Not The Crappie

Here's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So I fish this one spot three days in a row. I'm not crappie fishing, which is rare, but I'm throwing a bass lure. You see - I've gone out on some Fishing Media Events, and they cover Bass Fishing also. So I have bass fishing equipment, and I'm going to use it! And heck, I really needed a break from all that great crappie fishing on Griffin!

Anyway, I'm throwing a Gene Larew Sooner Run with a Lews Speed Stick and Tournament Speed Spool. Absolutely great equipment, and I'm so glad that I went out with some of the pro bass fishermen. They taught me a little something about tossing a bait cast reel so I could actually cast one without getting a birds nest!
Here's a cool video I took of Kevin Short while out on one of these press events: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqbrWjdKxKw I had a great time, but I got to say, they sure like flying them boats around the lake! It was a lot of fun.


Biffle Bug above, and Sooner Run (minus it's wings) below.

OK, back to my story.

Day One:

Here I am, I'm casting a Sooner Run into a spot that just kinda looks like it'll hold a bass. A Sooner Run is kinda a heavy worm type bait with two wings. I clip the wings off cause without weight I feel it will cut the wind better and I'll be able to cast it out further.

I cast it to “the spot” and wham! In an instant I get a tug, the line zips off the spool and then it's gone! What the heck happened there. I did not even have time to set the hook. It kinda freaked me out. How can it pull line away so hard and not be hooked good. I did not get it. I was frustrated and confused. Plus, I really was not sure what it was.

Day Two:

I go back to the same spot, at the same time, dusk. This time I put on a Biffle Bug with a Hardhead Jig. I'm thinking the Biffle Bug is shorter and I'll get a better hookset. That along with the swivel action of the hook on that Hardhead jig. A man has to have a pllan!

I toss the jig right in the same spot as last time, and again, wham! It is on, no, it is off. I pulled the jig right out of it;s mouth and it;s flying back at my face. I duck, let it go back behind me, then sling it forward right into some brush on the bank. Son of a gun! This is not good. I pull and pull on the line till it finally releases.

It was stuck in the brush good but I got it out of there pretty quick. I don't check the line, and I toss it back to “the spot”. You're not going to believe this (I know I didn't, but the darn fish hits it again. This time I hesitate ever so slightly, cause I'm thinking I've been pulling the bait out it's mouth way too early. And I set the hook. Wow, I got a good hookset, and the fight is on, awesome!

Well, it wasn't going to happen this time either. Within the first minute of the fight (it happened quickly), the line snaps! I mean after a good hookset, and some good fighting, all the sudden the line just goes snap, and its all over. It was not even on a big tug that it broke. I have to think that it broke because of getting frayed when I pulled it out the brush. After all, as I remember it, the line was wrapped around the brush too, not just the jig.

Day Three:

I go back to “the spot”, again at dusk. I have new line, a new knot and another Biffle Bug with a Hardhead jig. I toss it to the spot once, twice and on the third cast, wham! This is crazy, I can't believe my eyes. The fish is at the surface of the water as I set the hook and I roll it over to see it's big belly. I now have it completely identified. It's a bass. I never really was sure until now, but it is definitely a bass!

And yes once again, although my hookset rolled the fish over, the jig come flying out it's mouth. This time I scream some not so nice. I'm not believing what I'm seeing and doing! I actually give up at this point. I stop, I rest, I don't do anything. I figure I should just go home. I do nothing for about 10 minutes, nothing at all. I'm just shattered that I can not catch this fish, it's smarter than me. It must be!

Finally, I check the knot, check the jig and check myself. I tell myself, just let the fish take the jig, let it be his, let it have it for a while, that's got to be the only way. It's obvious to me I'm just not letting him take it into his mouth far enough, and I'm just pulling it out his mouth way too quick. I'm using the quick reactions of a crappie fisherman to grab the rod when spider rigging, or setting the hook on a crappie when feeling the thump while jigging.

I toss the jig back to “the spot” and low and behold the darn fish strikes again. By now I've been numbed by my previous interactions with this fish and I let it go a bit. Once I feel the line go tight, I set the hook. And gosh darn, I got the thing. I have him hooked, and I know I got clean line and good knots. I'm good to go, let him fight a while, I reel him in, and stick my big thumb in his big mouth. I got him, I got him. How cool is that.



It's not really about the fact that I caught a big bass, I've done that before. It's about me interacting with this fish 5 times over 3 days. I had this fish on the line no less than five times. I can't say for certain it was the same fish, but it was on the same “Bat Channel” at the same “Bat Time” (for those of you that watched the Batman TV show), but that's my story and I'm sticking to it!