After reading through a few weeks of last years posts I decided to heck with the wind, I'm going! So I rolled on down to Shenandoah again to see what I could do. Arrived a few minutes past three and walked to my favorite starting spot enjoying a raucous softball game as I passed
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. Fished shallow diving rapalas again, perch pattern: nothing firetiger: nothing Ok, let's try something else. So I switch to a chartreuse spinnerbait (small) And start tossin. Three casts in I'm into a black crappie. 12.5" This is good, finally some action. So I toss again. Just a few feet into my retrieve and WHAM out goes the line and the fight was on. It felt like an eternity, but was just under five minutes when just a few feet away the fish slowly comes to the surface. I take a good look then POP, WHOOSH, the spinnerbait flies just past my head.
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A good guess puts the fish at 24+ inches. Pickerel, maybe a pike? Hope to find out next time! Though I'll have to try a new bait as I promptly donated said spinnerbait to a lovely tree which was just blossomed out. That's fishing I guess. Some more casts with a rainbow trout rapala in a few different spots with no response and I headed for home and my spooling machine! I'll be ready!