Took today off to target Whatcom before this weekends "tournament". Not cool to show up to a CLOSED boat launch!! :( Knuckleheads decided to paint the parking lot at Bloedel Park...on a frigging Friday! Couldn't wait 12 days until the lakes closed or anything could ya?? Genius. A quick dash south and I got the second to last parking spot at the tiny little WDFW launch area, whew!

Once I figured out the depth it was business as usual with the drop shot today! Must have landed 15-20 smallies one to two pounds? Caught a few 2.5 and a 4.2, quick released another 3+lb and 4+lb at the side of the boat. The heart-breaker was the new personal best that I came within an inch of lipping! I set the hook on this thing and swore I was hung up until it started taking drag! Then it would mellow out and I thought maybe it was foul hooked due to the 'drag' when pulling (dead weight)...then it would run again. Once I saw it the adrenaline started pumping as there was no doubt it was well north of six pounds!

I got it to the boat three times and each time it bolted, drag screaming, back down almost out of sight. I got it half pinned against the boat at one point but she kicked loose and ran again. Finally she relaxed and I eased her back towards the boat, she came up towards me, her mouth opened as she approached, almost as if accepting her defeat....then her nose broke the surface of the water and as I reached to lip her...ding...out popped the hook :(

I made a grab but as soon as she started to sink she must have felt the water in her gills cause she turned and was off like a shot! Coughing up orange chunks of crawdads the whole way down! Sometimes I wish I was a net using "quitter" type lol, but nah, she got lucky this time and I got all the fight out of her I could have asked for :)

Just wish I was wearing my GoPro on my head cause man...what a moose! Closest I've come to jumping in after a fish in a loooong time.

Water temps were in the high 50's and the fish were a bit shallower than last week. I caught one smallie shallow on a spinnerbait but everything else came deeper, except for the second largemouth in as many trips!! Lightning DOES strike twice! I think all the grass here now is allowing them to rebound a little bit? Awesome! I will have to figure out a way to get back up here before it closes...

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