Two very good days

My wife and I made a weekend trip to visit my wife's family in central
MN. Her parents own some pasture land on a small lake.

Friday evening, while setting up for a Saturday picnic-reunion, Loren,
wifelets brother, asked if I had brought rods and tackle along.... do
fish swim in the water?

So Saturday morning, about 5.40, Loren and I piled in to the rowboat,
and away we went. While I swatted mosquitos (big enough to wing shoot)
and tryed to tie a palomar knot, Loren worked a buzz bait on the glass
smooth surface. It was calm, with many high cumulus clouds, the sun
was just beginning to break the horizion, and the temp was about 65F.

I stuck the first fish - a small LM bass, bringing my poor mans
spinner bait back thru a small clump of lily pads. The strike was just
the sensation of weight - I thought I snagged the lilies, but it
remained once past the lillies.... my poor mans spinner bait was
nothing more than a 1/4 oz fish head shapped jig - a perch colored
shad tail, and a Mr Twister type colorado blade.

Loren retaliated, bringing in 3 successive bass, on a B&W Daredevle
type spoon.

I got the next fish, one that fought very good - wrapping me in the
weeds at one point, but steady pressure got it out - this turning out
to a a 3# ish - 23-24" NP - released. I soon had a followup strike,
one so close to the boat, that I felt the weight and jerked - having
been looking away at some thing on shore - the fish and my lure flew
out of the water, over my head and back in to the water, where the
fish - another smallish LM came off. "Did'ja see that Ma? - how I high
I jumped? Did'ja see it Ma? Did'ja see me? Huh Ma?"

We motored down the shoreline, casting - a fish here and there....soon
I noticed the shad/perch tail of my jig was gone...Loren had some
Berkley Gulp, so I gave that a try.... felt one set of taps, my Gulp
came back tail-less - so they like it - at least today.

Loren picked up a NP, this one 3.5-4#, it went on the stringer, as
Loren wanted a fish fry....some fish we landed - some got off - I
griped a bit, as the better bass were getting off - while I was
landing the smaller fish....

I cut some slits in the remaining tail of the Gulp, threw in to a
small indentation in the shore line, and there was the sensation of
weight again - and this weight didn't want to come back easily - and a
very nice bass was on - it made several leaps, and then went down, and
back along the boat, I managed to hand Loren the net, and finally got
the bass to the net. This fellow measured a very nice 19". That is the
best open water bass for me to date.

By now it was 7.00, and we were by a small sunken island -
identifiable by the emergent lilles. We threw to the edges, and I had
a strike by a crappie - then a second which I landed - a male in full
spawning colors - very black.

I switched rods, changing to a new ultra light I had picked up on Thur
afternoon - loaded w/ 4# mono. I had it pre rigged with a 1/8oz jig
and pink/white twister tail with a spinner blade. 3 quick casts netted
2 very nice bluegills in spawning colors.

At this point, Loren changed from a spoon to a jig and tube.
We worked the edge of the island for the next hour - taking crappies
and sunnies. Many we let go, as they need another year or two of
growth, but there were some keepers. I also had a hit from a bass - a
nice 15" fish, which gave quite a tussle in the lillies and while
Loren was moving the boat w/ the TM.

At 8:00 - which came all to soon, we fished a point briefly, where I
got one more LM off the Gulp, and headed in - which we trolled.
I had a hit while we trolled, but no hook up.

We ended the morning with the NP, 13 crappies, and 10 sunnies for a
fish fry, and many other fish released. With a exception of a couple
of the sunnies, none of the fish hit hard - for Loren or myself. You
had to concentrate on the feeling your lure produced - for me the
throb of the blade - and the weight. I know my pink and white twister
tail - being long - cost me several lost crappies as compared to the
shorter tube Loren was using, as the crappies seemed to be striking
somewhat short. The blue gills on the other hand, were inhaling the
jigs.

On the way back to the inlaws, we spotted a whitetial doe, a hen
mallard with little ones, a wood duck and a teal, along with a pair of
Canada geese and their little ones.

All together, a very pleasant morning on the water.....


Sunday morning found Loren and I on the same lake - we were casting by
6.15, by 6.25, we had each boated 2 bass, Loren on his trusty B&W
Daredevle, while I was again throwing my poor mans spinner bait, this
time tipped with a green twister tail of un-known orign - something I
had picked up over the years.

We had gotten a little rain over night, there was a slight breeze from
the north, while being mostly cloudy - some patches of sunshine
existed. Since a majority of the lake still needed to be explored, we
headed off. We fished a stretch of S shore line that looked plain
bassy - yet not a strike emerged.

Heading up the E shoreline - Loren had a stirke from a good fish near
a dock - but the fish got off - several casts back got us nothing. A
little further up the shoreline, I got a strike from a 12-13" bass and
boated it.... but a little while later - attempting to do things by
the "book" - I cast beyond some lillies - was feeling the spinner
blade throb as it passed thru the water and the clump of lillies - the
throb quit - I set the hook, and a good LM went airborne. I got it
most the distance to the boat and it got off.

So went our morning - we had stretches of water that looked fishy -
yet no fish, and a few casts later we got two or three in a row. At
one point, we doubled on bass - boating what looked to be identical
bass of about 15".

As we reached the N end of the lake, and some flat water, Loren dug
out a buzz bait. Several casts produced strikes, but no hookups. I
cast my jig and twister tail near clump of lillies, and soon had a hit
from a good fish - while I was concentrating on my fish, Loren was
himself fighting another. Mine was a 16" LM, while his was a 28" NP.

Moving on the N shoreline - getting a fish here and there - Loren
dropped his buzzbait near lillies and the water errupted instantly.
The fish came out of the water, and this was a bass like none we had
seen so far - it was long and wide, and all mouth. It attempted to
wrap itself around the TM - but Loren pushed it some and in to the net
it went. This turned out to be a 21.5" LM, the best we had yet.

Moving from the N shore back to the West, we contined to encounter a
fish here and there - some were bass, some crappies....some we just
plain missed. Soon we came to the submerged island where we got the
crappie and sunnies the day before - due to the wind - we anchored. I
made a couple of casts w/ my ultra light and was boating 9" crappies.

Loren cast his tube jig, felt a hit and then indicated trouble....a
"uh-oh" and then "I can't slow it down" - his line headed from one
clump of lillies to another. He pressured it, and finally turned the
fish - it made several "deep" runs, and then was netted - another
heavy long bass - this one measured in at 21.75". Loren was on fire!

I boated a couple more crappies for the frying pan, and then we
resumed our journey along the W shoreline, and then to the pocket we
started the morning, and finally the landing. Loren boated one more
bass, lost a second, while I caught and released a 22-23" NP on a
Berkley Blade Dancer.

We were off the water at 10.00. Both of us had lost count of the
number of bass we tangled with - it was actually easier to track the
pike and the crappies. On the way back to the house, we saw two
whitetails and a turkey.

Two very good mornings on the water......

Jim