Wednesday, March 25, 2009

March Showers

Isn't it supposed to be "April Showers". And the other phrase is something about "March comes in like a Lion and goes out like a Lamb". Well this is a story of fierce March Showers.

So the original plan for yesterday was to go fishing after work with Doug. When we first discussed this, we said it would depend on weather. As it turned out, some family matters came up yesterday afternoon. Doug did the right thing and put family first. So after checking the weather, I determining that even if it was windy and raining, I did not want to just skip the opportunity. There was a weaker cold front coming in overnight and more significant one coming in this weekend. Fishing will only get slower as the week goes on.

So I called my buddy Jamie. He lives really near Fermilab and he made a couple phone calls and agreed to meet me. We were checking the weather radar using Jamie's cell phone. We had hopes for a window of lighter rain. We wondered how silly we were heading out into this weather, but we are both that anxious for some really good spring fishing.

As it turned out, we were right to hit the water. I had my first fish (just 14") on my second cast. And followed it up with a 13" fish on the following cast. All the fish I got were Largemouth Bass. The 13" was the smallest and an 18.5" fish was the largest. I do have my fishing poles marked off so I can measure my fish against the side of the pole when I catch them. The numbers are not wild guess fish measurements. Jamie got pictures of a couple of them which I hope to post later.

Jamie may have started slower, but he did alright. He was trying a variety of baits. He was expecting crankbaits to be the best lure for this early in the season and the weather we were under. After catching my first few so quickly on slider jig heads and Senkos, I was not interested in trying other baits. I fished the same type bait until my last cast. Something heavy was on the end of my line, pulling this way and then that. With a sudden hard turn, he broke off, taking my bait with him.

So the 7 Largemouth Bass that came to my hands added up to a total of 110 inches in length. I think Jamie ended up with a half dozen fish. All this was in just a 90 minute outing. With good numbers and good rain gear, we agreed it had been worth going out in the rain.

I'm looking forward to better weather, without the winds. I am anxious to tag some of these nice big spring bass on my the fly fishing gear.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

2009 is begun

The 2009 fishing season is now underway. I've actually been out three times in the last 3 weeks. I got one LM (17") on my first outing. Not much for a two hour effort, but satisfying none the less. The goal of my second outing was to help a friend get his first of 2009. I think his first was a 15" or 16". I was looking more at the smile on his face than I was at the fish.

And then there was yesterday after work. I brought 6 or 7 to my hand. I had a really nice fish on early and even got it to do the tail dance, but I had never set the hook properly and I lost that one. The fish ranged from 11 to 17 inches. The surprising part was that I got these on Senkos. I had started with small Rapala style twitch baits. But the fish just watched that swim past. It was when I switched to the Senkos that things started happening.

I was out with my regular fishing partner Jamie. He did well himself and I expect he will be posting pictures on his Blog sometime today. We could not help but notice the nice green coloring on these LM. It all made for a very enjoyable St Patrick's Day.

Till next time, I wish you Tight Lines, Ken S.