Up at o'dark-thirty and headed for the lake, arriving at 6:45 AM, Temp at the outset was 26 degrees... CHILLY! Fishing the northeast shoreline, lines in the water by 7:00. Not a breeze, and the water temp at 45 degrees at the shoreline. Would think the fish to becoming more lethargic in the colder water. Fishing fl. orange Power Eggs on one rig, chartreuse on the other... 3' leaders on both. 7:20, rod tip began to do the old familiar dance... reeled in my first Rainbow of 15" (fl. orange). By 8:00, had three to the net. Switched one rig over to a "Perch" pattern Kastmaster, brought in five Rainbows in the next half hour, all C&R. Had seven Rainbows by 9:30 (2 on orange PE, 5 on chartreuse), plus at least four that came off at the shoreline, just before netting them, including one holdover of at least 18"... stayed at the shoreline for several seconds after the hook popped off, giving me one chance to scoop it into the net before lazily swimming off... missed! By 9:30 the sun was climbing higher into the sky, and the bite turned OFF! Not a hit for the next two and a half hours. Tried everything I could think of... switched baits (nightcrawlers, shrimp, Power Dough), various colors of PE, longer leaders, spin-casting again... Nada! Strong breeze began to blow from the northwest about 12:00, and it got a little colder. Finally, about 1:00, had a solid hit, no hook-up, followed by several more before landing my eighth (orange PE). Landed my ninth (orange PE) about 1:45, then had to leave the lake at 2:00 for a prior commitment in the later afternoon. All in all, another spectacular day at the lake. Nine fish going home for the smoker, smallest at 13 1/2", three at 15" or larger.
Amazing, that I saw only one other fisherman in my vicinity all day... he arrived at about noon and left by 1:00, with no fish. Cormorants still seem to be having difficulty snagging these fish, although six of the nine fish I kept had open wounds on their bodies, as well as displaced scales, indicating that they had at one time been in the grasp of those despised birds. Great fun to observe the growing population of wintering ducks, having identified nine separate species on the lake already. Wish everyone a joyous and blessed Christmas Season and fish for the table! PTL!

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