Patience, determination make for successful first trip

By Mike Jackson

As the last trickle of coffee made its way downward into the waiting pot, I heard the familiar sounds of songbirds coming through the kitchen window. Even though it was cold outside, I knew I had to do something to assuage my frustration.

The sun hadn't even shown its face, yet the operatic high notes ignited my desire to grab a fishing rod and do some exploring.

After the third cup of java I girded myself in a rain jacket and hat and drove westward to where some deep ponds awaited my arrival.

I scanned one pond and immediately noticed surface activity. It was too soon for bass, I thought, but one never knows for sure ... even though the water temperature was still low enough to make most finned creatures appear comatose.

I decided to cover my bases by using an artificial lure since I had neglected to bring any live bait. Covering the bases in this instance meant I was going for panfish but could also probably tempt a bass to come out of its stupor and grab a quick, fake meal.

My starting place was a section of shoreline loaded with yet-to-emerge cat tails and tall weeds. I threw the Little Action Mac worm about 10 feet beyond the shoreline. Nothing happened, so I repeated the cast but dropped the worm closer to the tails. A single, light tap signaled a hit, but that was it.

My next cast was also close to the weeds and tails, only a tad more to the left. Even before the lure sank to the bottom my line straightened and started heading to the deeper water. A flick of my wrist created a hook set. That first fish was very fat 9-inch bluegill. A dozen more casts rewarded me with eight more fish of the same size. I figured I had found a treasure-trove of big 'gills. But I was wrong.

So I moved to the other side of the pond. Even though wind and light rain were still present, I measured the water temperature. This side was a few degrees warmer, so I made another cast close to the bank. A dozen casts later I still waited for that connection, but it didn't happen.

Once again I moved to a cat tail area and flipped the worm just inches away from the weeds and tails. Three sharp pulls told me to strike. A yearling largemouth came rocketing out of the water and began its own spring ritual of the dance. Even though the fish barely scaled a pound, I thought maybe some its heavier cousins were in the neighborhood. My intuition paid off.

On my third cast after the yearling, a fish hit the worm with some major energy. This fish was no yearling, but rather a very healthy 3-pound bass eager to exercise its territorial rights.

I managed to catch a half-dozen more bass and several jumbo bluegills, all while using the Little Action Mac worm.

And because I am a firm believer in using light or ultra light tackle when fishing small ponds, I was able to raise the excitement bar quite a bit, especially when the larger bass answered the call.

The rod I was using that day was a Grandt 7-foot, light, XLH model. The reel was an old Abu-Garcia model 408, spooled with 4-pound mono. Rain gear was my old, trusty set of Frog Togs, which kept the rain and wind at bay.

Enthusiasm was furnished by yours truly, just in time to sweep the winter doldrums and cobwebs from my head.

Ÿ Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, and catch his radio show 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.