Watching PWoody Catch

Last week I saw PJ (PWoody on DuPage Angler) post that the transmission in his car blew up.  I replied we should go fishing to get his mind off the car.

Plans were made and Tuesday and Thursday of this past week I went to ponds and watched PWoody catch.  

We went to a good sized pond I know that has big bass that roam the weedline.  We were working the same style and color crawdad plastics with a bullet weight but his was getting bit and mine wasn't.

Now the bass weren't huge but he was catching consistently.  It took me until dark in one of the last casts of the night to hook up with a bass.  I had abandoned the craw and weight instead throwing a Chug-Bug topwater popper.  The water calmed down and I slung the popper what seemed like a mile.  I was using my custom Medium Heavy power spiral-wrapped casting rod I had just finished building paired with a Lew's BB1 casting reel and the one-pound bass whacked . 

Too dark for a picture we packed up and headed home.  Plans were made for Thursday to hit some ponds PWoody had found near some office buildings.  

We arrive, stop, pick a spot to stand in and start working the same plastic craw baits in the same ways.  PWoody starts out nailing a decent largemouth.

I had not even felt a bump on my craw.  PJ threw his out past the lily pads and showed me what he was doing.  Slowly pop and drag the craw back to the pads.  If it gets to the pads pull it up to the surface and drop it back like a yo-yo for a few strokes.  Just as he yo-yos the craw he gets hit again and hooks a bass.

I walked the rest of the pond throwing craws not getting hit so I thought I'd try something completely different.  Something I bought two years ago but hadn't used.  I took off my craw and texas-rigged a Yum Money Frog on the same setup with a EWG hook and a bullet weight.  I wanted the bait to be on the bottom and the tungsten bullet weight would get it down there.  I wanted something to mimic all the frogs I was scaring into the water as I walked the pond edge.

I cast the Money Frog onto a lily pad on the other side of the pond thanks to my Lew's Speed Spool.  I pull the frog off the pad and into the water.  I tug, jerk, and move it and feel the plastic legs kicking.  Then I felt something else.  I felt the THUD of a bass clamping down on my plastic.  

PWoody had turned away for a minute.  He turned back in time to see me reel down and SLAM the hook home.  My rod bent in a graceful arc I wrestled the fish up onto the lily pads and dragged it up for a close up.

PWoody put it well the next day on his status on the forum.

I may have gotten lucky.  It could be the bigger bait caught the bigger fish.  It could be my t-shirt that declares "Fish tremble when they hear my name".  I don't care what the reason was.  I just know it felt good to latch into a decent largemouth.  It felt good to spool on 50# Power Pro braided line and go drag bass over a field of lilies.  But I did what I set out to do; to help a friend in a time where his mind needed to get off blown transmissions and other worldly problems.  I got to watch PWoody catch, and that was fine by me.

Creek Fishing with Chunsum

Chunsum contacted me mid-week.  We discussed wading a creek that was new to me that Chunsum had success in last weekend.  Plans were made and we met at 5:30 AM, donned our breathable waders, and walked to an entry point to the creek.  

I like so many things about creeks.  Tall trees, rock walls, formations man-made, and natural.  I find I feel a sense of calm wash over me as the sounds of traffic give way to the sound of moving water, the breeze moving the leaves, trees, birds and other animal sounds.  I'm already in my happy place when we reach the first fishable hole.

Tall limestone walls look imposing but show they have given way to water and have pits and under-cuts.  A gentile current flows against the surface of the wall then down stream.  Chunsum pointed out the water line a foot above the current one.  That's how much the creek had changed in a week. 

Chunsum and I each caught a small smallmouth when Chunsum's Raven Specialist float went down.  A hookset only made the float shoot down stream and his drag squealed with the strong pull of a three and a half pound channel catfish.

We drifted this hole until nothing else bit before moving to the next deep area.  

I had a little success and caught a few species here.  All small but I was able to see even the most tentative bite of the creek chub with my Raven Specialist float.

All fish landed today had something in common.  They all were thick and had big bellies.  They were all eating well as the current carries food to their waiting mouths.

In the last hole we tried I wasn't able to crack the code as well as Chunsum was.  I scored a few small fish.  Chunsum figured out there was a portion of the hole where current created a deep pocket.  Drifting minnows four feet down and more put them right in the face of some lovely smallies!

The second fish measured 16.5" long, 10.5" around, and weighed 2.5 lbs on my Boga-Grip.

We checked the time and walked back downstream toward our entry point.  We picked up a few small channel cats and bluegill drifting our way back to our cars and reality.

I needed that. I really needed to take a walk in the water.  I needed to lose myself in nature and I can't think of a better place to do that than in a creek.