The wind was somewhat fierce on the way back, making for very rough water and a tough paddle into the wind. At times it felt like buckets of water were being thrown at me one after the other. It was a lot of fun though, and while I wasn't worried at all, I did not dare to take my hands off the paddle to turn the GoPro around and get some footage. One wrong decision could have spelled disaster!
At our destination we found what should be a paradise for the pickerel angler. However the weeds has completely overcome the area making it very difficult fishing. I did manage to get a few hits, one from a nice 20-something inch fish nearly underneath me in the clear water, but it was not till we were near the end of our journey in that I finally caught my only pickerel of the day, a decent 19 incher.
So after 4 1/2 hours we returned back to Kingston Creek where I packed up and headed out to Sturgeon Alley. I wanted to get some fishing in with minimal paddling as my shoulders were really feeling that 2 hour workout of a return trip.
High slack tide was scheduled for somewhere around 3:30 which is what I wanted to fish. I've always found the best luck for sturgeon around high slack tide, and today was no different. After about an hour with no luck, the current slowed to a crawl and I started to get a few bites. The first fish landed was my first sturgeon of the summer, about 2 feet long.
While dealing with the sturgeon, I got a bite on the other rod, which turned out to be about a foot long smallmought bass. Shortly there after I got another smallie and then a yellow perch. So overall the afternoon was starting to turn out ok.
About ready to head home, I made one last stop where I know baitfish usually hang out to see what else I might haul up. I used my SonarPhone to find schools of small fish, set anchor and in no time at all I started hauling up white perch one after the other.... sometimes 2 at a time!
I kept a few of the white perch that were 9 inches or bigger and took them home for a meal. I have to say, white perch is one of the best fish out there, so tasty! They would be fantastic in fish tacos or a dish like that.
It's a great sign that I was able to find a sturgeon today. Hopefully I'll be able to repeat that next week at the Hammond River Classic fishing derby!