A rare December stream outing yields some nice gifts

BROWN COUNTY, Wis. - I wasn't sure if I would last more than 15 minutes, but I held fast and toughed it out.

I went on another one of my stream expeditions so as to make a few casts and catch some fish.

Last week Spence Petros flat out told me he was bored. He has taken his possession limit of Canada geese and also placed the scrumptious, butchered whitetail venison slabs in his freezer. I didn't want to suffer the same fate.

This latest adventure found me wandering the sloughs of southern Wisconsin. This time I packed judiciously, taking along one spinning rod and a half-dozen artificial lures. It was going to be a catch-and-release session regardless of my destination.

Once before I had discovered a tiny spit of water snaking its way through stands of spruce and alder trees. And because of late-season rainfall, once I rediscovered this stream, I figured it might stand a few casts and give up some nice bluegills and anything else that wanted to eat.

Water temperature was 45 degrees, a surprising number this time of the year. The water level was higher and the clarity was exceptional.

I had my winter neoprene waders on this trip because this set did a better job of keeping the cold at bay.

I made a half-dozen casts using a 1/16-ounce spinner without the slightest bump. Once in the water I knew I made the wrong rod choice. My 6-foot-6 spinning rod was a tad too long for this narrow stream - but I kept at it, using an underhand flipping motion to target slack-water areas.

The next setup was a plain No. 8 hook, some split shot above the hook with a 2-inch white plastic twister-like grub.

I slowly moved upstream, trying carefully not to plod my way through the water and mud bottom. This time I made a dozen blind casts and was rewarded with an 8-inch white sucker.

Changing baits one more time I went to a chartreuse Mini-Mite jig and tail. I arrived at a spot on the where trees from both sides of the stream came together forming a canopy. A few branches dipped into the water as well.

I tossed the Mini-Mite almost on top of the soaking branch and allowed it to sink. In a matter of seconds the line tightened and I felt a "good fish" on the end. Of course the term "good" is relative, but I believed this was a real scrapper that wanted my jig.

This fish raced to midstream and started its escape route to where I came from. The drag buzzed with its minimum setting as line stripped off the arbor. Sweet music to my ears.

What seemed like an eternity turned out to be a mere two minutes. It was a beautiful 12-inch smallmouth bass. Dare I say I was disappointed, only because I was hoping for some jumbo bluegills? Nah, forget it.

I again moved slightly upstream and repeated the casting. Sure enough, there was another sharp strike and this time the smallie came out of the water and did its Barnum & Bailey routine with acrobatics that could warm any angler's heart.

I caught two more suckers and one other smallmouth, all released followed by an audible thank you from my lips.

This was a holiday treat without any fancy wrapping or brightly colored bow, easily accomplished during an unusual and overly mild December day.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at mikejacksonoutdoors.com.