White River Reflections
Rule #5: Never wear your pants inside your boots, unless they're rubber (your boots, that is . . . if your pants are rubber, well, there just isn't a rule that covers that!).
Wednesday, May 9
Small Fry and I started the season today by fishing the "Fisher Ponds." As I've explained earlier, these ponds were at one time small and very deep gravel pits--probably spring fed--maintained by my uncle. He and his wife also built a wonderful home on the banks of these pits.
I remember learning to fish "Indiana-style" here at these ponds when we came from Montana for vacation in the summer. When we moved back here, I fished these two connected ponds for years until my uncle died and my aunt finally sold the place and I lost my best fishing hole. As luck would have it, the folks who bought the property from my aunt are members at my church and one day, out of the blue, they told me I could fish there again!
It's very different now. The current owners have changed its appearance greatly. My uncle had a kennel for bird dogs built into the entire length of one side of the pond. He--like my grandpa and the other brothers--was a barely civilized hillbilly from southern Indiana. To get from one side of the pond to the other, he simply stretched the longest 2 X 12 boards he could find and called it a "bridge."
To knock back the surface weeds, they invested in a "herd" of grass carp, and have applied a pretty serious dark dye [I have found out it's called "Aqua-Shade"] to keep the sun from penetrating too deeply into the water. Also, where there once was a small john boat I used to fish from, I now need to stick to the shore--and because I appreciate the opportunity to fish these wonderful ponds, Small Fry, The Boy, and I have set boundaries--we don't walk anywhere close to their house. We've all agreed that we should keep from intruding on their lives as much as possible. To that end also, we only fish there during the weekdays.
We brought a couple of rods each, a couple of tackle boxes, and--of course--a folding chair for me! My first cast was a green and white Wacky-Worm. Before casting, of course, I said a prayer for Doc's Grandpa. Grandpa was one of my very favorite fishing partners--but above that, he was a treasured friend. "Pete" and I fished together even when his grandson, Doc, wasn't available to go. He was truly an exceptional man. I try to start every season with a cast dedicated to him. People who knew him would probably say it would be more appropriate if I threw a lure that could and/or would never catch a fish. Grandpa owned some of the most bizarre-looking lures I have ever seen. Also, we spent an inordinate amount of time pulling those weird-looking lures out of the tops of bank-side trees!
This was one of the most remarkable days I've had fishing with the Fry! On her second cast of a bronze Rapala Floating minnow, she caught a large, I think 3 year-old, bass. I caught my first on the next cast, but then got a tangle on my reel. By the time I got untangled--in about 10 minutes--Small Fry had caught 6 more bass! After that, I was catching fish about one every 5 or 6 casts, but she kept up her "every other cast" pace! In just about 25 minutes, we had 11 fish--all great eating size. So, we stopped. We didn't have enough ice or a cooler to keep things fresh, so that was all we could do.
We filleted and cooked all of them that night and they were just delicious!! I am, once again, extremely pleased to be married to a woman who will let me clean fish in the kitchen. In fact, I was going to pan fry them on the gas grill on the deck, but couldn't get the oil up to temperature and so had to even cook them in the kitchen!
All but one of the fish was female, with roe. None of them had ANY food in their stomachs. I think there is no doubt that the strikes were hunger-inspired. Neither of us saw any nests, so, though it's odd, I don't think the fish have spawned yet.
Some things we are going to consider for the future:
1. We're going to choose one of our many coolers to designate as a fish cooler. The folks who own the Fisher Ponds want every fish caught to come out of the water--either to be eaten or thrown away. If, though, we happen to catch a truly large bass, we'll throw that back.
2. We need to keep on the pond at least once a week so we can better ascertain its rhythms. To figure this out, I need to start my season earlier--even in late winter, as soon as the ice is gone.
