Cold Sunday Afternoon

As most of you know, it was cold this weekend. Damn cold. Snow flurries and light winds added to the chill in the air, but I decided that I would make the trek out to the lake to get a little time on the water. I packed up the wife's car with the minimum amount of gear and headed out around noon. I figured this would be a great time to break in the new waders, and make sure they were leak free.

PRO TIP: If you've ever seen the prices on Patagonia Waders, you've probably thought, "Holy crap! That's ridiculous! Are they made with Panda?" I had been suffering through the spring and fall with a nice pair of Sportsman's Warehouse specials that I paid $75 for a few years back. They were leaking at the boot though, which makes for miserable fishing. Patagonia just happens to have an outlet store attached to their warehouse near Mayberry Park, and it just so happens that in November they have a ridiculous sale where they knock off 60% from the lowest marked price. I managed to pick up a nice set of $425 waders for a little over $100. They're amazing BTW...

I got on the water around 1 pm, and it was cold. Gloves and Winter jacket cold. There was a steady wind coming in from the North at around 8 - 10 mph, which can really mess up your casting technique, and possibly cause a winged ear here and there. I noticed a couple of lead tossers fishing the point, so I moved down from them but wasn't catching anything. They moved on around an hour in, so I moved into their spot. I noticed they left with 3 small cutts so I figured there had to be fish there. On my second cast, I managed to hook this 21 inch cutt, great color, and a fairly aggressive fish for the cold water temps. He put up a good fight.

I managed to lose a few more fish before I landed this 19 inch cutt about 45 minutes later

All in all, I had 4 fish on. Not bad for about 2 hours of fishing. Be sure to pack your cold weather gear when heading out. These fish were caught on an Olive Crystal Bugger and a Midnight Cowboy.