Would You Believe--A Double Limit Today?



That's right--a total of 10 bass, all caught on crankbaits...in North Carolina, no less. And the weights are even more unbelievable. The small limit included a 1-4, 2-4, 3-5, 4-5, and 5-2, for a total weight of 16-4. Didn't figure I'd ever top that in a million years, but then I turned around and bagged a 6-7, 7-2, 8-1, 9-3, and 10-1, for a total weight of 40-14. Are you dyin' yet to know where I was when I caught all of these lunkers?

OK, I'll tell you. I was sitting on the sofa in my son and daughter-in-law's front room (in Moyock) playing with my 20-year-old, hand-held, battery-powered Radica: Bass Fishin' game (see photo at right).

I can't begin to tell you when the last time was that I had played with this thing. It had been so long I first had to go online and print out a set of instructions before I could get started. After that, though, it was a piece of cake.

Don't know how many of you will admit to still having enough "child" left in them to play with something like this game, but I, for one, derive a lot of fun from it. In case you're not familiar with how the game operates, once you feel a strike and are quick enough to set the hook, you feel this vibration in the game's handle until you either land or lose the fish. And, once you land it, a little window in the upper right corner of the glass front shows you the weight of the fish you just caught.

It's a total blast, and I wouldn't take a million dollars for this thing. I'm not sure if it was a Christmas present from my wife or my kids, but I am pretty sure I got it about 20 years ago. I reckon you could say it was the forerunner of those Wii games that people plug into their TV sets today.

All I know is that, when for one reason or another, you're not able to actually get out on the water and feel the tug of a fish on the other end of your line, this game makes a darn good substitute--at least that's the way it is for me.

Call me a little bit crazy, or maybe I'm just on the fast track to my second childhood, but I believe that life is just what we each make it. And while I'm not always the world's best role model in that regard, I no less try to find things to smile about and, more importantly, make others smile, too, especially this time of year. Speaking of that, here's hoping everyone has had a delightful Christmas Day, surrounded by friends and family and all things good to eat. Bless you one and all.

I was talking to my friend, Jimmy, today (Sunday, Dec. 28), and he told me that he, too, has found his Radica game, loaded some new batteries in it, and is stalking his share of bass now. Makes me wonder if anyone else has gone looking for theirs.

I'm not sure what the biggest bass is that swims in the game's lakes, but I got on some biguns Friday and landed about eight that weighed more than 20 lbs. apiece. Once more, they all came on crankbaits, which, as anyone who knows me will attest, is my favorite bait this time of year--whether it's for real or just a game.