Yo, Dummy! That Might Be a Fish

That's what I was saying to myself about noon today. I just had made a cast with a jerkbait, and after doing the jerk-jerk-pause thing, I thought I felt something but wasn't sure. So, I did a couple more jerk-jerk-pauses, each time feeling like there was some kind of jerk back going on. It wasn't until I felt like I should reel in and make another cast, though, that I suddenly saw the line jump sideways and finally realized I really was hooked up with a fish.

Turns out what I had been feeling was this 1-6 bass. And when he got close enough to see the boat, he decided it was time to put on a little show for me. With two of those three hooks on my jerkbait firmly imbedded in his face, however, victory ultimately was mine. On the next two consecutive casts, I again felt something but wasn't able to get another hookup.

It was about 2 o'clock when another bass jumped on my jerkbait as soon as it splashed down, and I boated my second and final fish of the day. He weighed in at 1-5. A few minutes later, I was wrapping up and battening down for the return trip to West Neck.

The water temp today went from a reading of 50 degrees when I launched about 7:30 this morning to slightly better than 63 when I headed back to the marina this afternoon.

All in all, it was a nice day, but not what I had hoped for when I left the house this morning. I had wanted to try and put together some kind of early bite, but that just did not happen. I went through a series of topwaters, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and a small soft plastic, all to no avail.

The first person I saw when I stepped off the boat this afternoon to back my trailer in the water was Skip, who told me he caught this fish about 10:30 this morning. When I asked him how much the bass weighed, Skip had one of his quips ready for me. "I didn't weigh it," he said. "Pound and 1/2 maybe... or 11 pounds. I get confused."

I learned that Skip also had talked to Lenny this afternoon and that he had one fish to show for his efforts. Meanwhile, Bob and Randy reportedly had found a couple bass.

So, no one came away empty-handed today--at least not among those I know about. However, it doesn't appear that any of us exactly set the world on fire, either. Sure hope our tourney results for this coming Saturday proves to be a tad more lucrative. It's a pretty safe bet that all the participants will be swinging for the fence.