The 17th cast of 2013 gets author his first fish
I promised myself that the first day that conditions allowed, I would try to get started on fulfilling one of the many New Year’s resolutions I made, and the only one I am likely to continue.
The resolution: Catch at least 21 freshwater species of fish in Mississippi in 2013.
I am also attempting to get 15 saltwater species in the Gulf, which would be easier if it wasn’t harder to arrange the trips.
So on Thursday, the third day of the year, I loaded up the boat and headed to a friend’s private lake. It was still cool — in the low to mid 40s — but in black layers of warm clothing the bright sun made it surprisingly comfortable.
The surface temperatures were a little warmer, beginning in the upper 40s and quickly surpassing 50. Recent rains had stained the waters and the plentiful sunshine warmed them quickly with its radiant heat.
With the ramp adjacent to the dam, the starting point was simple enough. I headed to the riprap on the dam and began throwing a Pro Pointer 100, a suspending jerkbait that has always been a good cold-weather producer.
The key, bass pro Pete Ponds has taught me, is to use long pauses between working the lure with jerks of the rod tip.
L – o – n – g … e –x – c – r – u – c – i – a – t – i – n – g … p – a – u – s – e – s.
On the 15th cast, I felt something slam the jerkbait and I set the hook. A heavy-bodied fish was hooked up but not for long. I’m not sure if I tied a bad knot or had bad line, but within seconds, the fish was gone and had taken my $16 lure with it.
Looking down at my rods on the front deck, I grabbed one with a Bandit Flat Maxx crankbait and decided to make a few throws before stopping to tie on another jerkbait.
I’m lazy, but this time it paid off.
My first cast bounced off the riprap and the lure’s hooks were fouled on the line. I reeled it up, fixed it and made another cast down the rocks. I was working at about a 45-degree angle to keep the lure over the strike zone of the dropoff for a longer distance.
I cranked it fast and hard to get it down, paused and waited, just as I had been doing with the jerkbait. I counted to “10 Mississippi” and put three quick cranks on the reel, then pulled the lure along with a slow sweep of the rod.
BAM! Another strike, and this time the hookset was solid.
The fish felt heavy but in the cool water, it lacked the feistiness that big bass usually possess. The fight lasted only a few seconds and I quickly pulled the fish to the boat and into my partner’s well-placed net.
The 3-pound largemouth was treated like royalty. I held it up for photos and quickly released it, removing the hooks while the fish was in the water in the net. Finding itself free, it sort of lingered for a few seconds before a couple of waves of its tail propelled it quickly back toward the deep.
I quickly dried my hands and went back to fishing. I stuck with the crankbait and my partner with the jerkbait. The bite wasn’t great, with each of us catching three fish along the 200-yard dam, but it provided a nice start to the day and to the year.
We tried one other pattern — yo-yoing a red lipless crankbait on a deep flat — and it produced another fish apiece.
By noon, we were done and I was headed back to the computer to download the picture and write this column.
Twenty more species to go…
Happy New Year!
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