Check out the vid! It's a good 'un!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouSST3fSxJA
I have to tell yall, my wife's desire to become my fishing partner has been exciting for me. She started late last year, using her half days to spend time on the water with me. I wasn't going to disagree. Anytime on the water is better than none. But, initially I was worried she would be like all the other women I hear about who can only spend short amounts of time out on the boat without getting bored.
But, each trip she went with me, she tried to catch fish. Unfortunately, the first few trips were slow and I was worried that she would loose interest. But she didn't. And finally, we had a good trip where she wiped the floor with me. I think she actually threw a fish in my face at one point...going up like 20 fish to 4. Here are some links to those trips
Recreational Companionship
Getting Schooled By Alyse
Now, I maintain that I spent all my time keeping boat position in a hard current...but she will argue that. So don't listen to her.
Anyway, life has been busy for both of us and it's been hard to find an afternoon free. But, we managed to find some time to get away. I met her at noon at the Triana ramp, which is between Ditto Landing and Decatur. It's not really known for great fishing...but there are fish and I have a few places I feel confident I can catch them. I did have concerns with it being deep summer. But, all you can do is try! BTW...I don't think there is anything more AWESOME than a wife who can handle the boat....who's with me?
So, we pulled up on one of those spots and started casting. We both started with cranks, though I quickly gave up on them and when to the shakey head. I was throwing a buckeye spot remover pro series 1/4 ounce with a PowerTeam Lures 5" Sick Stick in watermelon red flake....my favorite combo!
Within 5 casts, I had a hard hit in about 10 feet of water, and when I set the hook...nothing was there. But, I have been learning a lot lately about finesse fishing, and one thing I have learned is....never give up on a cast. So, I let it settle back to the bottom and the fish crushed it again! This time I leaned back into the fish. It was a NICE fish for that end of the river. I know...2 pounds isn't great. But, they fight hard! I eased him to the boat and scooped him. No easy task on 6 pound test!
I retied, added a new worm, and went back to work. The current, which I was surprised about, had pushed us down river from the pumphouse we were fishing. So, I decided to try the rock pile on the down river side. It didn't take long to produce a fish! It just wasn't real big....
At this point, Alyse made me give up the rod to her. So, she started using it. She had never thrown a shakey head, so I gave her some tips....even if I am not any good at it...and let her cast away. In the meantime, I picked up the ole Sammy and started fan casting.That produced another short fish...but I wasn't going to complain.
I pulled us back up to the head of the pumphouse and watched Alyse fish the shakey head. I gave her some tips and it paid off! She was bumping the 'head along the bottom when one scooped it up. It took her a second to figure out what was going on, but she set the hook and swung it aboard!
When things slowed down, we made a move up river to her "favorite spot". But, it didn't yield any fish...making that the second or third straight time. They must know she is coming!
We made another move, opting to fish two new spots. One was inside a tiny boat launch area that was shielded off from the current. I didn't think we would catch anything, but I was tired of dealing with the wind and the current. Amazingly enough, the spot produced about 5 fish in as many minutes....all on the shakey head. That included another nice 2 pounder that Alyse caught!
Getting hot, since we were now out of the wind, we made one more move to an all new area...a stretch of rip rap bank. Alyse missed a fish immediately, but I was able to pick one off. Then the stretch cooled off. In the meantime, I saw an interesting set of rip rap rocks. These were larger than the rest and I explained how that was something that might hold fish. Case in point, I tossed the sammy towards them and a fish sent it rocketing skyward! It missed, but I could tell it was a nice fish. I took a breath, fired it back, made a few twitches and the fish KILLED it. It was the nicest fish of the day! Meanwhile, Alyse was wrangling a fish of her own....not making a sound! I turned around just in time to see her boat swing another nice fish!
All in all, we caught around 15-20 fish in 3 hours. It was a ton of fun. To me, the highlight was watching my wife learn a new technique and see it pay off.
The lowlight was easily me hooking myself....yep....it's true.
I was jerking the sammy out of some brush and it rocketed back at me and hit me. That isn't what is bothersome...it's when it hits you and sticks. It was a clean in and out. A pair of pliers and a little work and I had it out. Not too much blood or crying!
Oh well! Still a Great Day!
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