Rule #15:  You can tell a lot about people by how sharp they keep their knives.

Father/Daughter "Bass Thumbs"!!!

Sunday: 5/23/2014

Yeah, so I know the title of the blog is "White River Reflections," but there are days, such as today when it's a better idea to change plans and explore some different water.

Today, Girl II and I fished what we decided to call "Fish Lake."  Original, huh?

Anyway, the specifics:

We fished from 1:00--3:15 or so (maybe longer because Girl II has perfected the "just one more cast" gambit!).

Today was a cool day, temps in the 60's.  The wind was pretty consistently a breeze of 5--15 mph.  There was a high blue sky, only infrequently overcast.  There was virtually no humidity.  In other words, Heavenly climate for a stroll, but for fishing, not so much.  It was one of those days early in the summer, when you step outside and say, "Well, the fish aren't going to bite, but it's too nice to stay inside."

And today, you'd be wrong.  Pleasantly, abundantly wrong!!










We caught close to twenty LMB . . .

. . . and one fish Girl II dubbed, "Franken-Gill"!  It was one of those bluegill that manage to weigh well over a pound.

Somewhere along the way, this particular fish must have been teased about its bulging forehead, because he had attitude!  By the time I caught him, among some submerged concrete step units, I had been catching 1.5#--3# bass for an hour or two.  But I swear to you, when he struck and for the next 30 seconds or so, I thought he was not only the biggest fish I'd caught that day, but that he had to be among my biggest LMB ever!  He hit the bait HARD, and then immediately put his full 11 inches sideways.  Because he refused to rise as I pulled against him, the drag engaged for the first time that afternoon!

Strangely, he was the only 'gill I caught.  Usually if they're not spawning, I can catch at least three or four from the same place.

I have a theory.  There WERE other fish in the school.  Franken-Gill ate them all.