jnpcook
09-16-2005, 05:19 PM
It's been a very busy summer for me. Last night I thought I would catch up on a few things that needed to get done. I needed to get the grass cut. The front room could use cleaning up, and I still had a bunch of stuff to put away from being gone last weekend. Well, the grass still needs to be cut, and there are things to be put away and a room still to clean but I did manage to get some other things done that I have been neglecting.
I decided to do two things that I haven't done in an awfully long time. 1. Go Fishing! and 2. Go Float Tubing. Since I bought a small row-boat last year I have not used my float tube. It was always just easier to jump in my boat. Now with the days getting shorter and me not getting home as early as I used to I thought I would just grab my float tube and hit a local lake. (I keep my boat at my mother in law's house so I would have to have went to get it and then over to the lake wasting valuable fishing time.)
I arrived at the lake and got in the tube. It was nice to be back in the water again. I headed to the far side of the lake where I had always done better at and began casting my fly rod. I also have not fly fished in a very long time. I casted for a while but nothing was hitting my fly and it was starting to get darker and I was fishless. I switched over to my spinning rod with a texas rigged worm and cast it near a weedbed for a while. Nothing. I then casted out behind me toward the deep section of the lake and I had a nice fish hit and was on for a while. I got a good look at it but it managed to throw the hook. I continued fishing that side of the lake with no other hits except bluegill trying to bite the tail off my worm.
It was getting darker and I decided to head back toward the side of the lake where my truck was and fish there until I couldn't see anymore. As I got about 50 feet from shore I casted my worm and was into a fish. I was able to land this one and quickly measured it on my ruler silkscreened on my float tube. Measured at 15". Released it and then cast again. WHAM!! I am into a good fish and after bringing that in it was 17". I snapped a photo
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/526/bass2.jpg
and released this one. It was too dark now for me to see the line to properly set the hook with the worm so I switched to a white scum frog. I made repeated casts toward shore trying different retrieves. I had a REALLY nice bass smack the frog and I had a great hook set. My rod was doubled over and I almost had the fish in and then it made a sudden lunge and the line broke. I then remembered not wetting the line when I clinched down on the knot. Won't do that again. I switched to a black scum frog and was hoping to get the same fish so I could retrieve the white one from it's mouth. After several casts there was a HUGE splash near shore and where my frog was but it seems the fish totally missed the lure. It was almost pitch dark and I decided to call it a night. I couldn't see the trail back to my truck but I just scuffed my feet along to make sure I was on the dirt trail.
It was great to be back out fishing again. It has been WAY TOO LONG.
Sorry for the long report but since I have only been out maybe 5 times this summer I think I am entitled to make up for it :D
John
I decided to do two things that I haven't done in an awfully long time. 1. Go Fishing! and 2. Go Float Tubing. Since I bought a small row-boat last year I have not used my float tube. It was always just easier to jump in my boat. Now with the days getting shorter and me not getting home as early as I used to I thought I would just grab my float tube and hit a local lake. (I keep my boat at my mother in law's house so I would have to have went to get it and then over to the lake wasting valuable fishing time.)
I arrived at the lake and got in the tube. It was nice to be back in the water again. I headed to the far side of the lake where I had always done better at and began casting my fly rod. I also have not fly fished in a very long time. I casted for a while but nothing was hitting my fly and it was starting to get darker and I was fishless. I switched over to my spinning rod with a texas rigged worm and cast it near a weedbed for a while. Nothing. I then casted out behind me toward the deep section of the lake and I had a nice fish hit and was on for a while. I got a good look at it but it managed to throw the hook. I continued fishing that side of the lake with no other hits except bluegill trying to bite the tail off my worm.
It was getting darker and I decided to head back toward the side of the lake where my truck was and fish there until I couldn't see anymore. As I got about 50 feet from shore I casted my worm and was into a fish. I was able to land this one and quickly measured it on my ruler silkscreened on my float tube. Measured at 15". Released it and then cast again. WHAM!! I am into a good fish and after bringing that in it was 17". I snapped a photo
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/526/bass2.jpg
and released this one. It was too dark now for me to see the line to properly set the hook with the worm so I switched to a white scum frog. I made repeated casts toward shore trying different retrieves. I had a REALLY nice bass smack the frog and I had a great hook set. My rod was doubled over and I almost had the fish in and then it made a sudden lunge and the line broke. I then remembered not wetting the line when I clinched down on the knot. Won't do that again. I switched to a black scum frog and was hoping to get the same fish so I could retrieve the white one from it's mouth. After several casts there was a HUGE splash near shore and where my frog was but it seems the fish totally missed the lure. It was almost pitch dark and I decided to call it a night. I couldn't see the trail back to my truck but I just scuffed my feet along to make sure I was on the dirt trail.
It was great to be back out fishing again. It has been WAY TOO LONG.
Sorry for the long report but since I have only been out maybe 5 times this summer I think I am entitled to make up for it :D
John