Why Do We Bass Fish?

In the words of Don Mc, the fella who sent me this photo, "We do it for fun...and to enjoy the beauty of an early morning scene like this one."

As one writer online noted, however, fishing is a lot more than that. He suggested that "it's about the closest you can get to physically experiencing poetry. It's a pursuit based on contemplation and solitude that involves an appreciation of the elements. It's a game of chance, hope, escapism...a step into the murky waters of the unknown. It's the perfect symbiosis of man and nature, and there is little difference between the angler setting forth on a misty dawn and the poet staring at a blank page. Both are hoping for greatness but will settle for a brief silvery flash of the transcendental brilliance that lies beneath the surface."

That statement reminded me of a thoughtful poem I'd once read by the late fishing-industry veteran, legendary writer, angler, and bass fishing hall-of-famer Stan Fagerstrom. As a tribute to his memory, I am reprinting it here:

On a Lake at Daylight

A friend saw me coming off the lake

He asked me what I'd caught

"Didn't have a bump this trip." I said

"And I fished in my best spot."

"If I was you, I'd quit," he smiled

But I just shook my head

My friend just didn't know, you see

There's much more to be said

Because on a lake at daylight

As dawn's light glistens on the dew

I feel the nearness of my Lord

Though the skies are gray or blue

I hear Him in the eagle's cry

And the heron's raucous call

I see Him in the rainbow

Be it summer, spring or fall

He whispers to me in the wind

Or in the softly falling rain

And I know that if I listen

He'll speak to me again

That's why before I make my first cast

I take the time to pray

To simply thank God for the chance

To be out here today

I thank Him in the name of Christ

Because as we are all aware

It was often men who fished

He sought His life on earth to share

I like to catch my share of fish

And I get them now and then

But if I do, or if I don't

I'll be back out again

If I never caught another bass

A crappie, perch or trout

I'd still be going fishin'

There's not the slightest doubt

Perhaps you find the Lord in church

Me, too, but a promise I will make

Take time to look for Him, my friend

Next time you're out here on the lake.

A New Way to Secure Your Boat to Docks

While looking through the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster, I came across this item about a new way to tie up your boat to the dock. Jewel Bait Company's DockStix are hollow metal sticks with industrial-grade bungees. They let you secure your boat to the dock with cleats and other things, making sure the boat is just far enough away it doesn't rub the dock when a wake hits.

DockStix come in a set of two per order and retail for $79.95 per pair from both Jewel Bait Company and Tackle Warehouse.

Measuring 16 inches long, DockStix come in eight different decal colors: black, blue, red, neon green, neon orange, neon pink, neon yellow, and American flag. They are designed to work with many different cleat styles, among them ones that collapse, as well as those that are on the inside or top of the gunnel. Rubber-grip ends protect the boat's gel coat from the DockStix resting on the top cap.

While originally designed for bass boats, DockStix also will work effectively on other types of fishing boats 21 feet or less long, provided the dock-attachment point and the gunnel are at equal height to one another.

For your viewing pleasure, here are links to a couple of DockStix videos:

     * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOawCQ0-7gs

     * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdsCsIR2g-0

Old School Still Struttin' Its Stuff

"Out with the old, in with the new." That saying doesn't always work for today's bass anglers. Some like to keep that old stuff close by, because they've learned there are times it can come in handy.

One angler whom I know keeps at least some of those tools from bygone days at the ready is Don Mc. We swap emails from time to time, and he provides fishing reports, as well as blog items like I received from him yesterday, including the above photo. What you see in the photo is a 1979 Garcia 5500C (first thumbar reel), a 1983 Fenwick Eagle II five-and-a-half-foot casting rod (6 power), and a 1983 Strike King grass frog.

Don Mc fished this rig last week on Northwest. "It was scary using mono," he admitted, "but I survived many years on it. Actually caught four and missed two," he continued. "When the action started to heat up a bit, I switched to the newer stuff (better frog and newer tackle, including heavy braid)."

As Don Mc went on to note, he plans to fish a Johnson spoon, a devil's horse, and a Bill Plumber super frog...all late 70s baits...for his next trip to Back Bay. "Gonna do it just for the heck of it," he explained, adding, "I think there should be at least one tournament a year with the requirement that everyone use baits that are 30-plus years old. The three earlier mentioned baits won a lot of tournaments in Back Bay during the late 70s and early 80s."

Someone who shares Don Mc's affinity for the tools of bygone days is Ken Duke, managing editor of Fishing Tackle Retailer, The Business Magazine of the Sportfishing and Marine Industry. As he has written, "There's a new generation of bass out there that hasn't seen the 'old stuff.'"

According to Duke, "Bass anglers have a penchant for what's new, a lust for the latest, and a thirst for what's fashionable in bass lures. "When was the last time you heard about a bass tournament being won on a single-spin spinnerbait?" he asked. "Did bass stop striking single spins all of a sudden? Of course not. But anglers stopped buying and using them. They traded them in for square-billed crankbaits, bladed jigs, and other lures du jour.

"You might think fish are fickle, but they have nothing on us, and that makes no sense," continued Duke. "Bass have short lives and even shorter memories. If you last caught a bass using a Johnson Silver Minnow 20 years ago, rest assured that no bass in your state today is old enough to have witnessed it. But those same bass have the same genetic makeup that made the Silver Minnow a bass slayer almost 100 years ago and that keep it effective today."

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Whether that's what the victim here, pro kayak angler Drew Gregory, was thinking when the goose in this picture attacked him is anyone's guess.

Seems that Gregory was just trying to have an enjoyable day on the water bass fishing. The only problem was that this small group of geese wouldn't leave him alone. Their breaking point was when he caught and released a fish right in their face. (See the whole episode by clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cV4FCwtTEo.)

The obvious lesson to be learned here is never to show up a goose while fishing, especially if there's a camera rolling.

One can't help but wonder if this goose ultimately might have ended up with an apple in its mouth and being served to the Gregory family while gathered around their dinner table.

Last Man Standing

 

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."

Henry David Thoreau

(Reprinted with permission of the author, Glenn Busch.)

As fishing clubs go, ours was never large. We started with seven; there are four of us left. We first declared ourselves a club in the fall of 1980, which means we are about to have our 40th anniversary.

None of us knew at the time that we would reach this remarkable milestone, or even that we intended to. We were just seven men who enjoyed fishing and one another's company, and it went on from there. Little did we know that, for the next four decades, we would gather twice a year for fishing, fellowship, and a whole lot of fun.

Let's see: That's two trips a year for 40 years, at five days per trip, which comes to 400 days, meaning we have spent more than a year of our individual lives performing this outrageous semi-annual ritual of male bonding. And throughout those 40 years, none of us have missed more than one trip, and then only for excuses, such as a child's wedding, surgery, an unavoidable professional meeting, or previously scheduled overseas travel. And even then, we felt a pang of guilt for being an absentee. That's quite a record. Although death eventually ended the attendance of three of our number.

I anticipate our fortieth will be one of those bittersweet affairs, like when a family gathers to enjoy a Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday, and the melancholy memories of lost loved ones intrude upon the festive mood.

The four of us who remain will no doubt mark the occasion with some sort of sophomoric celebration and retrograde adolescent behavior. But I am equally certain that the moment will arise when we interrupt the frivolity to toast our three absent buddies.

It's been apparent--at least to me--that the unavoidable question of "how long can this go on?" has been lingering at the edges of our recent gatherings. We joke about the last man standing, but the reality that, one day, the club will end isn't far from any of our minds. How could it not be?

In the early years, we were invincible. We sheltered in tents, slept on the ground, cooked over a campfire, didn't shower (couldn't), relieved ourselves in the woods, got up before dawn, hiked for miles, fished until well past dark, drank too much, and got up the next day to do it all over again.

Today, we are all over 70, and the normal wear and tear of advancing years has made one claim or another on each of us, not to mention that we gave up camping a long time ago.

When we begin this upcoming 80th trip, we will drive up to a well-appointed lodge, where each man will have his own bedroom and bath, and we won't hit the stream before eating a monstrous breakfast prepared in a kitchen with every modern convenience. We will drive to the stream, so we won't have to walk far, and we'll return in plenty of time for happy hour, when we'll sit on comfortable chairs atop a spacious deck while eating hors d'oeuvres and waiting for supper to be served. We'll all be in bed no later than 10.

Forty years is a long time to hang with any group. And I often wonder what's been the cause of longevity. You might think that it's due to having a lot in common. But that's not it. We have as many differences as similarities. Take politics, for example. We are all over the place...so much so that we agreed years ago to avoid the subject during the time we're together. Our interests, tastes and backgrounds differ, too. And if some social scientist were to examine our personality profiles and assign us a compatibility score...well, I suspect we wouldn't be given much chance for success. Yet, here we are, after 40 years.

Over the years, I have fished with a lot of people in multiple places, here and abroad, but I've never had more fun than I've had with my dead and aging friends. So what is it? Why has it lasted?

When I was a working pastor, I experienced, more times than I care to remember, men who had difficulty forming deep and lasting friendships. Is that a characteristic of the gender? Is intimacy a problem for men? Who's to say. But more than once, I was surprised and saddened when a man I knew only casually, mostly in a professional way, would refer to me as his "best friend."

As I sit here contemplating our upcoming trip, with as much anticipatory excitement as I had on that first occasion 40 years ago, I still wonder about the mystery of it all.

It must be the fishing, don't you think? What else could it be?

About the author: Glenn Busch retired to Lynchburg, VA, in 2008, as rector emeritus of St. Mary's Church in High Point, NC, after a pastorate of more than 27 years. It was during the High Point years that he also became a college teacher. While serving as rector of the parish, High Point University asked him to become an adjunct faculty member, where, for 18 years, he taught for the department of religion and philosophy. Glenn and his wife, Kathleen, have two children and two grandchildren upon whom they dote as often as time and distance will allow.

Take That Froggy a Courtin', Ya' Hear?

What could be finer than sitting on a calm stretch of water in the early-morning hours with your favorite frog tied on when, suddenly, the water explodes? A giant bass bursts through the surface, with your frog entrenched firmly in its gaping jaw.

That's what a typical frog bite looks like, and few anglers can resist setting the hook too quickly when this happens. Every good frog angler has his/her own method of waiting until the bass has taken the frog deep enough to set the hook. If you do it too fast, the frog will merely pop out.

According to some anglers, you should count to three before setting the hook, but that doesn't work for all. The key is to wait until you feel the bass trying to crush the frog in its mouth. Once you feel that, lean back and bury the hook hard.

Landing bass out of cover requires just one thing from the angler: Keeping the head up and the fish moving toward the boat. It's generally all over if the bass gets deep into cover, tangling the line.

The next time you head to the water, don't forget to take your frogs. You can fish them from shore or in a boat. There is no more fun while bass fishing than seeing a bass explode all over a frog and knowing you are about to do battle with such a majestic creature in its own environment.

Just remember to count to three...or do whatever it takes for you to get a solid hookup.

Following are links to some examples of what I'm talking about:

     * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD2Ro5S_4I8

     * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDIGyozPnKI

     * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87ahECIWZ70

     * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaZZmlAj4qM

For Week Ending Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020

Thursday, Oct. 22 (from Ken)...Given the nice weather, decided to spend a day on the water. Only caught three small bass and a pickerel--all on a crankbait. Tried some topwater, a jerkbait, and a chatterbait, without so much as a pass. For a change, didn't see a single hunter today. Did run into Dave, though, and learned that he had had a pretty good day on a variety of baits in several different places. I'll be happier when the water cools down into the 40s and 50s, which should bring on a jerkbait bite. The water I saw today all was running in the 60s and 70s. Stopped by the store while I was at the marina and finished updating the plaques with plates for those who went home as AOY and Classic winners this year.

Open Tournament Slated for Saturday, Nov. 14th

Tournament director Wayne Hayes has scheduled an open bass tournament out of West Neck Marina on Saturday, Nov. 14th, starting at safe light (about 7 a.m.), with weigh-in at 3 p.m. Regular tourney rules (including COVID procedures) will apply. Cost is $60 per boat (plus ramp fee), regardless if one or two fishes out of it. Call Wayne at 705-4950, or email him at WHayesZ520@outlook.com by Oct. 29th to get your name on the list and/or to get answers to any questions you may have.

If You're Making a Christmas List...

Here's something you might like to add, especially if you're serious about your chosen sport. It's an Eco-Popper Video Fishing Lure from Eco-Net.

With this topwater (floating) popping lure, you can enjoy a view of the fishing action like you've never seen before. The tail is fitted with a 720p HD wide-angle video camera, an array of water-quality sensors, an accelerometer that tracks your fishing technique, and a Wi-Fi hot spot that streams the video and data to your smartphone, up to 90 feet away.

With a 135-degree horizontal field of view and a vertical field of 90 degrees, the Eco-Popper's camera shows the approach and strike of a fish, affording you an insight into fish behavior that can't be achieved from a boat or the shore. Its sensors record the temperature, oxygen level, clarity, salinity, and acidity of the water and transmits all this data to your device, where an app (iOS 8/Android 4.3 and above) records the video and information. The app will share information you select with Eco-Net's network of fishing and marine conservation enthusiasts.

The two treble hooks--one black (installed), and one chrome--can be removed if you want to use the Eco-Popper strictly as an observational tool. It charges in 70 minutes with the included USB cord, measures 4.5 x 1.5 x 1.3 inches, and weighs 2.5 ounces.

The Eco-Popper comes in eight colors (blue strike, fire tiger, frogger, golden shiner, gray storm, john silver, perch, and red head), with a limited 1-year warranty. For $239, one of these state-of-the-art gadgets can be yours. To place your order, go to: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1430540-REG/eco_net_0a0ed_eco_popper_video_fishing_lure.html.

Remember This Old Nursery Rhyme?

There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile,

He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;

He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,

And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

I was reminded of that piece of memorabilia from my childhood when I saw the accompanying photo of a largemouth bass with scoliosis, a spinal condition often found in adolescent humans, as well as different species of fish.

According to one online site, roughly three million new cases of scoliosis are diagnosed among humans in the United States each year. A majority of them are identified as idiopathic scoliosis, a type that presents itself in children between 10 and 12 years of age.

Unfortunately, studies have yet to reveal much about scoliosis in fish species. Many have shown that causes of the vertebral abnormalities may include genetics, parasites, pollutants, and other environmental factors. Meanwhile, the scientists continue trying to determine whether there are consistencies in some parameters of scoliosis in fish species: the position of the kinks, the magnitude of the curvature, the pathology of the vertebrae, and other skeletal elements involved, etc.

One thing certain is that, despite some forum comments I found online to the contrary, this condition in a fish isn't caused by poor handling.

Who Hasn't Received a Butt Dial at Some Point?

Before you answer that question, you might want to know I'm not talking about what happens when someone sits on a mobile phone in their rear pants pocket. Instead, I'm talking about a fishing gadget made for the butts of fishing rods.

Practical Angling, LLC, in Cold Spring Harbor, NY, announced availability of the innovative new product for anglers in September. The Butt Dial, as it's called, solves the age-old problem of keeping track of fishing-line weights and styles on all your rods and reels. It offers a new and simple way to solve rod and reel mix-ups forever.

"No more writing on rod handles, adding sticky tape, or writing on reels with permanent marker," says Chris Nehlen, CEO of Practical Angling. "Simply slide a Butt Dial on the butt of the rod, set the line style to Fluoro, Braid, Mono, or Copol, then dial in the line weight from 4-lb. to 80-lb., and you're all set. No more mix-ups. No more wasting line, money, and time."

"Set it and never forget it," adds Dan McGarry, partner and director of business development for Practical Angling.

Features and benefits of the Butt Dial include the following:
     * Dial in the line style (choice of fluorocarbon, braid, monofilament, and copolymer).
     * Set line weight (ranging from 4-lb. to 80-lb).
     * Fits cork and EVA handles (standard or split grip, one inch or larger in diameter).
     * No more wasting line, money and time.
     * Durable and lightweight. You won't know it's there until you need it.
     * Seven-day money-back guarantee if returned in original package.

Practical Angling provides free shipping on all orders of 12 or more Butt Dials. For more information, or to place an order, visit https//www.thebuttdial.com/.

Gunshots, Raindrops and Good Food

That could describe our 2020 annual season-ending tournament Oct. 10 and 11, which involved 24 anglers in 14 boats vying for the biggest payouts of the year. This group brought a two-day grand total of 118 bass to the scales, weighing a combined 227.83 lbs., for an average weight per fish of 1.93 lbs. and an average weight per boat of 16.27 lbs.

Just to prevent any mistaken notions of the "gunshots" I referenced in my title, I'm referring to the fact this weekend began waterfowl hunting season, and the hunters...and their decoys...were in abundance in a lot of places anglers ventured.

That being said, those who walked away from the event with a pay envelope in their pocket included the following:

1st Place, the team of (from left) Fred Crawford and Gabe Himmelwright, 10 bass weighing 28.13 lbs., and a big fish weighing 5.62 lbs.

2nd Place, the team of (from left) Allen Napier and Chris Napier, 10 bass weighing 23.84 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.80 lbs.

3rd Place, the team of (from left) Chris Fretard and Mike Miller, 10 bass weighing 23.34 lbs., and a big fish weighing 5.70 lbs., which also earned them the tournament's Lunker Award.

4th Place, the team of (from left) Don Carter and Rob Peppers, 10 bass weighing 19.63 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.33 lbs.

Going home with the annual Seasonal Lunker Award was the husband-wife team of Andy and Diana Morath, who, this weekend, had 10 bass weighing 19.08 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.10 lbs. They caught their 6.93-lb. seasonal lunker back on Aug. 8.

Here is how everyone else finished the contest:

     * Bobby Moore, 10 bass weighing 17.54 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.02 lbs.

     * Jim Wilder, 10 bass weighing 17.40 lbs., and a big fish weighing 5.31 lbs.

     * The team of Gary Coderre and Dave Anderson, 7 bass weighing 16.78 lbs., and a big fish weighing 4.29 lbs.

     * The team of Eddie Sapp and Steve Bailey, 10 bass weighing 16.05 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.70 lbs.

     * James Calhoun, 9 bass weighing 12.95 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.88 lbs.

     * Rusty Girard, 6 bass weighing 12.23 lbs., and a big fish weighing 3.26 lbs.

     * The team of Mark Ingram and Ken Testorff, 9 bass weighing 11.83 lbs., and a big fish weighing 1.98 lbs.

     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Eric Killian, 7 bass weighing 9.03 lbs., and no big fish.

     * The team of David Dozier and Richard Hall didn't weigh any fish on Day 1, and they didn't fish on Day 2.

Congratulations to all of the winners throughout this year, and a big "thank you" to everyone who participated in our tournaments.

At this time, let me also honor some more folks for all their hard work, which made this adventure a success.

First, I want to say "thanks" to Wayne Hayes (left), who stepped up and assumed the duties of tournament director this year. He was assisted by Rob Peppers (a member, as pictured above, of the 4th place team this weekend).

Let me also thank Leslie Schaible (right), who served as official score-keeper for our tournaments again this year. For her invaluable services, Wayne presented her a little memento today.

Further, I must thank Steve Winfree (left), who, along with an assistant, prepared all the food for today's annual cookout.

And last, but certainly not least, I must offer the sincere thanks of all of us to David Winfree (right), who, year after year, allows us the use of his West Neck Marina property to hold our tournaments. He has been "Rock Solid" (if you'll forgive the pun) in his support of our efforts to find some relief from the frustrations of life by spending quality time on the water. To David, his wife, Teresa, and all the others, our hats are off. Thank you for providing the playground we get to use, chasing those "little green fish." 

One Last Cast

I'm devoting this season-closeout column to the gentleman and friend who allowed me to fish with him these last two days. I'm talking about Mark Ingram (left).

This guy is a real gentleman in every respect. For example, at one point today, we were fishing in the vicinity of some folks' personal dock, when a lady got her rig hung on the bottom. My partner easily could have gone on by, without paying her no nevermind, but not Mark. He offered a pleasant greeting and asked if he could help get her rig unstuck. She heartily accepted, and in no time, Mark had returned the rod and reel to her so she could continue her pursuit of a "fish dinner," to use her own words.

Furthermore, throughout the course of our two days on the water, Mark extended me a hand to get up from my seat each time we stopped to begin fishing a new area. His Skeeter seats are much lower than the ones in my Skeeter, and they thus were difficult for me to negotiate on my own. The most important point to this situation is that Mark performed the courtesy each time without my ever asking. For that, I was and am indeed grateful.

But Mark's calm and helpful demeanor isn't the only thing that garnered my attention over the last two days. For example, I quickly picked up on the fact he's a darn good "stick." He can pitch, flip and skip lures effortlessly, and his accuracy is second to none. To put it simply, I was awed by some of the places he put his lures--not just once, but also on succeeding follow-up casts with soft plastics when a fish had missed something like a topwater lure. I was awed even more by his ability to cast extremely long distances with the same accuracy as short pitches.

He also has nearly fail-safe control of a trick for dislodging hung lures. He takes the line in one hand, while pointing the rod tip toward the water and allowing it to slide down the length of line to bang into the snagged hook and free it, while simultaneously pulling on the line. His success ratio easily is 95 percent or greater. This guy needs no lure knocker--I assure you.

Beyond any doubt, Mark is an angler others would do well to emulate. I thoroughly enjoyed myself this weekend and hope that we may be able to team up again somewhere down the road. In every respect, he's "da man."

For Week Ending Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020

Sunday, Oct. 4 (from Ron)...I have been fishing saltwater in search of speckled trout. Hasn't been very good overall, but I did find one nice one. I think the weatherman needs a new anemometer.

Thursday, Oct. 8...Got a little love from NW River today. Caught 10 on topwater, a mix of hollow-body kicking-leg frogs, and even a couple wacky wormin.' Best one weighed just below 4 lbs.