Journal of a Minnesota Angler

I had the opportunity to fish CasualBasser‘s favorite lake Tuesday night–in a kayak. The fine folks at HiTempo, the local Hobie dealer, let me try out two versions of their Hobie Mirage Pro Angler (review to come later).

Being a pretty big lake, it was nice to be able to get around more than I would in my float tube. Unfortunately, it didn’t help me at all. It was an extremely slow night. I threw a Rage Tail and Condition Buzz buzzbait, both from my Mystery Tackle Box, a texas rigged worm, and wacky rigged worm.

The only notable action was when I came up to a dock. I was only about 5 feet away from it and dropped a wacky rigged Strike King KVD Big Tex Ocho almost dead center under one of the platforms. I got bit right away. Man, it was nice to feel a tug after about 2 hours of almost nothing. Just as I got it to the boat, it did a head shake and disappeared. It was a small one, probably 12″ or so, but it would have kept me from getting skunked.

I only got 3 or 4 nips the rest of the night. Pretty dismal for 3 1/2 hours. I just couldn’t find the fish. Or couldn’t figure out what they were biting.

Everyone else that I saw fishing was either throwing a spinnerbait or buzzbait. The only thing I saw caught was a small northern. I was hoping I would prove to be the smart one by finessing, but I fared no better.

Fishing from a kayak is definitely a different experience. I’m so used to being able to cast right in front of me in my float tube. Having to twist sideways to reel in a line takes a bit getting used to. The mobility, however, is a plus. I would need to get in shape, though. My legs were dead tired from the MirageDrive by the end of the night.

So I don’t have any fish pictures, but here’s a view of the lake so you can wish you were fishing.