Tuesday, April 26, 2016

A Bunch Of Firsts

A few friends and I spent a weekend at a large freshwater lake in NC. It was my first time fishing the lake and I wasn't sure what to expect. The lake has a reputation for amazingly clear water and great bass fishing. The first-morning I got up before dawn and the conditions were perfect.
Glass calm and even though there was rain the night before the water wasn't murky. It took me awhile to start seeing fish. The color of the bottom was a light tan and my eyes were looking for dark shadows. What I found is the bass were lighter colored than I'm used to. They actually looked more like redfish under the water than bass. I was able to hook a few on a stealth bomber. I ran into one bass that seemed to not spook at all. I cast a clouser a few times and the fish didn't budge. As it started to swim away into deeper water I made one last cast in the direction the fish headed. When I started to take in the slack line I felt pressure and made a strip set. The water swirled and I couldn't believe I had hooked the fish. There was some not quite right about this bass. When the fish got closer I realized it wasn't a bass at all. It was a bowfin and the hook was barely in its lip.
All I have ever heard about bowfin is how hard they fight. I was able to get the fish to the kayak but I didn't have any grippers or anything to lip the fish. A bowfin's mouth is lined with small needle-like teeth. Against my better judgment, I grabbed the fly and moved the fish. The bowfin didn't want to give up and it took several tries to get it calmed down. My weekend was made. This fish was well over 22 inches and qualifies for an NC citation. It swam away as though it was never caught. 

The fishing slowed down after that until I saw some activity. Water splashed every now and then between the weeds and wakes would move the blades of grass. Something was obviously chasing bait in the shallows. I waited until I saw a splash and cast a popper in the area. A mouth opened and inhaled the fly seconds after it landed. It was a nice bass and it tangled itself in the weeds. The water was so shallow I was able to get it free.
A few casts later I had my first pumpkinseed.
The coloring on this fish was striking. I have seen pictures of pumpkinseeds but never caught one. The markings on the face are beautiful.
In the same area, this yellow perch came to hand a couple casts later.
It was a great morning. Later my friends and I took a trip to the other side of the lake. It was a huge contrast from the south side. Instead of light colored sand, the bottom was dark green and you could not see the banks through the cypress trees.
We found an area that had a mixture of grass and trees.
The wind started to pick up and we decided to make the trip back across the lake. This is where things got interesting.
The sky started to get very dark and storm clouds moved across the horizon with gale force winds. This lake is shallow, the average depth is 4ft. When the winds pick up the lake acts like a wave machine. We had 2-3ft waves all around and several came close to coming over the bow. The boat couldn't get speed with the rough water and we had to surf the waves more than go through them. The trek across the lake was spooky and the view at the dock wasn't any better. There was lightning and thunder at our backs. The plan was to leave the boat tied up and run to shelter. Breakers prevented us from doing this. The boat could smash into the dock and be destroyed.
The next plan was to load the boat on the truck until the storm subsided. 
The boat and ourselves got out of the water unscathed. It was a scary experience and a reminder that nature is always in control. The wind continued through the weekend and made fishing tough. It was still a great trip and I'm already planning my next trip back. 

14 comments:

  1. Great story...great fish. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Amazing how a lake can go from glass calm to 3' waves. We have several our here that can perform that feat quite well too. Sometimes it's best to fish mornings only.

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    1. You ain't kidding. I stress about stuff in general so I was a mess on the boat. I just kept an eagle eye on where we were landing.

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  3. It is funny how fishing stories start.

    I remember catching my first (and only) Grindle when I was about 10. I made a cast up under some branches along the bank. It exploded out of the water when it hit. During the fight it tore the reel right of my rod so my dad in I had to pull him in the rest of the way by hand. I remember it being huge too; had to have been about three feet long.

    To this day that's exactly how I remember it; no embellishment or anything. The real story, I am told, is that I made a cast into some branches right above me. My line was all tangled up in the tree but my bait fell into the water. While my dad was trying to untangle me from the tree the fish took the bait and we then had to pull it in by hand. Oh, and it was only about 18 inches not the three feet I remember.

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  4. Nice photography! I got swept out into the middle of the lake when I had a pontoon... Scariest thing ever! Needless to say, I sold that pontoon. Haha.

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    1. haha, I don't blame you. Thanks for the comment Damsel.

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  5. Kevin
    Great post, those Pumpkinseeds are awesome not only in color but fight. I assume some of the bass you landed were chasing shad on top. When they are in that feeding mode, they will kill a popper. Nice largemouth, what weight fly rod brought the fish in? That bowfin looks like one mean fish!! Thanks for sharing

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    1. I used my Allen 8wt combo setup the whole time. That combo is perfect for kayak fishing. It makes casting less of an effort.

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  6. Wow, that went from great to scary quickly. That bowfin is amazing. I've never seen one. One of the reasons I'll never my wife complain about not taking her on a cruise is because both of us agree that being on the water with no shore in sight doesn't sound fun.

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    1. Bowfin are neat creatures. I guess they haven't changed much since prehistoric times. I never feel warm and comfy when there's not land on the horizon. Big water scares me.

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  7. Wow, that was a trip. I was going to congratulate you on the bowfin...but instead...way to get off the water safely. Looked serious at the end.

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  8. Really awesome stuff, Kevin!!! Congrats on hooking up with that bowfin. I have always wanted to catch one of those and a snake head. That is one of the biggest pumpkinseeds I have ever seen! I've caught a few of them before, but never that size. They are one of, if not, the coolest looking freshwater fish there is. Glad you guys got off the water safely, those white caps don't look like they're there to play nice.

    Nice write up!

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    1. Bowfin are very cool fish. I'm going to target them more.

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