"It Was Like a Fishin' Dream"

That's how Terry Bennett described the fishing day he and a buddy had yesterday on Norfolk Lake. "We got into a tremendous bass bite that lasted for hours," he said. And before I go any further here, let me clarify that I obtained this report via my good friend, Charlie Bruggemann, who also has included the info on his blog (http://vbfishlguide.blogspot.com/).

"These bass were chasing minnows in a small area," continued Terry. "Between us, we caught some 12 to 15, not counting hook throws and non-hooksets."

Terry's highlight, though, was the citation crappie (first citation freshwater fish ever for him) you see in the accompanying photo. It weighed in at 1 lb. 8 ozs. and measured 15 and a half inches when they took it in for certification.

"Thought he was a bass when he hit a 4.5-inch plastic worm," said the proud angler, adding, "imagine my surprise! Guess he was feeding on the minnows, too."

Terry went on to say his buddy caught two bass that would have gone between 4 and 5 lbs. Without a scale, though, they couldn't tell for sure. "I'm pretty certain my buddy also lost a citation bass," noted Terry. "I saw him jump and throw the bait--it was huge. My buddy almost cried."

In wrapping up his report, Terry estimated that most of the bass they landed yesterday were in the 2-lb. range, and all of them were released alive. Seems the only reason they quit when they did was because one or both of them had a commitment elsewhere.

"As I paddled off," said Terry, "a big bass slapped the water while chasing minnows about 20 feet from me--imagine having to paddle away from something like that."

The water Terry and his buddy fished yesterday was running 74 degrees in a depth of 3 to 4 feet, and it was pretty murky. Successful lures included wacky worms, soft-plastic shad/minnow-type lures, beetle spins, and spinnerbaits. "The only thing they wouldn't hit," Terry concluded, "was the craws... strange."