Baitfish Were Jumpin', And So Were the Bass

I had done exactly as my dermatologist told me for one day shy of two weeks and stayed off the water. Today, though, I couldn't stand it any longer. Decided to gamble on my stitches because they come out tomorrow anyway.

By 7 o'clock, I was on my first hole, and by 7:20, I had my first fish in the boat. Caught it on a topwater, but for the next couple of hours, the topwater bite was null and void, so I put it down and went to work with "everything but the kitchen sink." I wanted to see if it mattered what I threw, and as I learned, it didn't, as long as it wasn't a topwater bait.

I ended the day with a total of 16 hookups, only 11 of which, however, made it into the boat. When I said the baitfish and bass were jumpin', I meant exactly that. No matter how far I rammed my rod into the water, nearly all of the fish found a way to get airborne. All of them pulled like 2- or 3-pounders, too, but my best one in the boat all day was the 1-14 in the accompanying photo. Rounding out my top five were a 1-8, 1-4, 1-3 and 1-2.

My biggest excitement of the day, however, was a fish I never saw or felt but that provided one of the darndest shows I've ever seen in my life. He went after my spinnerbait about 10 or 12 feet off the bow of my boat and threw water everywhere. I kinda think it may have been a really big gar or bowfin, because I've never had a bass act that way. Scared the crap out of me when it happened. He smacked the water two or three more times, even as my spinnerbait dangled right beside the boat. In case you're wondering, I didn't throw back in the same spot, 'cause I pretty well was convinced it was a fish with which I really didn't have any desire to do battle.

It wasn't until I got back to the ramp this afternoon that I found out I had been sitting on more than just my jacket from this morning's cool start during the return trip. It seems that a chatterbait I had used today somehow had found its way smack dab in the middle of the jacket. Guess I should thank the good Lord for giving me a clean run back this afternoon without having to jump any big boys' wakes. I might have incurred an injury that would have been really difficult to explain. And I'm certain I never would have lived it down.

In any event, it was really good to get out again after a two-week layoff. Here's hoping I don't have any more interruptions this year.