day, just as Dave gave up his fight with the wind and headed off of the water. When the rest of us got our boats off of the water at 2:00 pm, I learned that we had caught only eight fish between us. Confused

Greg still had his in the livewell of his boat:

Brian had managed four, only one of which might have been a keeper. Bob had caught a 12 inch keeper, but was the only one of us who wasn't in the pool. However, the winner of the lunker pool was Dan, who had caught two fish, the largest of which was just over 15 inches long. Congratulations, Dan! Very Happy

After we had all strapped our boats onto their trailers and stowed our gear, we headed up to the parking lot, grilled up some burgers and dogs, and had something to eat and drink. Here are the other seven hard core open water fishermen:

It was really nice to meet some of you for the first time and to see everyone. Even you, Bob! Laughing

I'm already looking forward to doing this, again, in the Spring. Hopefully, it'll be warmer by then. Laughing

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Redneckangler · Joined: 05 May 2012 Posts: 851 Location: Meriden, CT

Nice to see some real faces! A fun day but tough fishing. Went the first 4+ hours without a fish! I started throwing Sebile swimmers all the way up the west side and both coves looking for pike. No luck. One turned away at the boat and that was it. Threw various colored jigs and crankbaits in the stumps. Motored into the thickest stumps and tied up. Went to a gold willow leaf spinner with a pearl baby shad body and had two quick hits. Moved and picked up two more dinks. Then I threw away my spinner. Only one I had in that pattern.
A couple of slobs!

And a keeper? Maybe if I stretched it out good.

Looking forward to another get together in the spring. Hope to see of you still out there this fall!
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SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi,

Glad to have met you guys !
Wish I could have joined you, but had to pick up the wife at the airport.

Yeah! Windy day -> BUT

Best regards,
SeaDog1 Mr. Green

x182dan · Joined: 19 Mar 2009 Posts: 329 Location: Seymour, CT

Nice meet all you guys!!! Really wish the wind slowed down but that never happened it seemed until we were off the water. It was a tough day for me with only two fish which was which were my only two hits of the day. I really couldn't fish the stumps like I wanted to with the horrible wind. Both were caught on jigs sitting on the bottom. Lost a few jigs too. Hopefully we will have another gathering in the spring! Heres the winner!

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Never Stop Learning

DCAJ · Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Posts: 76 Location: Berlin, CT

Sorry I couldn't stick around.

The waves were getting too rough for my open kayak. It just wasn't too safe for me to stay out there.

I was going to cruise up to Bob and Mark and let them know that I was heading back but it was too choppy so I just started letting the wind take me back towards the landing.

Still had a good time, nice meeting everyone and wouldn't mind doing it again.

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Rough day out there but I wish I could have joined you. Hopefully I'll be able to make it in the spring. Or maybe and ICE outing at some point this winter?

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

DCAJ · Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Posts: 76 Location: Berlin, CT

NWDarkcloud · Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 474

Definatly a good time hooking up with the gang .......
Rough day of fishing.the only way we could work a lure was to tie up to a stump fish the area and move to the next one.
Mark (Mep21) and I finaly had to make the move south when we started dragging stumps with us as the gust picked up to over 20mph. The wind made boat control and safety a issue , in a boat like mine with 18inches of side board showing it was like sailing . The stump tops vanished in the chop made moveing around under power a little iffy, we even managed to high end ourself 1x on a stump for a minute Embarassed

(think RNA said he did also).
The man powered boats it was bordering dangerous when you factor in water temp , windchill and the hidden stump tops. Luckly the day passed without issue. I for one had a great time Thumbs Up

The single thing that impressed me the most about you all that attended:

This is a safety minded group and all kept a eye on each other. Help was never more than a minute away if needed and not a single team docked before all members where accounted for. DCAJ who couldnt stick the wind and had to bail didnt just book out before he checked in with a group member to let us know he was safe.

Thanks to Mark for draggng his grill down to the lake and the rest who supplied the food and drinks. Hope to fish with you all again soon ..........
And for those who coundnt make it this time. I would keep a eye on the forum and really try to make the next gathering its a great time
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I Love to fish......Not a big fan of sitting in the boat alone ....the Conversation and the company make it perfect

bass tracker · Joined: 17 May 2012 Posts: 84

Opps, mis-spelled Winchester... well not really!
Boy was it a tough day out there. The wind was really the difference between a decent day and what we had. At one point the wind pushed us so hard into a stump it almost knocked me off the boat. I went from standing to sitting real fast. But it was great to finally put a face to a name, enjoyed meeting and fishing with everyone. And thanks to all who brought the dogs & burgers (and grill), hit the spot after being in the cold for six hours. We will have to do this again, weather permitting. Maybe next year we could do something once a month, say May thru October? Well lots of time to think it over.

Greg

p.s. - just saw the weather forcast, next Saturday looks good, anyone want to do it again somewhere?

mep21 · Joined: 01 Mar 2011 Posts: 65 Location: West Hartford, CT

Nice meeting all of you on Sunday! Really a great all around event.

Much thanks to Bob for letting me take the front seat of his boat. Really didn't want to paddle in that wind! Shocked

I definitely plan on getting out this weekend to get rid of that skunk I posted on Sunday. Let me know if something is going on and I might be up for joining the group again.

getthosestripes · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 8:13 pm Post subject:

so did u guys have like somekind of like fishing party or something? i dont feel like reading anything right now. my eyes hurt.
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

NWDarkcloud · Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 474

for those who didnt make it for the fishing get together....this is what a 11mph wind looks like (weathermans allways right Shocked

)

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I Love to fish......Not a big fan of sitting in the boat alone ....the Conversation and the company make it perfect

jjbassfishn · Joined: 17 Jun 2012 Posts: 209 Location: Northwestern CT.

My son and I though about going. We saw Sunday's forcast(breezy=WINDY at winchester) so We fished highland Saturday instead. Got to get some warmer gear. My son out grows it faster than I can afford it lately.

Glad you all had a good time. Surprised no pike were caught?
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PB LMB 9.3LBS Winchester Lake
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PB Pike 3.85LBS Winchester Lake

Can't catch em sittin on the sofa! Wink