Rule #7: Some time during your life, own a truck.
Tuesday: 5/20/2014
I caught so many Rock Bass in so short a time, and didn't catch anything else until my last fish, that I think we should we declare this day "National Rock Bass Day."
But see, that's a problem, because huge sections of the country wouldn't know what you were talking about. One of the things I treasure about fishing is the many different names fish have depending on where you're fishing.
For instance, the Latin name for bluegill is
Lepomis macrochirus, but a lot of people call all colorful panfish "bluegill," thereby missing the opportunity to catch a "pumpkin seed," a "green sunfish," a "spotted sunfish," an "orange spotted sunfish," a "redear," a "redbreast," a "bream," a "brim," a "croaker," or a "warmouth."
Today, I caught seven or eight Rock Bass--also known as "rock perch," "goggle eye," or "red eye."
I set out with my usual river gear, but today I packed some different lures. Knowing that I'd only fish with one or two of them, I still crammed quite a few "baits" in my smallest Plano: I carried two jigged Tiny Paca Craws,
a Kelly's Pier Boy, two YUM worms for wacky rigging, two tiny crankbaits (that I had luck with last week), and a 1/8 oz. "Mister Twister"-type jig attached to a "Beetle-Spin" rig. Because they were still in the package, I also stuffed two Panther Martin spinners in my jeans pocket.
I actually started with the Panther Martins. These in-line spinners are unique. They are quite possibly the best in-line spinners for stream or river fishing. Because their in-line wire runs through the middle of the spinner blade, any pull against the lure sets it spinning. This is especially important when you're stream or river fishing, because to catch fish, you must cast upstream and bring the bait downstream. This action mimics almost anything swimming or crawling in the water. Bringing a spinner back against the current will occasionally work, but for the most part, you're better off casting upstream and bringing almost any lure or bait downstream. That is the direction toward which the fish are oriented.
Mepps in-line spinners have caught more fish for me than any other lure. Period. But they work best in still water. I have caught Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass, Pike, Bluegill, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Shiners, Sunfish, Redear, Pumpkinseed, Mudcats, and even Channel Cats on this lure.
I remember a fantastic afternoon, on Fish Lake, when I cast a #1 Mepps, tipped with the leg cut off of an Uncle Josh Pork frog attached to one of the treble hooks and pulled in 10"-13" bluegill for at least a couple of hours. With the extra weight from the pork trailer, I'd cast the lure out about 20 feet then let it sink 8-10 feet. Still visible in the clear water of this, the deepest part of the pond, I could easily see when one of the big bull bluegill would T-bone this dropping lure and drive it two or three feet to the side. Those great Mepps treble hooks would pick up just about any fish that looked cross-eyed at the spinner, let alone these aquatic muggings.
Here is a Mepps compared to a Panther Martin:
Notice where the line needs to be tied. The Panther Martin (above) just spins so much more effectively. However, in still water, and sometimes even in slow moving water, I go with the Mepps (below).
I don't know why exactly, except that I have caught so many fish on this lure, it's hard to set it aside.
Don't forget to try tipping it with a pork rind leg or even a "Mister Twister"-type tail on it now and then. It can make all the difference in the world. In fact, if you can find them, Uncle Josh makes a "Bass Strip" that fits this application almost perfectly, and if you find that it's too long or wide, you can easily trim the rind with a pair of scissors. (Don't try to do this with a pocket knife on the flat side of a canoe paddle. It won't end well. I promise.)
This is my first fish (they DO get bigger!).
As you can tell, I started the day on the large concrete storm sewer ramp--where I ended the season last year.
For the next two hours, I worked my way upstream, through a stand of sycamores, ending at a lone sycamore across White River Boulevard where it intersects with South Regal Court.
After a few near snags, I decided to try the "Beetle Spin"-type lure I'd brought. Here's a picture of the type of lure I'm talking about.
My chances of catching a
huge bass would be improved by casting lures as big as my foot (which is considerably large), but I prefer catching fish--of any size.
I use the darker colored lure to the right more frequently when the water is sort of stained, like it was today. I almost never use a "Beetle Spin" heavier than 1/8 oz. This is a philosophical position, of course. I understand totally that my chances of catching huge fish with this size lure is somewhat diminished.
I. Don't. Care.
Here's my position stated mathematically:
Small lures = many fish/sometimes small fish X sometimes LARGE fish.
ENORMO-LURES = many fewer fish/ ENORMO-BASS [divided by] young bass with more testosterone than brains that will try to eat a lure that is twice its size.
I fish for fun (cool alliteration, eh?), and I fish for food (too much?). Both of these motivations discount fishing with large lures for exclusively large fish.
Here's the first fish caught with that lure:
The lure is sometimes referred to as a "safety-pin" style spinner--if you squint, you can sort of see it--and it's a wonderful river lure. You can usually fish it slower than other lures because the spinning blade keeps the hook and jig-head positioned in such a way that it won't attract snags so often.
Speaking of snags--the bane of my existence!!--if you get snagged in the White River, especially if you use light tackle like I do, STOP! Many fishermen tend to immediately yank as hard as they can the instant they are sure they're snagged. That's exactly what you should NOT do. If your hook point is set in a piece of wood, or if the lead head of your jig is wedged between rocks, pulling hard now will only make things hopeless.
Because you're fishing upstream, like I told you to, your snag is upstream from you. Begin walking upstream and every other step or so, reel in the slack and give a slight tug to your lure. You're changing the angle of your pull as you walk and about eight times out of ten, before you get all the way upstream from your snag, it will come free.
This next rock bass was caught right against the bank. Before I leave an area, I always throw at least one cast a foot or two from the bank and retrieve it in a parallel line downstream.
I've caught a lot of fish within a foot of the bank in water so shallow, you wouldn't think a minnow could lay sideways in it. (By the way, this is true in ponds and lakes as well as streams. I sometimes think the fish are merely waiting for bugs and other terrestrials to fall into the water.
Once, the Doc and I were fishing a pond west of town. The landowner was one that enjoyed a manicured yard--and that included his pond banks. Doc and I noticed we were getting a lot of hits just inches off the bank, so we started lobbing our Kelley's Pier Boys onto the bank itself. Pier Boy plastic worms aren't weedless, but because the grass was so uniform, we could pull it through with no difficulty, and right before the worm entered the water, we'd give it a couple of shakes. When the worm finally hit the water, we experienced some of the most vicious, water-erupting hits ever! Don't forget that bass often watch the bank for their next meal.
The next Goggle-Eye I caught was further out in the middle of the stream than were the others I caught. He was also very floppy, which is why he's upside down!
These next two Goggle-Eyes came from a great-looking spot just downstream of the sycamore at which I ended my day. The tree is right against the bank, its root system, no doubt, reaching into the water off the bank, and it is stuck out into the stream at a point just upstream of an eddy. So, over the years, the tree's root system has preserved the point that juts out into the river, water rushes around the point, and digs into the bottom creating a deep hole and slack water--perfect conditions for predator fish!
I caught these two with two casts. I think I could have stayed there for quite a while, catching fish after fish.
But, then I caught this fine-looking little Smallmouth:
. . . and I decided to call it a day. I think you should
always end an outing on a high note, don't you?
