Arrived at lake at 5:30AM. Took water temp. at 10', 65 degrees. Alone on pier. Lake was absolutely flat, with lots of fish rising. Amazing how many big fish were splashing on the surface, but nothing would touch my power bait! By 7:00, others began arriving. Friend Pete, then many more... Bill, Joe, Calvin, Shane & Sharon... The pier rotated 10-12 on and off, all morning long. A dozen more were fishing from the shore, just north of the pier. Saw maybe four boats launched by 9:00AM.
Fishing was pathetically poor until about 8:00AM when we got a flurry of action. First Pete caught one (he always gets the first one... might be the lucky gum he chews!)... then I caught one... some more bites... I lost a big one at the pier while trying to net it... some said Pete intentionally knocked it off!! At the time I lost it, it may have been 14"... but by the time I got home and told my wife about it, it was no less than 24". Anyway, by 9:00 the bite was off and no one had a bite again until I left at 11:00AM.
The several boats that returned before I left, all reported that fishing was slow... Lots of fish splashing, but few hits. I did try spin casting a few favorite spoon type lures, had a couple fish follow a Kastmaster to the pier, but no hits. What did seem to work for that brief period of time was a long leader (8' to 10') with fl. yellow or chartreuse power bait. Need the long leader to get the bait up off the bottom. Water seems to have become increasingly cloudy in the past couple of weeks... visibility is noticeably more limited.
Do need to give a shout out to friend Pete for catching a 4# triploid at Green Lake last week... congrats, my man!
Heard a depressing rumor that the city may tear out the fishing pier... with no plans to replace it??? Maybe just an ugly rumor?!!
(First pic is of Pete bringing one in!)

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