Rule #32:  Never answer the phone or text at the dinner table.


"CABIN FEVER" THOUGHTS


I've been reading how to catch winter smallmouth.

I think that's a bad sign.

Anyway, today, to keep myself from going down to the White and cast grubs across ice floes looking for a "fishy" looking area, I thought I would list the places I want to hit this spring with a vengeance:
And, once the season starts, I will take them one-by-one to present the way(s) I want to approach these waters this year:

1.  Fisher Pond
2.  "Keep Out" Lake
3.  Little Kentucky
4.  "Keep Out" Lake #2
5.  White River, upstream, from Treatment Center dam
6.  Mississinewa River
7.  Horse Pond
8.  Shamrock Lakes
9.  Buck Creek
10. The Rez
11. Small creeks, north-west of here, running under road bridges
12. Big Dirt
13. Doc's New Pond

I've got thirteen places to fish, at least.  As with the places I intend to fish, I'll tackle (haha!) each of these separately in a post.

1.  Fish at least once a week.
2.  Be on the lookout for a cheap john-boat.
3.  Check trolling motor or get new one.
4.  Make some new milk jug anchors.
5.  Buy/put together one more outfit:  This will be the ultra-light version of my last outfit:
     6' 6" Bass Pro Shops Micro Lite Rod
     Ultra-Light with the lightest weight Pfleuger President reel, model 6920.
6.  Put together a Medium--Medium Heavy outfit from the equipment I now have.  The rod Peg got          me from "points" at our bank is exactly what I need for this outfit.  I'll pick out the best reel for            heavier line, good drag, and load it with some heavier line.
7.  Become more proficient at cleaning fish, and subsequently eat more fish.  Also, when I'm fishing        cleaner water, I'm going to bring a cooler with ice each time, and kill some keepers, even if there        are only a few.  I'll clean those and freeze them so that I can build up enough for a meal.
8.  Buy cheap fly rod and learn to fly fish with new reel.  I got both at a rummage sale.  Now, I'm            going to try to find a store where I can buy backing, line, leader, and tippet, and have an employee     help me load it up.

There never seems to be enough writing about different gear and how to use it.  Though I'll treat these individually later, I will also try to identify the few ('cause I can't afford a $20 Rapala!!!) baits, lures, and gear that I will employ this season:

1.  Strike King Grub with Tiny Paca Chunk
2,  Larger beetle spin on White for Smallies
3.  [With Carly} Live bait on Fisher Pond
4.  Fly rod and automatic reel
5.  Wading the river with football cleets.
6.  White River bait fishing; standing in the river and casting upstream.
7.  Seining the river for crawdads, etc. to use as live bait.

+from Water Treatment Center, upstream
+shallow run just above falls across stream from Water Treatment Center--wading
+West Side Park and water down stream
+Between West Side Park and the High Street Bridge
+area around High Street Bridge
+shallow water around the Whiteley neighborhood
+area around the old wire factory

My Bass Tournament Experience

Rule #64:  When a politician utters the words, "the American people," you can be sure of two things:  first, the next words out of his or her mouth will be a bold-faced lie; and second, you should really grab onto your wallet as fast as you can.


MY BASS TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE


As a graduate student, I was in a strange world.

I was, as I had always been, a Muncie hillbilly.  On the other hand, I was also a graduate student in English and American Literature, and my colleagues were NPR-loving, brie-eating, Volvo-driving, WONDERFUL folk.

Misguided, sure, but still wonderful.  I loved them, and they put up with me.

My best friend in grad school was of the "brie-eating" tribe, but he was a great guy nevertheless!  We were tipped off  by one of the secretaries that there was a local bass tournament at our newest reservoir about 25 miles south of my home.  Since it was a "local" tournament, my friend and I decided that we could maybe enter and have a chance, even though we only had my 12' jon-boat that was held together with a distressing amount of Bond-O.  We wrangled a small outboard motor from the Department Chair and figured we were ready.

My wife made me some bologna, mayo, and cheese sandwiches and threw in a couple of V-8's and three Budweisers.   I was thrilled!!

We showed up well before the starting time, yanked that boat out of the back of my truck, drug it--scraping Bond-O all the way down the ramp to the water, and "launched" her!  Well, actually, we pulled it over to the single wooden pier beside the ramp and tried for the first time to attach our motor to our boat.

Wrestling with the ancient outboard, we couldn't help but notice that the ramp was filling up with ENORMOUS bass boats that no doubt cost ten times our combined annual salary!  Were there any other boats requiring the pier?  No.  Were there any other boats made (mostly) of aluminum? No.

. . . and, could we get the engine started, well, no.  An air horn signaled the start and what seemed like thousands of huge Mercury's flared into action as fiberglass beauties fairly shot across the surface of the reservoir.  And we sat and watched them.  After a moment, we grabbed a couple of oars, and made our way, with the wind behind us, to a stand of flooded timber that looked kind of "fishy," about twenty yards from the pier, and then tossed out our "anchor," which I'd made by filling an empty gallon milk jug with Sacrete and tying twenty feet of nylon rope to it.

We sat in our boat until our fingers began to get numb before we remembered we had lunches, each prepared by our respective wives.  I popped a beer and opened a sandwich bag, thinking all the while that this could perhaps make my day turn around.

I have noticed many times while fishing that things can start going bad within the first few minutes and you just know that this day is not a day you're going to enjoy, and that the first thing that went wrong--maybe your first cast ended up so high in a tree you'd have to cut it down to retrieve your lure!  And in your heart you know that was just the first thing to go bad, that the rest of the day will be one long chain of such incidents.  Yet, some very few times, I have been able to stop everything, take a breath, maybe sit down, take a sip of coffee; then, when I start again, I can do so almost like it was the beginning of a new day.  Sometimes, some very few times, this will work.

Unfortunately, this was not such a time.

I looked over at my friend, opening the lunch he and his wife had prepared.  First, came the cucumber sandwiches with the crust cut off, then from an ironically red plaid Thermos, gazpacho.

Yes, gazpacho.  On a nasty, cold Indiana day, my friend was eating cucumber sandwiches and cold soup.

Now I've spent a lot of time in boats, fishing by myself, but usually with someone else.  Really, just with "the Doc," I've spent hundreds of hours on the water, and never, I mean NEVER, have I come so close to throwing someone overboard!

Obviously, we caught colds, but no fish.  In the end, we decided to leave early in order to avoid the embarrassment of "ramping" our boat when the others did.

And eventually (after the other two beers) I was able to quietly forgive my friend.

The next time we went fishing, although I had a legendary hangover, I caught dozens of largemouth--FROM THE BANK!!--and the biggest catfish I had ever seen.  But the final redemptive moment of the day occurred when my friend opened the same plaid thermos and poured us each a cup of coffee (now it WAS Hazelnut or something, but what the hell)  AND he had a small sack of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches--on white bread--which along with the coffee, constituted the single best meal I had ever had!!

January -- Moved, but No Fishing

 Rule 4:  Nazis never have the right of way.

[Sometime in October, and really, depending on who you ask...] 

 So, the move is complete.



Somewhere along the line, we lost one dog and picked up another--younger, and definitely more energetic.  Our home is wonderful.

We have just experienced our first big snowstorm and cold spell.

Somehow, Bass Pro Shops has a link in with our meteorologist--on the morning we got 3", their catalog arrived in the mail.  Even though I could go to basspro.com, but there's just something about having that enormous catalog in your hands--it seems to promise many and large fish!

Here, so far, is "My Gear Wish List": 

Strike King Bitsy Bug Mini Jig - 1/16 oz. Green Crawfish
Strike King Bitsy Bug Mini Jig - 1/8  oz.  Watermelon
Strike King Bitsy Bug Mini Jig - 1/8   oz.  Pumpkin Craw
Strike King Bitsy Bug Mini Jig - 1/8  oz. Green Pumpkin
Strike King Bitsy Bug Mini Jig - 1/8 oz. Cajun Crawfish
Strike King Bitsy Bug Mini Jig - 1/4 oz. Green Pumpkin 

NetBait Tiny Paca Chunk Softbaits - Green Pumpkin
Gary Yamamoto Senko - 4" - Green Pumpkin Black Flake 
Bass Pro Shops Triple Ripple Grub - 2" - 17 Pack - White 
Bass Pro Shops Squirmin' Grub
Bass Pro Shops Triple Ripple Grub - 2" - 17 Pack - Chartreuse Silver Flake

Stren Original Fishing Line - 2400 Yard Service Spool - Hi-Vis Gold - 6 lb.
Seaguar INVIZX Flourocarbon Fishing Line - 200 Yards - 4 lb.
Stren Monofilament Fishing Line 660 Yards - Clear/Blue Fluorescent - 6 lb.


Owner TwistLock Centering-Pin Springs - Large - 8 Pack 
Owner TwistLock Centering-Pin Springs - Small - 8 Pack
O-Wacky Tool
O-Wacky Tool Replacement O-Rings - Black - 25 Pack 
P-Line CXX X-tra Strong Monofilament - Hi-Vis Fluorescent - 8 lb. 

Pflueger President 6900 Series Spinning Reel - 6935
Ugly Stik GX2 Spinning Rod - USSP602L
Bass Pro Shops Crappie Maxx Mighty Lite Crappie Rod
Bass Pro Shops Crappie Maxx Pro Series Crappie Rods - 8' 

As you can see, I am going to devote a lot of time to jig fishing this coming season.  To this end, I am going to get a heavier rod/reel combination--the larger Pflueger President reel, and the Ugly Stik GX2 Spinning Rod.   Last year I got what I think is the perfect combo for the majority of my fishing--the Bass Pro Shops Micro-Lite, 7' rod and the lighter Pflueger President 6900 Series Spinning Reel 6925.  I wanted a rig that could cast heavier jig/pig combos and larger crankbaits.  Of course, I'll use this rig mostly on my ponds and lakes; there are just fewer opportunities for large fish on the White or Mississinewa Rivers.

So, what's on your pre-season Wish-List?

Rule #12:  Dogs are better pets, but cats are easier because they just don't care when you leave.

MOVING!!!

Over the next few days, I won't have much to report on the fishing front.

My Best Girl and I are moving to another home.   We will remain in the same city, but are moving north and west, to the outskirts of town.  One of the things about the neighborhood that I noticed right away is that 1/4 of a mile east of our home there is a larger than usual farm creek that cuts south to north through a soya bean field.  As I drove by it the other day, I saw a man wielding a 7' (or longer) rod into the waters below.

Since then, Girl 2 and I have explored the area and it looks abundantly "fishy."

We're moving because Girl 2 is the only kid we have year-round.  The Young Lady has lived with us this summer, but is looking for a job teaching elementary students and, therefore, probably won't be with us much longer.

The Boy also lived with us this summer--mostly, I like to think, because he loves my cooking!  He is, however, renting a house with several friends for the fall.

Girl I is the most independent of them all.  She has moved out of  both our house and her mother's and now lives with a friend close to campus.  I don't get to see her enough, but I'm so proud of how mature she is.

So, faced with having only one kid, where we once had four!, we decided it was time to go smaller.  Therefore, we are moving from a home that is 4900 square feet to one that is 2400 square feet!

As soon as I can, though, you know I'll be back on the river.

If you had to limit them to four, which lures would you choose?

Rule #23:  Until they're about 25, most boys are too dumb to be worth much.

THE FOUR ESSENTIAL LURES:

If I had to choose only four lures to put in my tackle box--for all species and all seasons--which would I choose?

To answer this, you have, first and foremost, to determine:

• What kind and size of fish do you want to catch?

•  Then, you need to figure in the kind of water and other conditions in which you generally fish.

•  Also, you need to take into account what seasons you fish: only Spring and Summer?  Or do you stretch it into almost a four season year?

•  Increasingly, you have to determine how much money you're willing to spend.  In a day when a Rapala can cost you more than $10, only the wealthiest of fishermen can ignore that factor.

For me, those factors are easily decided:

As I have said before--I fish for fun and for food.  I like to catch big fish, but a 1 1/2 pound bass often fights better than a 4 pound bass, and it always tastes better!  I like to catch fish. Period. If they're huge, that's great, but I will never fish exclusively for the enormous bass.

• I fish small waters.  Abandoned gravel pits, farm ponds, the White and the Mississinewa Rivers.  Small.

• Lately I have tried to stretch the season beyond the Spring and Summer.

• I am decidedly opposed to the prices major lure companies are asking for a piece of balsa and some treble hooks.  Even the soft lure manufacturers have joined this price expansion:  Imagine paying $9 for a small pouch of four or five plastic worms--I'm looking at you, YUM!!!

Given all of these considerations, here are the four lures, or lure types, that I would choose if I couldn't have any others:

1. In-line spinners--Mepps, Panther Martin.
2. Pre-rigged finesse worms--Kelley's Pier Boys. 
3. "Safety-Pin" style, "Beetle Spinnners" with Mister Twister jigs attached
4. Tiny crankbaits: 1/16--1/8 oz.--Strike King, Snap Peas

Rule #1:  The most important thing is God.
Rule #2:  The most important thing is family.  Figure that out--it's the most important thing. 

Wednesday, 5/28/2014

I went fishing this past Monday: It was one of those days that just couldn't make up its mind.  Over three hours, there were two downpours, and about 45 minutes of high blue skies!  The wind blew consistently, but the direction was nearly impossible to predict.  At one moment, I'd be casting with a good stiff breeze behind me and the light lures I was tossing would fairly shoot off the rod.  The next cast would be directly into the wind, and I'd be lucky to get ten or 15 feet from shore.

I started at the lone Sycamore tree where I left off last time, and as usual, made my way upstream.  I tossed the same lure I had on when I left that spot: a 1/8 oz. Beetle-Spin type lure with a pink head and 1 1/2" or 2" curly-tailed pumpkinseed body.

Nothing.

And that's surprising.  That lure will, at the least, usually get a small bluegill or rock bass to strike.  So, I thought, maybe something with a little more flash, and I threw a #1 Panther Martin in a black body with the gold blade.

Again, nothing.

Actually, less than nothing.  I snagged that lure and couldn't get it free, I had to eventually break off . . . and you know how I hate that!  I would have gone in after it, but it caught onto something in a deep pool (Deep for the White River, in this case was about 5 feet deep.  Doesn't sound like much, but I have made that walk back to the truck in totally wet clothes too many times in my youth.  It has lost its allure--hah!)  So, I did the smart thing and clipped off my line.

Next, I tried a Rebel Tiny Craw.  About 1 1/2" and maybe 1/8 oz., this can be an effective lure.  But not today.  The Tiny Craw is meant to imitate a crawdad trying to escape predators.  It seems to be neutrallly bouyant, and a quick crank or two will bring it down to the bottom.  It "digs" through the mud and muck, bouncing off rocks well, and leaving a good clear trail.  The only problem I have with this tiny crankbait is the same I have with others of its size, the hooks become tangled with each other or they get tangled with the line.  I would say one of every four or five casts resulted in some sort of tangle.  I have heard that trimming two of the treble hooks from the front set will cure this.  I've thought of taking the front hook off completely and replacing the back hook with a larger treble, maybe red.

The next 1/4 mile or so of the river is extremely shallow, wide, with almost no ripple areas to produce oxygen in the water, and very few deeper pools.  There are fish in these shallow runs, but they're almost all very small and kind of spooky.  Also, the bank is pretty high here, and it's hard to get close to the water--so I had to cast from well above the water and that makes the retrieve steep and keeps the lure from running naturally.

I finished the day when I caught my only fish--a smallmouth bass, maybe 5" long.  Wonderful.

Imagine my pride.  Go ahead, and yes, it is as small as it appears.


Sometimes you fish and can't do anything right.  Your casts go astray and end up in the TOPS of trees, you snag every expensive lure you've brought with you, you can't manage to tie a decent knot, you lose every fish that hits--most right at the bank or beside the boat.  And you know after a very few minutes that nothing good is going to come of your efforts.  I have actually quit a fishing day after 10 or 15 minutes, because I could tell that everything was going to go to hell!

And then, sometimes, like today, you fight through the feeling and stick with it to the end.  Sometimes, you can just take enjoyment from your surroundings, the trees, the waterfowl, the river itself.  Today, though, as I walked through innumerable piles of goose shit, and listened to the traffic above me, I struggled to find deeper meaning in my day . . . to say the least.

The sad thing is that the section of the river I face next is dreadfully shallow, wide, and slow-moving.  At least until I get another third of a mile behind me, there is really no discernibly "fishy" water.

Yeah, that sucks, but still, I'm fishing!

Fishing: Alone or with Friends?

Rule #27:  Never pose for a picture with booze in your hand.
 

Fishing with Company or Not

For me, there are really two different kinds of fishing:  alone or with friends.  They are almost completely different experiences.

I fish by myself most of the time.  I'm not sure if that's because I prefer to do so, or because my favorite fishing partners are very busy people:

--The Doc is lucky to get a few hours now and then to spend with his family, let alone fishing!

--My wife is the one person I'd like to fish with more, but she is also the busiest person I know.  Her dedication to her work, her Church, and her family is beyond compare.
 
--Of my children, Girl I doesn't enjoy fishing as much as I do, but she graciously does so because she is polite and likes hanging with her dad.

--The Boy is very busy also, but he and I have been fishing together more and more. I hope that we can keep this going.  I want to take him to "Keep Out Lake" soon.

--The Young Lady enjoys fishing up at Kelley's Island, and has won several KI "awards," but her heart isn't really into the sport other than those days.

--Girl II is engrossed in studies and the intricacies of teenage life, but she enjoys fishing--and cooking fish!--a lot.  More than anyone I've known for a long time, she understands the "Circle of Life."