It's Slow Goin' on Gaston, 'Cept for the "Skeeters..."



And the "skeeters" I'm talking about here aren't the kind with outboard motors hanging on the transom. They're those annoying pests that bite the crap out of you. Jim made the mistake of standing outdoors the other night talking to a fella from the next property over from where he's staying, and he paid a dear price. "I've put itch meds all over my legs, but I'm still itching and miserable," he said. "Didn't sleep worth a hoot last night."

This past Monday was especially slow for Jim--two dinks for a whole day of fishing. It got so dead he fired up the Yamaha and took a boat ride--for a whole hour--just for the heck of it. And anyone who knows Jim knows he doesn't do things like that under normal circumstances.

Tuesday morning didn't start much better. "It's been one of those days when I couldn't catch a fish to save my hide," he wrote. "I missed six good strikes before I finally got a dink in the boat, then missed one or two more before I got another dink in the boat. I saw a couple of the missed fish--even had one to the boat after missing it and mumbled 'I got ya this time,' only to bonk the fish on the noggin' with my net, and it was bye-bye."

It now was time for the frustrated Jim to take another boat ride--for another hour, no less. "Without much boat traffic, I was able to run from end to end and hit all the branches of the creek," he said.

Jim then returned to where he's staying and took a breather--and probably, if the truth be known, a little nap--before getting back on the water at 5:30 yesterday evening. He fished 'till dark, boating three keepers: a 1.8, 1.7 and a 1.0. That bit of success had his "handlebar" twitching in a good way--for at least a while.

I still haven't heard from him today, but I do remember he told me officials would be spraying for hydrilla on the lake again today, so he was a little concerned about what that might do to the fish. He concluded his note, though, by saying, "I'm in a better mood tonight," so I'm hoping that nothing happened to change that today.