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Horizontal Bop...A Great Evening On The Water
When I arrived at the small rustic landing on one of my favorite local reservoirs this evening, my confidence was high that it would be a good evening of fishing. I had a good first day at my new job and was ready to see if I could hook into some of the nice bluegill and crappie that I had gotten into last Friday. When my kayak hit the water I paddled a bee line straight to one of the patches of lily pads that had produced so well just a few days ago. I stopped about 40 feet from that first set of lilies and started casting my jig all around the open water a few feet from lily pads. After several casts and no strikes, I began working closer to the vegetation until I was right next to it and was able to work my micro jig vertically in the gaps of lilies. Nothing! What was going on? Just three days ago every open patch among the lilies, and all individual pads in open water held good crappies. Any lily pad patches that were near stumps were also holding large mature bluegills. This evening, after an unchanged weather pattern since I last fished the same waters, there was not an active fish near the lily where they had been just a few days ago. I was briefly stumped, no pun intended, so I just backed off a bit, and sat there in my kayak, observing what I might be missing. I had worked the shore and there were a few active beds with mediocre fish, just like the other night, but no big fish biting or visible. I had fished every stump and lily patch from top to bottom. But there, there it was, just 40 feet away staring me right in the face. I had fished it, and every other structure like it, a few days ago, and none of them produced. "It couldn't be that easy could it?" I thought to myself as I looked at the semi submerged 20 foot log sticking slightly out of the surface. I had to give it a try so I gave my micro jig and soft plastic lure a cast toward where I thought the middle of the log was angled toward the surface. I hadn't reeled a half dozen cranks when I felt the jig get inhaled on the end of my line by a nice bluegill. It did as bluegills do and made a mad dash to the side. I could tell it was a decent panfish, but didn't think it was a real chunk. When I landed that first fish, I thought I might be on to something as I released the beautiful little tiger striped, egg filled bluegill.
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I sent another cast to the same area of the log and knew I had something different when the next thing I felt was that classic crappie thump, and then steady side ways drag. I gave my reel a few quick cranks to get the nice speck toward the surface and away from any hidden stumps that might be between the half floating log and my kayak. The first crappie was just one of three that came from that one log and opened my eyes once again as to how quickly, for no apparent reason, fish can make a move.
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Before I moved from that log, I looked all around me and made a mental note of every horizontal piece of wood I could see, and began working my way toward the nearest one. A few casts toward the next log and my tiny jig was hooked in the jaw of a very respectable bluegill. My ultralight reeled whined a bit a couple times as the hefty panfish did it's best to wrap me around every stump and lily pad it could find. I held steady in my kayak and slowly worked the chunky fish into my waiting hand. Bingo!
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The next couple hours was filled with big bluegills, some good crappies, and a few decent bass. Every log or branch over 4 inches thick that was lying horizontally in the water was holding all the good fish. There was not one to found in the places they were just days ago. And all those logs that had no fish, were no holding all the fish. People often ask me why I am so passionate about fishing and it's so hard to explain. I wish I could take them out on a couple days like my last two and show them how it's so much about trying to figure out the fish. Why do they do that? And the feeling when you figure it out. And how do you explain a sunset. It's not something that is not easy to explain with words.
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