First Catches of the Season

5/11/2014

Rule #39:  Every now and then, grow something.

First Casts

I started fishing about 10:15 A.M.  I am continuing a project I started last year: I am going to record my fishing trips to the White River, starting across the river from the Water Treatment plant.  My goal is to fish upstream through as much of Muncie as I can, mostly on the north side of the river.  Last year, I made two trips, but then had to go to the hospital for a pretty long time and the project stalled.

So, I picked up where I'd left off--about 100 yards upstream from the spillway.

The day was sunny, it was about 80 degrees, sunny, but the wind was blowing 15 mph.  I forgot to check water temperature.  The clarity was as good as it gets when the river is at a normal level.

I said my prayer for Grandpa Bird, which must be done before making the first cast of the season.

I fished 5 different lures:

1. A "0" Panther Martin in-line spinner, gold blade, body was yellow with orange spots, caught one Rock Bass on it.  The wind was blowing from the W, SW, so this lure and the 1/16 oz. Beetle Spin were challenging to cast.
2. a 1/16th oz. Beetle Spin, silver Colorado blade, pink jig head, and chartreuse body.  I had some nibbles on this, and a few followers, but none caught.
3. A 1/8 oz. Beetle Spin, again, silver Colorado blade, black jig head, and a darker body with some silver flakes.  I chose this one because I thought it might match the crawdads that are the main source of food for the Smallmouth on the river.  No fish on this either.
4. I talked to a guy and his wife who were sitting upstream from where I was fishing, and he was using the damndest combination--a large brown plastic crawdad, hanging about 2 feet down from a big-ass bobber!  He said that his kids had been knocking the smallmouth dead using this the day before, so it got me to thinking--maybe this river gets so much fishing pressure that the fish are getting used to the  "usual" lures: in-line spinners (Rooster Tails, Mepps, Panther Martins), Beetle Spins in almost any color.  So, I thought I'd mix it up a little.  I tied a tiny crankbait: 1", maybe 1 1/2", chartruese with gray stripes and a black top; square bill, and it sunk very slowly, almost a nuetral buoyancy.  I caught three of the Rock Bass on this lure.
5. Continuing my effort to use lures I don't usually use, I tied on a Kelley's Pier Boy pre-rigged, 5" plastic worm, dark purple with a bright pink fire-tail.  For me and my long-time fishing partner, this particular lure has been responsible for catching more Largemouth Bass than any other lure.  However, I have almost NEVER used it as a river lure.  It worked very well.  I caught two more Rock Bass, a baby Smallmouth, and the biggest fish of my day, a really nice Smallmouth.  He was no "lunker," but at 11-12", close to a pound if not over it a little bit, he fought like a fish three times his size.

I was using two of the four combos I have put together from the reels and rods left over from last year (more on that later.)  Both of the light rods are set up to throw 1/8 oz. lures, so with a couple of my lure choices required that I really fling them.  The silver pole is a Ryobi.  It's practically a "noodle" rod.  The tip is so flexible, and there isn't really any backbone the further down the rod you go.  The second rod is a brown, no-name rod.  Pretty much the same as the silver rod, but with a little more strength.

The Ryobi rod is matched with a Quantum reel--lower-end product. I have put 4 lb test Spiderwire flourocarbon on this reel.  I think I got as much as 6-10 feet per cast by using this line.

The brown rod is paired with a little ultra-light Shimano.  Again, this reel probably cost $15--$20 new.  Few bearings, and the rate of retrieval must have been something like 4:1  This still makes a good worm or grub lure because burning a soft plastic isn't a good idea.

I had a good day, but didn't make very much progress, which doesn't really matter. There was, of course, about a metric ton of goose shit up and down the bank.  The birds themselves left me alone for the most part.  As I "shooed" a group of them away, I noticed one that had a pronounced limp.  If I meet up with that gang again, I'm going to come prepared to give him some bread.  I saw a Nuthatch, an Eastern Bluebird, several Mallards, and a baby Painted Turtle.

Here are some pictures of the day and the day's catch:

Rock Bass, or old "Goggle-Eyes"

The water is just a little low.  Notice the green shade of the deeper pools.

Sub-Species:  Upside Down Goggle-Eye