Skunked!

I skunked out harder than I have ever skunked before yesterday.

I started at about 9 AM (I tried to get out sooner, but work prevented me) at the same lake I caught the crappie and catfish that spined me.  Expecting similar results, I was pretty displeased with the tremendous lack of success.  I'm blaming the weather.  It was freezing and the wind made casting a serious pain.  I tried to use it to my advantage, but I don't think I have the mad skills.  Banking in the cold and wind kinda sucks.

I got three bites over the course of that trip - all crappie I believe.  Makes sense, considering what I was fishing with.  The first one let go after the first grab.  The second one put up a fight for a bit, jumping out of the water halfway in and DROPPING OFF THE HOOK.  Yay, barbless.  The third was a pull and release, just like the first.  I just can't set in those guys.  Everything else, but not them.

I moved on to fish the pond I caught the bass in for the afternoon and into the early evening.  It's small and has a great variety in cover, shade, sun, and depth, so I thought surely I could find something that wanted to bite.  I started at one end (since last time I only got to fish two spots) and worked my way ALL THE WAY AROUND.  Nothing.  I spotted one fish, but couldn't get it to bite, and got a few nibbles from something that couldn't get its mouth around my hook.

It chewed off the tail of my lure.

At least no one else out there caught anything.

Finally I fished for an hour or two back at the lake again after dark, since the wind had calmed down, the water had had time to warm, and, well, why not give it one more shot?

This time, not so much as a bite.  That might have been attributed to my inability to cast further than 15 feet due to the cat behind me that hung out with us the whole time.  Actually, we still have her.  Hoping to figure out where she belongs by the end of the weekend.

...I caught the wrong sort of cat.
-CC