TaperSteve
06-10-2012, 07:33 PM
My Daughter and I arrived at the lake Saturday afternoon around 12pm. Big Daddy and 2quik where already on the water in search of the kitties. Before too long many of the other Team Xplicit members started showing up. First new member Z-Bao whom I ran in to at the tackle. He was stopping in to ask, "Do you know where TaperSteve's campsite is? Daniella replied, "Here he is" as she pointed to me. It's always nice meeting new people, welcome to the family!
After paying my camping/fishing fee's I headed to the launch ramp to launch my boat. It's always nice having an empty launch ramp during the summer hours versus the busy trout season. It didn't take long for me to launch my boat then it was off to the campsites to set up camp.
By 4pm there where about twenty hungry mouths to feed impatiently waiting for all the good grub. First up on the menu was some fried chicken and pesto chicken pasta salad. In true Xplicit fashion there was no shortage of meat (that didn't sound right). A couple different kindas of hot links, steak, spiral sliced ham, ribs, etc.... where all quickly disappearing.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_15-17-14_113.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_15-18-21_83.jpg
Pesto!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_15-29-20_850.jpg
More good grub!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-10-05_686.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-10-15_125.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-10-30_641.jpg
Celebrity appearance by Team Trolltoon!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-10-43_940.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-11-02_395.jpg
With full bellies everyone hit the water by 6pm. First off my Daughter and I decided to try off the tip of Trout Island. Big Daddy & 2quik where anchored up close by in Jo' Momma II as well as Josh, Thisfool, & Z-Bao in Josh's boat. Tried for about an hour for no bites so my Daughter and I decided to head in for a restroom break. Later I got news that soon after we pulled anchor and moved Thisfool landed a 10+lb wiper! Congrats on the catch of a lifetime bro, those suckers fight like a freight train!
After a quick restroom break my Daughter and I again hit the water but this time we decided to try in Boat Dock Cove. I motored around watching my fishfinder until I found a nice little hole to anchor up in (again, that didn't sound right).
By now it was almost 8pm and the sun was just starting to set. Here is a pic I shot of yet another beautiful Vine sunset!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_19-26-38_478.jpg
Looks like we got luckly and I found tthe honey hole. By 8pm the bite was "Wide F%#&ing Banana Ape S#%$ Open. Over the next hour the action was fast and furious. My 5th fish (for my limit) tipped my Rapala scale just under 8lbs. With full limits it was time to head in to buy a second limit pass. So it was decision tme, weigh-in the big fish now or roll the dice and hope for something bigger. I wasn't sure if my honey would even be open anymore so I decided to play it safe and weigh-in my big fish. The big channel ended up tipping the Vine's scale at 7lbs 12ozs.
Next I headed back out and again lady luck was on my side as the honey hole was still open. The bite was still on 100% full throttle as I couldn't even get my second line baited and in the water before my other rod would be getting slammed again. After my 8th fish I decided to bait both rigs before casting out. I cast both rigs out and again almost instantly one of my clickers starts screaming away. I set the hook and right away I could tell this fish was a monster! As I started fighting the fish the clicker on my other reel starts screaming. There was no way I was going to mess with it so I tried to ignore it while I fought the big one.
After a good solid 10 minute fight I netted a GIANT channel cat. I knew this cat was easily over the 10lb mark. Overwhelmed by all the action I decided to take a breather, pull anchor, and go show Big Daddy and 2quik the big fish. Good thing I did as Jo' Momma's II was dead in the water and they were in need of a tow. As we approached the launch ramp dock the shift cable on my motor broke so the "Camo Slaya" was dead in the water too. I rowed over to shore and decided to beach my boat and deal with it in the morning.
With about an hour and a half to kill till the scales closed we decided to weigh the big fish and hang out and watch all the other big fish hit the scales. There were many, many fish weighed-in in the 4-5lb class. After what seemed like an eternity the clock struck 1am and the scales closed. Jimmy tallied up the results.
Xplicit was in full force as about half of the top 10 spots where occupied by team members. I ended up with 3rd place and $183 in prize money! Congrats to Big Daddy who edged me out in 2nd place and all the other winners!
All our fish today were caught on fresh cut mackeral dipped/soaked in Bite-On Cajun!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-10_01-43-57_791.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-10_01-43-02_851.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/P1050641.jpg
I already can't wait for the next fishing trip! It's going to be an amazing summer at my favorite lake, the Vine! Lots of events on the schedule this summer. Next month we'll be getting together again to BBQ/camp the 4th of July Shootout (second King of the Cats qualifier) and then the Team Xplicit Catfish Co-op II in August. Stay tuned to the "Fishing Rendezvous" section here on FNN for more details on these exciting events. Come join Team Xplicit Fishing for some good times, great fishing, and outstanding food by the campfire! Hope to see y'all on the water soon!
TaperSteve
After paying my camping/fishing fee's I headed to the launch ramp to launch my boat. It's always nice having an empty launch ramp during the summer hours versus the busy trout season. It didn't take long for me to launch my boat then it was off to the campsites to set up camp.
By 4pm there where about twenty hungry mouths to feed impatiently waiting for all the good grub. First up on the menu was some fried chicken and pesto chicken pasta salad. In true Xplicit fashion there was no shortage of meat (that didn't sound right). A couple different kindas of hot links, steak, spiral sliced ham, ribs, etc.... where all quickly disappearing.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_15-17-14_113.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_15-18-21_83.jpg
Pesto!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_15-29-20_850.jpg
More good grub!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-10-05_686.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-10-15_125.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-10-30_641.jpg
Celebrity appearance by Team Trolltoon!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-10-43_940.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_16-11-02_395.jpg
With full bellies everyone hit the water by 6pm. First off my Daughter and I decided to try off the tip of Trout Island. Big Daddy & 2quik where anchored up close by in Jo' Momma II as well as Josh, Thisfool, & Z-Bao in Josh's boat. Tried for about an hour for no bites so my Daughter and I decided to head in for a restroom break. Later I got news that soon after we pulled anchor and moved Thisfool landed a 10+lb wiper! Congrats on the catch of a lifetime bro, those suckers fight like a freight train!
After a quick restroom break my Daughter and I again hit the water but this time we decided to try in Boat Dock Cove. I motored around watching my fishfinder until I found a nice little hole to anchor up in (again, that didn't sound right).
By now it was almost 8pm and the sun was just starting to set. Here is a pic I shot of yet another beautiful Vine sunset!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-09_19-26-38_478.jpg
Looks like we got luckly and I found tthe honey hole. By 8pm the bite was "Wide F%#&ing Banana Ape S#%$ Open. Over the next hour the action was fast and furious. My 5th fish (for my limit) tipped my Rapala scale just under 8lbs. With full limits it was time to head in to buy a second limit pass. So it was decision tme, weigh-in the big fish now or roll the dice and hope for something bigger. I wasn't sure if my honey would even be open anymore so I decided to play it safe and weigh-in my big fish. The big channel ended up tipping the Vine's scale at 7lbs 12ozs.
Next I headed back out and again lady luck was on my side as the honey hole was still open. The bite was still on 100% full throttle as I couldn't even get my second line baited and in the water before my other rod would be getting slammed again. After my 8th fish I decided to bait both rigs before casting out. I cast both rigs out and again almost instantly one of my clickers starts screaming away. I set the hook and right away I could tell this fish was a monster! As I started fighting the fish the clicker on my other reel starts screaming. There was no way I was going to mess with it so I tried to ignore it while I fought the big one.
After a good solid 10 minute fight I netted a GIANT channel cat. I knew this cat was easily over the 10lb mark. Overwhelmed by all the action I decided to take a breather, pull anchor, and go show Big Daddy and 2quik the big fish. Good thing I did as Jo' Momma's II was dead in the water and they were in need of a tow. As we approached the launch ramp dock the shift cable on my motor broke so the "Camo Slaya" was dead in the water too. I rowed over to shore and decided to beach my boat and deal with it in the morning.
With about an hour and a half to kill till the scales closed we decided to weigh the big fish and hang out and watch all the other big fish hit the scales. There were many, many fish weighed-in in the 4-5lb class. After what seemed like an eternity the clock struck 1am and the scales closed. Jimmy tallied up the results.
Xplicit was in full force as about half of the top 10 spots where occupied by team members. I ended up with 3rd place and $183 in prize money! Congrats to Big Daddy who edged me out in 2nd place and all the other winners!
All our fish today were caught on fresh cut mackeral dipped/soaked in Bite-On Cajun!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-10_01-43-57_791.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/2012-06-10_01-43-02_851.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/TaperSteve/6-9-12/P1050641.jpg
I already can't wait for the next fishing trip! It's going to be an amazing summer at my favorite lake, the Vine! Lots of events on the schedule this summer. Next month we'll be getting together again to BBQ/camp the 4th of July Shootout (second King of the Cats qualifier) and then the Team Xplicit Catfish Co-op II in August. Stay tuned to the "Fishing Rendezvous" section here on FNN for more details on these exciting events. Come join Team Xplicit Fishing for some good times, great fishing, and outstanding food by the campfire! Hope to see y'all on the water soon!
TaperSteve