A Weekend with Mixed Results

Hadn't heard from Ron for a few days, but as I just learned, it wasn't due to his sitting home. He's been out wetting a line every chance he gets.

In this latest report, he says his son, Alex, broke a long-running skunk Friday at Lake Smith, where he boated five, including one that weighed 2 lbs. 5 ozs.

They backed that catch up Saturday morning with about 10 more. Once again, though, there weren't any big ones, and a lot of short strikes. About noon, the bite turned off completely. A little later in the day, they went to to Albright's, which yielded only one wee crappie.

On Sunday, Ron went to Lake Smith by himself and boated five bass--the biggest a 1-14 (see photo above)--as well as a crappie and one white perch.

He also lost a fish, which, according to Ron, probably is running around with part of its anatomy missing. He bases that suspicion on what you see in the photo at left. He said he thinks the victim probably was a chain pickerel.

Sunday's trip was big on jerkbaits--"twitch, twitch, bam!" said Ron.

And then, as if proving that variety truly is the spice of life, Ron went to Milldam about 4:30 this afternoon and locked up with yet another species--none other than this 8-lb. 5-oz. "fatty" carp.

He was heading back under the Blackwater Road Bridge when "rubber lips" sent his drag screaming and took him for a pole-bending sleigh ride he'll remember for a long time to come. "It was amazing!" is how Ron described the event, which, at one point, nearly claimed his rod. His beetlespin was lodged squarely in the big carp's lower lip.

"Nice catch," remarked fellow-kayaker, Charlie, who likewise has boated his fair share of carp over the years. Charlie went on to note that he never had thought of a beetlespin as a carp bait.