2 runts, 2 keepers...

All

I've not been on the water in a month, so I fixed that this morning.
Went to Willow Creek, a 70 acre reservoir about 25 miles from
home, took the BARF and tm. Got on the water about 7.45, mist
was rising - sky was clear, air temp about 36F, water temps
are mid-upper 50s.

Started throwing a White Shinner SW (gold Colorado and silver
Willow Leaf), nothing doing. Saw a fish rise every now and then,
worked my way down the dam shore line with a help of light breeze.
Switched to a Green Goddess w/ a single gold Colorado. Still nothing.
Got to the outlet structure, and dropped the Goddess in right along
side the concrete. Hit!

Set the hook, rod bent over, fish went airborne twice. Netted
what looked to good fish, but the tape showed it to be a smidge
over 11.5". Let it go after a pic, and threw in several more times -
but no one else was home. This was at 8.40.

Resumed my drift, threw parallel to the slop, felt a sensation of
weight, set the hook, felt the fishes weight breifly, and then it was
gone. Had a 3rd hit, really just a light tap and then nothing.

Ok - the fish are here - stay at it.....

Staying w/ the drift, I casted the Goddess in to a small dent
in the shoreline slop, had retrieved about a foot, and the line
stopped dead - I set the hook - and I thought I had snagged!

But the line started moving to deep water, and a there was good
sensation of weight. I pulled back on the rod - it doubled over and
stayed that way. I muscled the fish in - probally harder than I should
have, but fortune smiled on me, and I got the fish up to the side of
the BARF. Put the net in the water, and the fish went back
down and stayed there for a nearly a minute.

FInally got it in the net, and I knew this was a new personal best
for me - definitely on the open water, and possibly better than my
prev. best from hard water several years ago..

Got the tape, and a length of 18.5", w/ a girth of of 11.5". A real
chunk - let out a whoop - snapped some pics, and back in the
water she went. That was fun!!! It was 9.00. Definitely a better
fish than the either of the 16"ers I got back in August.

And that was it until noon. I checked other locations where
I had gotten bass on previous trips, but nothing doing. Explored
some new water, still nothing doing. No one home at the logs, nor
the beaver lodge, nor along the slop edges.

Not wanting to give up, I threw in to some weeds neat a broad
point. Felt a bump, and then a little pulsing - cranked in ,
had a dink of about 10". But it was a fish, crossed the
bay I was in, working up a rocky shoreline going back toward
the carry in ramp and fishing pier. Near a couple of good
rocks in the water, got a solid hit, set the hook - fish on,
went down and stayed down - then in the net. Got a
photo and the tape - 13.5". Now it was 12.30 - made
some more casts along the rocks, got hung up several
times, and called it a morning at 12.45.

Looked in the MN DNR regulation book and the "weigh your
fish w/ ruler" chart for LMB - 18" is est. at 3.6#, while 19" is
est. at 4.2#. Any one got the lenght/girth formula handy?

Love that Green Goddess! Been producing all summer,
on Bass and NP.

Jim