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Mid-September Morning at the Bass Pond
We
don’t fish the gravel pit bass pond on bright and sunny
days, because the waters are crystal clear and the fish
can see us too well, but last Sunday conditions were
just right. My brother Billy picked me up at 6:30 during
a soft, steady rain, and we arrived at the pond under
heavy gray clouds over dark, murky waters. Perfect, we
thought, as we pushed our canoe in. We’ll catch a
million today.
Which we did not. We landed nine fish, eight of which
were largemouth bass, in two-and-a-half hours, which is
good for most fishing venues but not here, where we
often get 15 or more in a morning and where we once took
26 fish in three hours.
But who’s counting, right, when you get a chance to get
out with your long-time fishing buddy, who also happens
to be your younger brother? Billy and I fish together
often but differ greatly in our lure choices and
methods. He likes a heavy jig for bass, tipped with an
artificially-scented plastic worm, while I favor
crankbaits – the Frenzy Minnow brand in particular – and
various treble-hooked Rapala swimmers. But our results
are about the same.
After we caught our eight bass, I happened to mention
to Billy that he had caught a crappie about a year ago
in this pond, and he remembered and agreed. One minute
later a fish struck his jig rig, and he set the hook and
reeled in a 12-inch white crappie. That seemed like a
fitting ending, so we beached our canoe, loaded our gear
in Billy’s Jeep, and headed for the coffee shop.
~ Don Feigert, 09-19-10
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