a little crabbing, a little striper fishing with the daughter

**mazzgolf** · August 6, 2018

Took the day off to take my daughter out crabbing before I send her away for her first year of college next week. I've been taking her down to Beaver Dam every year for crabbing for I don't know how long - since she was 10 or 11 maybe? It's something I did a few times when I was a kid and can still remember those days, so I wanted to take my kids. She's the last one that hasn't bailed on me - first couple years, I took the wife and the other daughter, too... first it was the wife that started not going, then the other daughter stopped wanting to go. My oldest has hung in there with me every year.

We ended up with about 2 dozen crabs in 4 hours. Not great, but not bad either. Especially considering that I spent some of my time fishing for striper letting her tend to the handlines and traps. She probably caught 75% of the crabs herself - she's pretty good with a handline now, able to bring 'em up and net them all by herself now.

I caught a real nice fighting striper. Just put some of the bunker we use for crab bait on a hook and let it float down with the tide and BANG! The stripers were aggressive. I was watching them jump at the bait fish pretty much all morning. I had another HUGE striper on the line... I can't believe how strong this fish was. I'd get it close to the boat and then he'd run pulling my drag out zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz taking out almost the whole spool... in the end my line snapped and I lost it. Never saw how big it was, but it had to be easily a keeper size considering the fight this thing was giving me. Next time I won't bring a silly little freshwater rod/reel I really wasn't expecting to run into such a huge fish.

Anyway - that was exciting, and going on a weekday is great because it was just us and another boat out on the water - quiet and peaceful with great weather. Aside from the stupid turtles, was a great day.