CRAZINESS
It was a day off and a very nice day to be out. Loaded everything in the truck, especially the vest, and headed out. I was heading to a pond that I don’t get to fish very often. I have to cross three pastures, and it is rare to not have cattle on any of them. I don’t cross fields with cattle in them. That way I can’t be blamed for any cows getting out. I got blamed for that one time.
I stopped at the land owner’s house to let him know that I would be going in and would close the gates behind me. That way he could contact his hired hand to let him know I would be in there. He told me that all of the gates were open at the time and to leave them that way, and that certainly makes it quicker to get in.
I drove into the pond and just stared for a few minutes. This pond has some standing timber in it, and it also the pond has some flooded multifloral rose in the bottom. The one rule the landowner gaves me is that no pan fish can go back into the pond. He likes to go out and catch a few bass once in a while. He doesn’t keep them, but wants to catch them.
I put all the stuff in the canoe and headed out on the pond. Where I launched is part of the overflow for the pond. It is about two feet deep for twenty feet out but it was so filled with weeds that I could not cast there.
I stopped the canoe and dropped an anchor so the canoe would swing around and let me cast along the weed edge. I could also cast out and let the fly come back. I made a short cast and the fly had not moved very far when a fish took it. From the way it was fighting I was sure it was one of those pesky bass which are about a foot long.. The fish jumped and it sure did not look like a bass, but then crappies don’t really jump. The second time it jumped I knew it was a crappie. It was the size crappie that I net - did not want to take a chance on losing it.
I made another cast that landed a few feet farther out that the first cast did. Accuracy is not one of my strongest points, unless I really have to put the fly in a small space. I’m glad I tie flies from the number I lose doing this. The fly had not moved very far and I had another crappie on the line. This fish also took to the air. Rarely have crappie jumped for me.
On the third cast I had a fish hit the fly. I thought it was a fish, but it acted like a weed since there was no fight as I reeled it in. It turned out to be a foot long bass. No struggle at all.
I made several more casts and picked up a few more fish. Then I moved the canoe some so that it was over water that was a little deeper. This would also allow me to cast over a few of the multiflora rose plants. I made a short cast along the weed line and hooked another crappie with a pilot’s license. It spent more time in the air than in the water. A cast over the multiform rose plants resulted in another crappie and this fish also took to the air. This was getting to be a very fun day. I was getting 12 to 14 inch crappies that were going ballistic. It was great fun to have them on the line. They are fighting like bass, but I am not complaining. I had a fish on almost every cast and good size on all of them.
I have a mesh fish basket that I love. Fish go down a neck to a bell at the bottom. It works well in the canoe and also when I am on shore. The mesh basket can be swung out and I can still keep the fish in water. I was having so much fun that I did not keep track of how many fish I had. I usually have a fair idea, but I had no clue. I was having too much fun.
I did notice that the fish were not going down the neck of the basket very well. It was time to lift the basket and get the fish to the bottom. One problem was that there was no room in the bottom of the basket!
It was time to quit as I had no more room for the fish. I was getting ready to head back when the hired hand showed up. He asked if I was having any luck. I made another cast and hooked another fish. I showed it to him and he was sure excited. He said he would go get a bucket if I would catch him a dozen of these fish.
Who am I to argue with this? I had his fish in short order. I headed for the shore, after I wrestled the fish basket into the canoe. This was easier said than done. I had the canoe loaded and strapped down when the hired had got back.
He was excited to have the fish, and I asked if he knew how to fillet fish? H said he did not so I told him that I would do it for him. I had my fillet board and knife with me so I could leave some for the landowner, and I had plastic bags to put the fillets in also. It did not take long to fillet them and toss the leavings where the coons would clean it up.
I stopped at the landowners to give him the fish fillets. He was excited to see the number of fish that I had caught. He did not know that the crappie were that large. He also told me that they would take me through the fields the next time He wanted to make sure that if a gate came open it would be his fault. He also stated that his wife would want some more fish meals.
When I got home I had just breached the century mark with the fish that had been filleted at the farm. I had some very nice fillets to share and probably too much fun for the fisherman.
Hope you can get out on the water.
Rick