This first day of Spring Break 2013 I was joined by “Grandma” Joyce W. and 2 of her grandsons, C.J. (age 13), and Nate (age 9).
C.J. was all about the fishing. He really focused on his technique today and was rewarded with the lion’s share of the catch
Nate was all about enjoying the whole experience and only occasionally allowed himself to be sidetracked by the catching of fish.
For several years now Joyce has left the demands of her job at Dallas Baptist University behind to treat C.J. and Nate to a taste of the outdoors over their Spring Break.
Given the cold conditions we faced and a slight drop in water temperature overnight in the wake of Sunday morning’s cold front passage, I planned on primarily vertical jigging today and, as it turned out, that is exactly what was required for success this morning.
We wound up making stops at five distinct areas today, and then “short hopping” at each one in order to stay on top of the fish. We located biting fish at Areas 334, 720, 372, 1178, and 1179. Each place yielded about the same sort of action. Multiple small packs of fish (9-12 individuals) would be patrolling in these areas and would circulate to beneath the boat. We’d catch 3-4 then have a little lag, then catch another 3 or 4, and then have another lag, and so on.
When all was said and done, we’d boated 46 white bass, 3 largemouth bass, and 1 drum. Every single fish came on either a TNT180 in 3/4 oz. white, or a Johnson Splinter Spoon in shad/silver pattern, 3/4oz.
I’ve learned through the years to expect a high quality of improvisational entertainment from young Nate, and this year was no exception. While C.J. was the model of concentration and was independently catching and taking fish off the hook by himself after one or two quick demonstrations early in the morning, Nate lagged behind a bit in the “lengthy attention span category”. With these cold water fish, technique is very important. So, when I was giving Nate the very same prompting and coaching in our fourth hour that I had given him in hours 1-3, I finally stopped and looked at him and asked with a bit of a smirk, “Nate, haven’t we been going over this same technique for the last four hours?” He contemplated that for a moment as only a 9 year old can do and said, “Well, that’s debatable.” Grandma Joyce and I just had to laugh!!
TALLY = 50 fish, all caught and released
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TODAY’S CONDITIONS:
Start Time: 7:45a
End Time: 12:05p
Air Temp: 38F at trip’s start
Water Surface Temp: ~57F
Wind: Winds were NNW9-14
Skies: Skies were bluebird and clear.