Wildlife encounters with cameraguy Tuesday November 2, 2011

[djkimmel]

Knowing that I love fall fishing and not knowing how many more nice days we'll have here in GreatLakesBass.com HQ - Lansing Michigan, cameraguy talked me into fishing again on that really nice, sunny Tuesday we have November 2nd. I'm calling this trip wildlife encounters for two reasons.

First, I really enjoy this part of fishing – just seeing all the wildlife, doing what they do, naturally. Yes, we caught some fish, but for me, the nature part is equally rewarding. My heart swells when I'm out in nature. This day was really good for that. Here's just a summary of what we encountered.

Ducks and lots of ducks. Quite a flock of them. Mostly Mallards but that's okay. I used love duck hunting so there's lots of nostalgia involved whenever I'm around them. I can't tell you how many nights I fell asleep the quiet, calming chatter of the duck.

Then we saw a small hawk zipping back and forth overhead. At one point, we thought we'd actually witness a mid-air life and death struggle that is just part of our natural Earth. The other birds managed to stay out of reach though. Later, this same hawk or one the same size came crashing down on to shore not 40 feet from us into some thick brush.

We could hear some excited squeaking and a little leaf rustling going on around the hawk. Pretty sure both times, the hawk was a sharp-shinned hawk from the size, shape, coloring and particularly the high-pitched whistling sound. Cameraguy was trying to get some video of the attack but the brush was thick and I was having a hard time getting an angle. We were really close when the little hawk pounced forward!

Something, small and furry streaked away so fast, I could not identify it! It was going so fast, I'm not even sure if it was a bird or a chipmunk/rat?!? It barely touched the broken concrete it flew over out from the brush, but dove into a hole between the rock rather than fly away so I'm thinking furry mammal.

Meanwhile, something was squeaking frantically back by the hawk. At first, I thought the hawk just had it cornered but that didn't really make sense. Then I saw a head flicking up and down as something struggled under the hawk's claws. The hawk gave it a bite in the neck. Nope. Not cornered. Caught!

I recently watched a show about hawks hunting and the announcer warned the squeamish that it is not a nice way to go. It wasn't for this little critter. It squeaked for a while and struggled, attracting some more bites to the head and neck before the little hunter hawk whistle-screeched a few times and flew away with its now limp meal.

I know there are people out there in the 'civilized' world that would be upset by this, but this is the real world we live in. This is life every day all over our one Earth. I don't revel in it but I feel the cycle and this was it in all its glory and ugliness. Because of the brush, cameraguy could get a clear video shot though it went on for several minutes. I never was able to identify what little creature the hawk killed in its part of the cycle of life, but if it makes anyone squeamish feel any better, I think it was probably a rat. The bass eat 'em too here.

We moved along fishing and later cameraguy got all excited because he spotted wildlife first. This time, a decent-sized chubby raccoon. It definitely twilight by this time. I was looking up and commenting on something when he said, "look at that raccoon! You didn't even didn't even see it!" Nope, I didn't. I had to look around a few seconds because it was right at shore and so close, I just didn't expect it to be there.

A busy, busy little thief. The coon was sticking those little, dexterous paws into every crack and crevice. Under every stone. Leaving no spot uninvestigated. Cameraguy coaxed me in real close. Maybe 12 to 15 feet and the raccoon seemed unbothered by our proximity.

"What was that it just caught," cameraguy says? It's just dark enough that I can't seem fine details but I was thinking a little flopping minnow maybe. The coon would find a pocket of water and then herd something in towards the bank, pinning it against a rock or shore. Pick it up and chomp, chomp, chomp. Gone!

Then it pulled a dark, bulbous thing out from under a rock and crunch, crunch, crunch. Chewed it right up. I knew what that was – crayfish. We watched this coon catch and eat a number of food items for probably 10 minutes, only seeming to get a little nervous about us one time when I got real close. Even then, it waddled a few feet down the bank and went right back to hunting.

Cameraguy has the video but I don't know yet how it turned out in that low light. Here's a few poor pictures I took with my phone.


Hey! Get off my spot!! (Think raccoons have good night vision?)


OK! Too close! Too close!


Wait! I think I see something!


Yeah booyy! Seafood! Love me some seafood!! crunch crunch

I had told cameraguy earlier about an amusing incident between a hawk, weasel and some rats years ago along the downtown Grand, and remarked several times that I was surprised we'd seen just about every other kind of wildlife today except a weasel when my cast behind a laydown next to the bank spooked a big, black weasel moments after we left the raccoon. It was also out for some evening seafood or maybe a good rat dinner. Unfortunately, I was watching my target and not the bank again, and the weasel ran into a hole before we could do anything photo video-wise.

Of course, we saw squirrels, chipmunks, lots of birds including some pigeons (and a semi-wild cat that at as like we were landed aliens). If you haven't already figured it out, the coolest part about this day filled with nature was people. Lots of people walking, jogging and biking by all day, mostly oblivious to the nature around them because we were fishing right in downtown Lansing on the Lower Grand River along the RiverWalk. That's my 2nd reason for 'wildlife encounter!' I think it is cool to be able to fish so close to home in and urban setting while getting the full outdoors experience!

Just another thing I love about river fishing. If the water is there, so will be the wildlife! We caught a few fish too. It was a slow day. We found out they had already started dropping the river for the North Lansing dam work and probably for next year's complete rebuild of the Saginaw Street bridge – boy, will that make next year's daily commute fun for some people!

The river was already down almost 2 feet but the redone boat ramp is in great shape! Too bad they took out the dock! That made it rough on my no-keel guard Ranger (sorry – I know – you deserve a kinder owner). The current was really ripping hard too. I bet the water dropped another 6 to 8 inches while we were out there! Upcurrent under Washington St bridge later, I was sitting completely still with my trolling motor on 75 pounds thrust!

Seeing the hard current and that the water was already down to 46 to 47 degrees F, I told cameraguy we would start downstream looking for slower, deeper water first. I was thinking bass were probably already heading towards wintering holes hard between the water temp and huge drop in depth. The Lower Grand has been down quite a bit for a while now too like everywhere else. I figured we might not even be able to get through a few spots upstream.

Fish being fish though, things weren't as predictable as I thought they might be. Bass were scattered. We caught a few dinks mostly for a while off of bars and the edge of wintering holes. I almost hooked one that was close to keeper-size in a past wintering hole doing the steelhead crankbait trick. It was a wimpy hit real close to the boat. I had the bass on for about 3 seconds before it pulled off on the short line. The guys in another bass boat nearby thought I had a toad the way the rod doubled over - crankbait rod.

We would sometimes catch one smallmouth bass from tiny shore eddies. But only one. I decided to try a 'new' looks-like-nothing shoreline that produced the last time out and cameraguy whacked a nice smallie on his – shocker coming – swim jig! Almost the same exact spot he caught one last time on the same bait last time! I think I caught a dink there too. I was surprised to see the bass there in the temp but the current is moderated there somehow? The real key spot there though was now out of the water.


cameraguy with another nice urban smallie caught on
his swim jig

We tried my mystery bar that I keep catching 1 to 3 quality smallies off of but have never figured it out. It was real shallow but there were some new shore eddies nearby and I popped a small smallie right where one should be and then cameraguy BLEW it on a giant pike!! Biggest pike I've seen – well, I didn't see the actual fish but it came right to the boat and made a ruckus at the boat getting cameraguy – the pikemaster – all excited! Swim jig again. Maybe lucky for the swim jig the complete connection wasn't made.

Cameraguy swears it was a 3-foot pike which is bigger than anything I've caught downtown with teeth in maybe 15 years. We tried for a while to no avail with different lures to actually catch the big gator but it never showed its ugly maw again! This is not the last follower we would fail to commit on!

We tried a lot of hole fishing and mid-channel fishing with little but a few dinks to show for it. Then I popped a solid smallmouth bass slow rolling my regular old white on white Indiana / Colorado spinnerbait. Right under one of the junky bridges. Near the heavy current, out from shore but still shallow amongst the rubbish-strewn bottom. It just was on the bait all of a sudden.

Further up the bank, I was pitching a Texas-rigged chigger craw to one of my favorite pipes. We switched up quite a bit trying to come up with something consistent. I was reeling it in when PIKE FLASHBACK! I saw a torpedo rocket up from behind. But, since I'm no longer the pikemaster (cameraguy is) my attacker was a very aggressive smallmouth bass. Another nice one for the Lower Grand. But it caught me napping a little. By the time my slightly chilled brain (chilly breeze had been building) was a little slower being later in the day so I adjusted to late and the little robber dove underneath my lure and the boat.

Being just a 'dumb' bass though, surely I can coax it into biting, right? No, but I thought I had, I pitched back in and again, while reeling in a little slower this time, I saw another torpedo materializing out of the brown water behind my craw! This one had a head like a smallie but it kept getting longer and longer, so I sped up thinking PIKE DONATION! By the time my slightly chilled brain told me, not pike, it was too late to adjust well! A 4 to 5 pound steelhead made two swirls at the craw and spun around it a couple times right at the boat before swirling away back towards the pipe! Exciting, but also disappointing...

Two different, desirable species in the same exact spot after the same bait. I did have a red bullet sinker and I'm thinking that it was got them all excited along with the flapping craw claws! We tried and tried different lures all around that pipe and just up and down stream to no avail again. I hate losing to creatures with brains that small!!

Thinking I could possibly repeat the recent river blade bait success, I did take cameraguy to a couple deep holes upstream where we saw the other critters. I have actually caught late fall / early winter smallies and catfish on blade baits downtown from these holes before on blades. This time it did not work. Maybe the big current change, water depth change or not cold enough?

Cameraguy was feeling adventurous again so we did make our way upriver to the shallower parts late in the evening. The current was moving probably faster than I've ever seen downtown!! We found the deepest water we could and fished that. Fished the Red Cedar / Grand confluence. Fished some bars and more shoreline stuff since it had worked sporadically earlier. I even took cameraguy to my old big pike hot spot that has been dead for about 10 years now. I can't remember if we caught anymore bass. Maybe a small one or two? Cameraguy might remember? No pike. No walleye. Saw a couple mystery fish jump though they were probably carp.

The only salmon we saw was the dead one I snagged earlier because it was so icky I thought it was a new tree branch sticking out of the water!?! Not. We ran into 3 other bass boats though it was Tuesday. Everyone said the same thing – maybe the last really warm day of the season?

I even took a picture of a nice 16-17 inch smallie that was the only fish another angler caught. I had it in his livewell at the ramp hoping he could get a picture. I took one on my phone because his had been dropped too many times to focus in low light. He still hasn't emailed me to retrieve it.

Though the fishing was mostly slow and sporadic, and I added some new scratches to my Ranger at the dockless boat ramp, it was a nice day on the water. Strange that the downtown river is mostly dominated by smallies now? Use to be dominated by largemouth bass – really good ones when I first moved to Lansing about 30 years ago and for about 10 years after. I think we caught 1 or 2 dink largemouth bass all day. The rest were all smallies. Sometimes, I don't catch any largemouth downtown.