Poles in the Water

Or perhaps not. Went fishing with the family on their pontoon boat one day at camp. It was sweet no matter how you measured it. Wind in your hair, eagle flying by, air textured with water scents and forest tang.

We anchored a few times and couldn't buy a bite. Not that it is exactly punishment, rocking quietly on a boat anchored on the prettiest lake in the world, but an occasional fish does add a welcome bit of punctuation to the party.Then the little brother put us on a spot up at the far end of the lake by the dam.

Dropped a worm.

Wham.

Reeled in a large rock bass. Another worm. Another rocky. Sis-in-law and brother were fishing crayfish and hellgrammite larvae (or dobbies) respectively. I stuck with worms, which don't bite and do appeal to even the biggest, meanest fish in the lake (a rainbow trout BROKE my favorite pole a few years back when I was fishing a lowly earthworm.)

NY law permits two poles in the water per person.

However, keeping two poles in the water was physically impossible. You couldn't get one fish off before there was one on the other pole.

It was crazy; the fastest and most furious fishing I have ever experienced. Although we only caught rock bass, they were huge for rockies and ferocious biters. And you could easily see that there were big predator fish down there, because the surface danced with jumping fry. Even good-sized rock bass were leaping to escape the savage teeth. There are plenty of big pike and pickerel in that lake. Alan says he has seen logs, which suddenly swam away when the boat flowed over them. I suspect that there were at least a couple of those "logs" right under the boat.

We had the live well full of fish before we drifted off the hot spot.

By then the wind was kicking up and the surface of the water was turning that hammered-metal color that it gets before a storm. Matt anchored a few more times, but we never hit the spot again.

Soon the wind got serious and the rain started splashing down, so we ran for the cabins down the lake, churning up an eager wake and getting a free shower.....just before the lightning started slamming all around.

It was the craziest fishing trip I have ever experienced. Such fun!

And the fish fry that Lisa and Matt put on the last day, wherein we got to eat our catch, cooked over their campfire along with Dutch oven veggies and apple crisp ditto wasn't too shabby either.

On a related note my little red el cheapo pole got broken in the car on the way home. I need to find another one before next summer. Any ideas on what to buy? I mostly lake fish, prefer a light-weight, responsive pole, and use a close-faced reel. The pole the trout broke a couple years ago was my favorite ever, just a little Zebco that gave me a real feel for the fish and cast like a charm......every time I go to Wally World, the selection of poles offered changes so much it just boggles my mind. What has worked well for you in this department?