Mystic Lake
Hit Lower Mystic again today from around 11:30PM - 3:00PM, and had much better luck than Friday afternoon, landing three keepers, and all on the same lure: a 4-inch Senko in Watermelon/Red Flake fished Texas-style, but with a small bullet weight.
First two fish came within a few casts of each other in the lily pads at the northwest corner of the Lake. Fish #1 came the same way as one a few days ago, casting beyond the pads into deeper water and letting the Senko drift back towards them. After twitching it along the edge a bit I felt some very slight tension on the line, and set the hook. It dove for the pads, and once or twice I thought it had gotten off, but after a minute I was able to land it, hooked clean in the upper lip. Fish #2 was also caught in the pads, this one hitting it once or twice before I set the hook. Pretty much hauled this one straight in to avoid the pads, but turns out I had it very nicely hooked (see photo) and wasn't going anywhere.
The third fish came in a spot where I hadn't had much luck before but thought it held some promise, a shoreline spot a few steps from Mystic Valley Parkway. There's a shallow, rocky flat that drops off on one side where there's some nice grass beds that run from the surface on down. Rather than tossing the Senko out into the grass this time I cast perpendicular to it along the edge of the flat. I'd no sooner set it the reel gear and taken up the slack when it got creamed. Best fish of the day, coming in somewhere over 3 lbs by my estimate.
No luck in the River again though, didn't even manage a strike when flipping the pads. Not as much current as the other day, but the water is still quite low and clear enough to see the bottom in some places; nice to know the location of some good structure though when the water rises.