Eyes on the Prize

Yesterdays fishing trip started like any other.  IF...your trips have you waking up an hour too early, forgetting the 1 thing your wife asked you to do before you left, AND hitting some object that was standing in the middle of the road but seemed to exit stage right, but didn't!

Not sure why I ever set the timer on the coffee maker.  It serves no purpose if you wake up before the brew has cooked.  But, I always do it and always end up waiting 10 minutes after I manually start the process.

You'd think that while I was waiting, I'd take care of some chores or honey-do's.  Nope!  Sadly, I must confess, I don't have that kind of mental dexterity.  Before a cup of coffee, I'm pretty much stuck on "need coffee" mode and "did I remember to turn the coffee maker on",echoes repeatedly in my head.  As such, I double checked the coffee and forgot about the trash (last thing she asked, plz take the trash out).  There it sat, beside the door, as I left the house on my way to fishing utopia, coffee in hand, and smile on face.

20 minutes later...mental conversation goes like;  "What's that?  Looks like a deer.  No...it's got 2 heads.  Slow down dummy".  Apply brake, start to slow.  "Great, it's getting out of the road.  Wait, no, only 1 head decided to not get run over.  The a$$ head is still there.  Get out of the way dummy".  Apply lots of break and nearly stopped before...a$$ head never moved and basically got pushed over/rolled over.  I saw it get up and run away.

A little heads up for my deer readers.  Beware of the guy in the truck with the yak on the rack.  He doesn't stop when he's en route to the water.  Not at McD's for breakfast.  Not at WM for whatever last minute gear someone forgot.  Not for snacks.  Not for bait.  Not at the fly shop.  Not at the ATM.  Certainly not for 2 deer, standing in the middle of the road playing chicken with cars at 5 am.  Nope...not stopping...find somewhere else to play your games!

I made it to my destination and was surprised to find the boat ramp empty.  It didn't take long to notice the wind was steady at 15 mph.  The weather channel disagreed and stated it was 5 mph but it felt like 15 and the pads flipping out of the water confirmed it.

No chance for flinging flies today.  So I opted for the 2 baitcasters I had in the truck.  I started the morning working a frog over the pads and got a good bite about an hour into it.  I set the hook and got a birds nest!  That's completely bassackwards...I'm pretty sure they come from the cast.  I checked the drag and it's really lose.  Tried to adjust the knob but the drag didn't respond.  Guess it was just old...not the most mechanically gifted either.   Down to; 1 baitcaster, 0 fish caught, and 1 missed...not to mention the chaos from the road trip

The 2nd caster isn't set-up for frog work.  Time to flip the edges of the pads and see if I can change the day.

Decided to cross a pad field b/c I expected most of the boaters would pass up on the inside ponds.  After about 45 mins of pushing through the pads I found some open water.  Wasn't long and I felt a thump.  Set the hook and had a weird feeling.  Started to reel and noticed nothing was happening. New tally; down 2 reels, 0 fish caught and 2 lost + chaos.

I figured out that if I put my thumb on the spool when I set the hook it wouldn't reverse and I could keep fishing.  Guess the "anti-reverse" bearing was failing, who knows!?  So I fished on and managed a few more fish applying the thumb trick...it was a PIA but that's fishing.

searching for holes and unexplored ponds

About an hour before I had to leave the wind went slack.  I could see little disturbances on the water.  The noise in the trees was noticeable all day.  The cicadas were in full force.  The high winds had knocked about a million into the water...they were everywhere.  Unfortunately, the fish weren't taking them.  And worse, I had to leave and couldn't come back the next day, or the next.


What we learned from this trip.
The world stands still until I have coffee pulsing through my veins.
I'm not thoughtful when I'm thinking about fish.
I never, ever, under any circumstance, stop when I'm on my way to the water.
There is no such thing is a weather forecast.  (weather is what you see when you get there)
I break stuff!
When I break stuff, I can't fix the stuff b/c I'm not mechanical.
I can catch fish with broken stuff.
My passion is fishing, anything that gets in the way is an obstacle that must be defeated.


Eyes on the prize!








 

Bass fishing and candy bracelets

I hurt my back last week and knew that MMAing a kayak was probably a bad idea so I rested both a few days.  It has been torture on me and my kayak has been sneaking into my room at night while I sleep.  Finally gave into peer pressure and planned a trip.  Of course the weather has been nearly perfect all week, partly cloudy and not much wind.  However, as soon as I want to go, that all changes.

The morning started great, flat and calm.  But around 10 am the 15 mph winds pushed in a little rain.  The weather really didn't hurt the fishing.  I did that all by myself.  It was one of those days where I hooked every cypress knee in the water.  It's amazing I caught any fish at all considering all the time I wasted slipping on sinkers, only to have them slide back off and fall through a scupper hole...another valuable use for scupper holes.  I figure I left enough tungsten in the lake to hold a body down for a few years.  Nothing special about the fishing, caught a few but they all looked the same.

Gang member...check out the tattoo!

You'd think after all the practice I got, I'd learned how to push string through a hole...but nope!  After school my youngest asked me to make her a candy bracelet.  Simple task of threading string through a hole.  10 minutes later, go to make a knot and watch 30 pieces of candy fall to the floor.   I gave up...told her sorry, and asked her if she wanted a piece of chocolate.  It wasn't the day for pushing string through holes or making candy bracelets.

Good thing I was coaching softball later in the afternoon.  Got to take out my frustration by throwing hard ground balls to little girls and then screaming at them for getting out of the way.  Still avoiding the candy bracelet...

3rd times a charm...

The last trout trip was so bad, I rushed back to Central AR and went after white bass the next morning.  Nothing new to report...they were fun, but I really wanted to put the fly rod away and go look'n for spawning bass.  Armed with the latest high speed baitcasters that you could buy 10 yrs ago, I was ready to try my luck Monday morning.

First spot was slightly flooded with good visibility.  Still getting a bunch of water coming in from the rivers.  I didn't stay long and made a 20 minute drive to another oxbow lake in SEAR.

1st stop - water covering the boat ramp - keep driving

Again...flooded...about 5 feet up and very stained.  Saw 1 boat at the launch and figured that wasn't a good sign.  I snapped this picture and kept driving.

2nd stop - high and heavily stained - keep driving

My last option was another, very large, oxbow lake in SEAR.  The AGFC lowered the lake about 15 feet and left it down all summer to promote fish habitat.  It's back to normal pool now and looked fantastic.

3rd stop - normal pool with ~1' of viability

Delayed b/c of all my stops along the way, I arrived after 9:30, and had to wait for a older couple to unload, "1" boat on a ramp made for "2" boats...not complaining...just say'n!  I could have used the riprap shore line....but look at some of the wildlife in the upcoming pictures and see why I choose to use the boat ramp.  Started fishing right at the ramp, depending on your level of superstition, I was cursed or blessed, 1 cast = 1 fish.  I'll let you decide.  Fished from 10 am - 1 pm and didn't cover much water...20 minute paddle back to the ramp.   Some pics...!

1st fish

big fish

Everything CPR'd

Saw several, but only a few let me get close enough to take a picture.  Being in a kayak makes going under trees and boat docks a little exciting...sometimes I look...most times I apply the, I don't see you and you don't see me, philosophy!  Whatever works right?!

It was great to be out enjoying some outstanding SEAR weather and great fishing!  Gonna get back very soon and get an earlier start.