The mystery Bog and a Nantucket sleigh ride

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,338
326
Near Mt. Misery
For years I have fished this one bog with no luck and I could not figure out why. It seemed as though all the conditions for a healthy pickerel population were there but it never really produced. I would often fish it briefly on my return trips from more productive spots. I had many theories but today I ventured to this bog with my kayak to really put it to the test and get to the bottom of it all.

With drought like conditions as a few crisp nights, the scene was set. I was armed with a variety of tackle to see if I could find an elusive pickerel in this beautiful but seeminly barren bog.

I hit pay dirt!!!! Conditions must be unique to really work this bog, but well hidden beneath it's waters are some real behemouths.

0208.JPG


01113.JPG


All right. The action photos. These guys fought like no other pickerel I've come across before. I think my rod tip touched my knuckles a few times.

00315.JPG


01510.JPG


00515.JPG


20" plus
00711.JPG


Look at them teeth boy!!!!!!! and a cold hard stare.

0136.JPG


That mouth could wrap around a man's fist.

01412.JPG


0179.JPG



I had one on the line that was enormous. He pulled my drag out. after I tightened it he gave me a nantucket sleigh ride 3/4 of the way across one shore line of the bog. He eventually threw the hook, I actually think he was never hooked to begin with but was just dragging the bait. He did surface a few times before getting away so I got a good look at him. I know, I know, another "the one that got away story" okay, I'll just leave it at that but let me just say that i wouldn't want to be a duck in that bog with something like that in there.

So what was the great mystery to this bog. Ahhhh, it would probably just bore you anyway.

Jeff
 

bobpbx

Piney
Staff member
Oct 25, 2002
14,154
4,258
Pines; Bamber area
Exciting!

Why the absense of vegetation this time of year out by the boat? Odd. It kind of looks like the bog southeast of Chatsworth.

Tell us more.
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,338
326
Near Mt. Misery
That is cruel! Lets here it!

Great photo's.

Guy

Okay,
So the mystery is why i was not catching fishing there, and then how I figured out how to get them.

Why no fish before: Based off of my experience and observations this is why the fish there are so elusive...two main factors;1)an abundant amount of bait fish, two main varietes of sunfish are present there in massive quantities. Offerings from fisherman have alot of competition. 2) Dispersement. This bog is uniquely equal in water depth. The big ones would typically hang out in the deeper holes in most bogs but this bog is deep enough to allow even large pickerel to have the run of the whole bog. Also the deep holes are not all that deep relative to the rest of the bog so it is hard to target a specific area for them.

So how did I catch them:
I quickly evaluated the water levels across the whole bog. In these draught like conditions most of the bog was too shallow for the big ones, but just deep enough for the smaller ones. So the big ones had to be confined to the deeper holes. Now, deep holes are usually boardered by lilly pads and it is typical for there to be a steep decline there. This was not the case here. the lilly pad line was well set back from the holes with about 7' of shallow water between the littly pad line and the holes.

Since the bait fish would be in the lilly pads and not in the deeper water, I knew the pickerel would be looking from the deep holes toward the lilly pads for bait fish. Then they would take a chance and run 7' of shallow water to catch the bait fish and return to the hole.

So I made them an offer they couldn't refuse...I but my bait between the lilly pad line and the holes. I made it too easy for them to not go for it. There were alot of egrets and herons about so I knew if I put it close to the hole they would feel a little safer than getting into too shallow water. I didn't want to cast into the hole because pickerel, by nature, like to ambush their prey.

That is why the vegetation was so far from the boat Bob, good observation.

And that was how it was done.

Jeff
 

piker56

Explorer
Jan 13, 2006
640
53
67
Winslow
Wow, nice! I don't think I'd swim in that lake. Jeff I also fished a lake Saturday that had all the signs, but up until Saturday I had caught one Pickerel total (I'd fished it 5 or 6 times this summer). I can't figure out why, but they were biting on Saturday. I also saw a Bald Eagle fishing. I thought maybe he was scaring all the fish to the bottom. It was a great day to be out.
Greg
 
Top