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Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Family Fishing 12/13/15

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It isn't very often that we have such pleasant weather in December. While I'm not opposed to fishing in the worst conditions, my kids and wife are. 

So, when I realized that this past weekend was going to be in the high 60s, I planned to get some serious fishing in before the weather turned against me.

Friday, I was able to get in a little "prefishing" on my uncle's pond. After all, kids need to have constant action and the worst thing you can do is provide them with a slow fishing experience. 

Ok, the truth is that I had a little extra time on my hands and I wanted to go fishing.

I initially tied on a PowerTeam lures bull nose jig. I had some luck on it last year around this time on this very pond. I also could use all of the practice I can get with it. I was fishing it around a sunken brush pile where it snagged up and I had to break it off. That left me with few options, as I had exactly two other things I could throw. 

I elected to throw the War Eagle spinner bait for multiple reasons. It was very windy and the pond had a nice ripple on the surface. Additionally, the spinner bait would allow me to cover a lot of water, which is important as this pond is very large. 

I made a lap around the lake recording only a single hit. The fish ran right at me and I didn't have the chance to set the hook.

As I ended the lap around the lake, I made some casts into this small U-shaped corner. Within a few turns of the handle, a fish loaded up on the bait. On it's first jump, my heart stopped because it was a 4-pound fish. 

But, for some reason, I went stupid and decided that I should try and video the fish instead. So, I dug out my phone and tried to get some action shots. While I did get some decent shots, I played the fish too much and she threw the bait about 3 feet from me. 

As you can see, I didn't get any great pictures, but I did get these two.

Though I was happy to get the big bite, I really wanted quantity. So, I made a switch.

I tied on a 3/0 hook I had in the car and put a PTL Sick Stick on, hooked straight down the length, texas-rigged. But, between the wind and the use of a medium heavy rod, I had no feel for the bait. It was coming through the water too easily. There just wasn't enough resistance in the water. So, I pulled the bait and rigged it wacky style.

Indeed, that was the trick. Pulling it perpendicular to the rod allowed the bait maximum resistance and gave me some feel, though it wasn't much. 

On my first stop, I had my first bite, but it didn't come using my usual wacky rig technique. I had to essentially "dead-stick" the bait.  Sometimes they would pick it up after the initial fall, but I wasn't feeling the hit, I was watching the line. Instead of the fish swimming off with it, I was having to watch the line for "jumping." Additionally, I would keep a finger underneath the line. Sometimes I would feel the thump. 

Interestingly enough, the bites would come in groups of 3 or 4. I rarely caught just one fish, but I had to cover a lot of ground. In other words, the fish were grouped up OR I was having to fire up the school. 

These fish were actually solid size fish. I ended up catching around 11 or 12 in about an hour. Each would weigh between a pound and a pound and a half. Of course, I wanted revenge on the big fish I missed, though I doubted  I could get her to hit again. Even so, I slipped up to the corner and tossed the sick stick as close to the bank as I could.

She must have been sitting right on the bank because she annihilated it! I was so excited that I pulled it right out of her mouth! 

The best 5 of the day would go right at 10 pounds.





So, with that day in the books, I brought the kids out to fish. I set my wife up with a spinning rod and a light-weight jacked-wacker backed by a sick stick, both from PowerTeam Lures. 

Before I could even get the nightcrawlers baited on my kid's hooks, she had brought in 2 bass. 

Griffin, the middle child, didn't have any desire to fish today. But, he was happy to play with the biggest of the bass that my wife had caught, whom we put on a stringer so that the kids could play with him. Griffin named him "Bubbles" and concocted an elaborate plan on bringing him home. 

Aubree had to be convinced to fish. She, for some reason, was willing to "take a nap" even though she is 10 years old. Truth is, she wanted to play on a tablet and I wasn't going to let the happen. She caught a fish on her first cast and was already bored with it. This brought dismay on both of her parents who told her that she would spend her time either fishing or babysitting the baby. She elected the latter, so we shrugged and went on fishing.

I could not buy a bite, but Alyse had an easy time of it. She was up 6-0 on me before I finally dragged in my first and only bite.

Surprisingly, Griffin kept up with us, which is not his style. Typically, it is he that would rather sit in the car than fish. I was happy to see him having a good time, even though it upset him when I let Bubbles go home. 


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