TR: Mecklenburg, NC, Hilton Head, SC

Damn, all these TRs. Might as well contribute.

Two weeks ago I was with my boys (9 & 6 yo) at a Cub Scout camp north of
Mint Hill. One of the activities of the weekend was fishing. They set
these boys up right (well except for the few Zebco 202s that are
worthless) with a cooler full of minnows and buckets of earthworms and
these new fangled green worms. First I'd seen them. They must inject
them with something and feed 'em garlic 'cause that's what they smelled
like. Those using 'em were winning the derby, hands down. Anyways, I
moved across the pond and made light work of about 7 bream and a couple
of 12"+ bass using a white popper with a nymph dropper. I've read you
folks expound on this combination, but this was my first attempt at
trying it. The bream loved the nymph while the bass inhaled the popper.
At one point I was rewarded with 3 fish in 3 casts. Needless to say my
boys were impressed. (Hell, I was too.)

Last weekend found me with 3 days on Hilton Head Island, SC. Those
familiar with the Low Country know that the area is full of natural and
mostly man made lagoons. We're fortunate enough to have access down
there to several of these impounds. Wonderful spot that in the past had
engaged both me and my sons with bream, crappie, and for my five year
old, big bass. Now I don't know if it was the moon or what, but I was
virtually skunked through most of this adventure. For 2 and a half days
the only catch was on a caddis, but so small that when I set the hook I
had to duck. Nothing else. Nada. Zip. Even worms and spinners were
exercises equal to 12 oz. curls (which I supplanted often). Even our
coastal efforts with newly purchased salt spinning gear went fruitless.
After 30 minutes my fisher boy was home bound. Never to be lured to the
pond again. Does gamely have a fishing game?

Well the karma swung in my direction on the last evening. After giving
up on my usual spots, I started heading up the fairways and came to a
new lagoon that held great promise. Being about 30' wide up the length
of the fairway this looked like a prime area. Across was heavy
overgrowth and aft was nothing but wide open fairway. Spoke to a spinner
man for advise and he said he had caught 2 14"-15"ers on yellow jigs off
this downed tree ahead of us. Tied on what I'd call a Chernobyl Zonker
(bright yellow and pink) but couldn't get it half way across with my 4
wt. After playing the idiot for way too long I replaced this inane
effort with a small yellow popper and finally began to explore the far
reaches. Saw a rise and tried to challenge the pea brain to a duel, but
no luck. Now currently my fishing exploration had yielded a 3" crappie
and the sight of some bass lips. Then to my left I saw a swirl 10' or so
up. Gathered in my excess and on my first cast dropped my offering right
on the spot. The bass hit that puppy so fast I really don't think it got
wet.

Fight on.

Finally.

One thing that most fisherpeople here learn is alligator behavior.
There's not much more discerning than fishing along a bank and having 2
nostrils and 2 eyes pop up within a few feet of you. I've yet to pee in
my pants at these encounters, but as I age I can't guarantee it'll never
happen. They're not there to make me their dinner, but to try to scoff
my hard won catch.

Taking the bass to task I played her enough not to let her get into
those tree limbs. We basically danced the dance from left to right
giving her enough play but keeping her in check of structure. Two
eloquent tail dances punctuated the dance card. Luckily the spinner man
was close at hand to spot for me as a laid on my stomach down the bank
to "peacefully" release my quarry. She wasn't one of those fat hogs, but
after measurement reached a respectable 20".

What fun.

Like a drug addict I plied the banks seeking one more.

Darkness preceded added success.

I walked back to a shrimp dinner with a huge smile and a deep and
deserved sense of satisfaction.


Good fishing to all and to all a good fight.

Drew