Went to Play Today in the High Water

Satisfied that most folks would have returned to work after the long holiday weekend, I decided to hit the water for a few hours today, even though I knew it was going to be high. The level nearly was all the way up to the very top of the concrete, so I got my tootsies wet getting the boat in the water. That was OK, though, given how warm it was.

My watch showed about 7 a.m. when I shoved off from the West Neck ramp and headed for Albright's. I couldn't resist another chance to fish that 100-yard stretch Tom and I have been hitting for a couple of weeks now. Today, however, the fish seemed to have either relocated or had learned the value of being tight-lipped. I did get hooked up with about a 2- or 3-pounder pretty quickly on a topwater bait, but one flying leap was all it took for him to spit the bait back at me, and he refused to come back and give me another chance on a Senko. As it turned out, that would be the only action I would see all day in that 100-yard stretch of grassy shoreline.

I started working different stretches, en route to the mouth of the creek, but quickly figured out it was going to be a mighty slow day. Bait fish were present, but there wasn't a single thing bothering any of them. I spent a few minutes with all four of the baits I had tied on this morning without stirring up the first fish, then decided to stay with the spinnerbait, which has been fairly good to me for a spell now.

I was slowly moving down a section of shoreline where big gar notoriously hang out this time of year, and today was no exception. I just had seen a big one roll on top when I felt a pretty solid thump on my spinnerbait and only half-heartedly set the hook.

Immediately, the fish started taking a little drag, and it stayed down, so I was convinced I had hooked the gar I had seen. That being the case, I made no effort to land it right away. I wanted to wear it out a little bit, so it hopefully wouldn't be so aggressive while I unhooked him.

Imagine the surprised look on my face when I finally saw the fish above roll up beside the boat with my spinnerbait lodged in his jaw. Needless to say, I shifted gears and quickly brought him over the side. My scales registered his weight at 4-3.

Not too long afterward, I boated about a 10-inch bass on the same spinnerbait, but that was the extent of my action for today.

By 12:30, it was really getting warm, so I wrapped up and headed for West Neck. Once I had cleaned up the boat, flushed the outboard, and put it all away, I decided to go get some gas and top off the tank, so it'll be ready for Saturday's tournament. Left all my tackle locked up in the boat, except for the rods, so it'll be a simple matter to get everything ready Saturday morning.

I won't be getting back on the water before then, because there are some errands I have to run in the next few days. Given the temps I saw forecast this evening, it doesn't look like I'll be missing much, other than for a little sunburn, and I got plenty of that today.