Ok, I can share a story of a recent personal best (of sorts). I have only been FW fishing regularly for just under 2 months now. I used to fish SW frequently with my family as a young child, and other than a couple unsuccessful trips out to try FW in my early teens it was not something I hadn't really done. After a recent vacation to the beach that included lots of SW fishing in the canals behind the house we rented I remembered how much I used to love fishing.
Upon my return I hooked up with an old friend that I knew was really into FW fishing and asked for some tips. He arranged for me to borrow one of his fishing buddies kayaks and we hit a local lake. I caught my first bass as an adult (see my profile pic), and the addiction set in. I immediately started looking for kayaks, and with one exception I have been on the water every weekend trying my best, but not doing so great. I went back to that same lake several times, but after that first trip the best I did was one small bass and one small bluegill. The other trips to that lake... almost nothing.
During this time I also started trying to fish a local pond, that is just up the street from my house. This pond is part of a chain. Two small ponds, and a small lake connected by creeks with a couple dams thrown in there. The pond had lots of bait fish, water birds, turtles. It seems like it would be a great bass pond. Initially I attempted to fish from the bank while I searched for a kayak. I never even got a bite. After I bought my kayak I continued to go, but still nothing. Not even a nibble, at least that I could detect. I was starting to get frustrated with fishing. Up to this point I had only caught 3 bass, all from that first lake. Even that lake I struggled with (average 5-6 hours on the water with essentially nothing to show for it). All of this changed last week.
You see Being new I didn't really think any of the baits I received would do me much good with the current fishing conditions, but I love buying lures so it was a lot of fun. Buried in the bottom of the box was a sample pack of these funky little worms. The color was pumpkin with black and green flake. Now based on what I had been taught these worms seemed too light colored for the waters I had been fishing. At least that is what I thought. Still, I kept thinking about them, wondering how I could use them. Finally I decided I should try them on a drop shot rig once I found the water they would work in.
I realized last week that I was going to have to take a couple weeks off from any extended fishing trips so I vowed to get out as much as I could. So one day I head over to the local pond at lunch to get in 30-40 minutes of fishing. Now I knew that given the limited time I wasn't likely to catch anything, but I really just wanted to play with some of the different baits I had collected. Again, I started with what I had been shown (Senko style baits). After that I tried a few new ones for a couple casts each (yes I know not a really good try, but I was more curious about technique than anything else). Still nothing.
Even though I wasn't really trying very hard I was starting to get frustrated and was about to head home. As I was packing stuff up I saw those worms again. I decided that even though I thought the color was wrong I could spend a couple more minutes seeing how a drop shot rig worked.
I rigged it up, and prepared for my first cast. I cast my line out, and let it settle for a couple seconds. Once I was sure it was on the bottom, I gave it a bit of shake and BAM fish on! I quickly reeled it in to see that sure enough there were bass in that pond. It was a little 10-12" bass, but it was enough. I tried again for a while, and actually took too long for lunch, but I just had to try to catch another one. No luck. I just assumed that it was as I thought and the colors were wrong for the water. It must have been a reaction strike from me essentially dropping the worm on the fish's head.
Anyway after confirming for myself that there are bass in the pond, I headed back out that following weekend for what will be my last real trip for a couple weeks with high hopes. These hopes were dashed when I got there. For reasons unknown to me at the time the water level was extremely low. I later learned beavers had put up a dam on the creek and almost no water was getting through. I thought for sure that given how little water was in the pond that the temperature would be too high and the fish just wouldn't be biting. Almost all of the grassy/weedy areas around the edge were now bone dry and some areas I couldn't get the kayak through without bottoming out. I thought for sure the day would be a bust, and I was getting depressed. To add to my frustration there were already 4 people on the pond fishing (one in a another kayak, and 3 in a small boat). I could already smell the skunk.
I started out with a top water popper, and a jerk bait. A friend recently told me that he had killed it on that pond using a similar jerk bait so I wanted to try my hand. After wandering around trying to find a place that was "deep" enough to try the jerk bait without getting tangled in the heavily matted grass that apparently covers most of the bottom I settled in roughly the center of the pond. I figured it was the deepest area (only around 4-5' deep). I was definitely getting skunked and I knew it now.
After about 2 hours I still hadn't caught anything and was about to leave. As I was putting stuff up, again I saw those worms. I quickly tied up the drop shot rig and threw it out. First cast, another bass. Again, it was a tiny little thing about the same size as last time. However, now I knew it was more than just random luck that I caught that first one, or so I thought. I spent another couple hours paddling around trying to repeat my luck with no success. I was on the last little leg of my trip around the pond when I got tangled in some trees. This was it, I was done. After about 5 minutes I managed to get my line free. I was frustrated and angry, but decided that I rather than storm off the pond I would give it a few more casts. You know the whole falling off the horse thing. Well after just 2-3 casts I nailed another one. This one had to have been the smallest I have seen to date. Still, this now tied my personal best of two fish in one trip, except this time it was two bass.
Of course, now it was a challenge could I pull off a third one. I decided to stick where I was and kept casting towards the bank under a small outcrop of trees that provided some decent shade both for the fish, and for me. It was less than 15 minutes later I pulled out my third bass of the trip. This one was a fighter. It ran, it jumped, and it was a blast. Finally after getting it into the kayak I could see that it was a bit bigger than the other. This one was closer to 14". A real fun fish to catch.
So there it is, two personal bests (of a sort) in one day. Not only did I not get skunked I beat my record catch for fish in one day and all of them were bass. To add to the confidence boost I had done it my way. I used a rig that I learned about on my own, using a bait that although I didn't directly purchase it I did pick it myself that day. This may prove to be the most valuable lesson for me. I need to trust my instincts a bit better, and be more willing to try new things. Sticking to a bait just because I was told it would catch fish where I am at even when the bite just isn't there isn't the best way to catch fish. If it isn't working, try something else is my new motto.
I realize that catching 3 small bass in about 4 hours is probably nothing to many of the experienced anglers on this site, but it was a huge first for me. I proved to myself that it wasn't that I got lucky, I learned that I can catch fish, and I don't always need someone to tell me what to use or how to use it.
Of course I am not saying that I don't want advice, or won't ask for it again. I just realized that I need to learn to fish for myself. I have to find what works for me, and what I can catch fish on. I also realize that just because this worked one day it doesn't mean it will work on all future trips, but it did give me the confidence I needed and helped me grow a bit.
I apologize for writing a book, but I just had to share my story. If you made it this far thanks for reading. Good luck, and may the bite be with you.
