Plastic or a synthetic mix plowed into Rabbit?
until the Bass morale improves or, Sunday morning at the Largemouth whipping post. Meanwhile my kid wallops the hell out of them with plastics. However, my resolve did not falter and I stuck with my fly rod; damn them all, each and every one of their plastic worm sucking souls! I actually had the hook in two but couldn’t hold the slippery buggers, small consolation to my severely damaged fishing mojo.
I assembled a new Bass and Pike rig on Saturday consisting of a Temple Fork Outfitters (TFO) Professional series 4 piece, 8 weight, a cheaper Okuma large arbor reel and Rio Pike line. The first thing to improve was casting in ugly wind conditions and lobbing the giant fly load. With this beefed up setup it was also much easier fishing in weeds, wood and the like as you can muscle your way around a bit more with the heavier line and leaders. So, while the beatings continue I am at least doing my part for the fishing economy and a couple ol’ Bass are smirking through sore lips.
The myth I heard last week of Largemouth who were purportedly on their beds and striking anything that moves turned out to be just that. Oh, they were around, and there were some tankers but the only business on their minds was snubbing every form of tackle conceived by man while they wisely cruised their enlarged bust lines just out of pistol range.
Two things happened of worthy note while we engaged in our Bass maneuvers. One, my former apprentice hooked a nice Black Crappie specimen. These fish are really beautiful, kind of a Peacock color palette.
Black Crappie, Montana
And second, it seems that I always head out one day early in the season forgetting the one detail that always leads to a raging tantrum, the whirring and thrashing of rods, slapping oneself silly, spilled drinks and tackle. And that would be mosquito repellent. One would think that after nearly a half century outdoors that any gem of wisdom that protects one from this mob of blood sucking gangsters would be emblazoned into memory. Apparently the memory of bent rods and singing drags is much stronger and quickly pushes aside such practical matters as preserving ones blood supply, sanity and comfort in pursuit of such experiences.
The truth is, this act will play out a second time before heat exterminates the little bastards for the year. This time the bottle of repellent is not left behind, its just that it will be nearly empty. It then becomes a process of elimination, what body part do you value protecting most from these blood thirsty malcontents with your last dabs of repellent?
And you will swear that you won’t forget the repellent again, and oh yeah, super size it too.
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You catch the crappie west of the divide? I’ve only heard of one or two places with illegally planted crappie over here. Always make plans to go looking for ‘em, and never seem to get around to it.
I’m not sure what the FWP plan is with Crappie but apparently the “bucket biologists” are at least in part responsible for their recent expansion.
They have been in Blanchard Lake for a few years now. I hear that they are in McWinnegar slough outside Kalispell and are definitely in some of the lakes west of town along US 2.
Idaho panhandle lakes are good for Crappie from what I hear. We haven’t gotten into them in good enough numbers to keep enough to eat. They are tasty.
They tend to be a schooling kind of fish. Most of the fishermen around here that actively pursue them fish them at night in the winter through the ice as they apparently are more active during those times.