It was a very good day.

[BassChump]

I was having a very hard time catching ANYTHING. Been fishing since February and not catching a single LM. Caught some trout with my daughter and that was fun but honestly, I was growing weary of doing all this fishing and no catching. I loved being on the lakes I've been fishing but with nothing to brag about once ina while, I was getting a little embarassed with constantly going out and getting nothing. People were starting to make fun of me. lol.

I finally caught a nice 5 pounder a few weeks ago but that was it. I even had a tournament fisherman go out with me once and we both got skunked. I asked him to go out again and we did on Saturday. Again with no results. He was starting to say I was bad luck. We went out on two of the best bass lakes in Oregon. The most recent lake we visited was Tenmile Lake in Lakeside Oregon.

I really liked the lake so I went there this morning. On the water at 5:30 am. Kinda early for me but it just felt right.

I first tossed a Rapala along a weedline near the docks. No takers but a good size bass jumped at it as I was pulling it out of the water. I thought that was a good ***.

I cranked up the motor and went to a large cove with lots of docks and big weedlines in about 8 feet of water. Surface temps are around 69 degrees, high overcast, lower 60's and little wind. I haven't figured out much of anything with bass fishing so I've been sticking with the basics. A 4 inch watermellon Senko. Bullet weight and t-rigged. First cast into a boathouse and something felt different so I cranked back and set the hook. It didn't budge. Go figure, I hooked a log or something. I pulled a little harder and it slowly moved but it wasn't a log. WOOHOO! I actually hooked a fish and a big one at that. I'm on a spinning rod with flourocarbon line. I start cranking and wouldn't ya know it? I must have had a little loose line in the spool. One loop came out and caught on the bail. While I tried to fumble with that, the fish spit the hook. I was devastated thinking that would be it for the day with my luck. I pressed on. If nothing else, I am persistant.

I started tossing my Senko along the weedline. A couple of casts later, something just didn't feel right. No "tap, tap" on the line or anything. Just a very slight heaviness to the lure. You guys always say if it doesn't feel right, SET THE HOOK. I rare back set the hook. This bass was not happy about that but it sure was fun for me although I wished my daughter could have been with me. If she had landed that fish, she could have walked on water. It would have been a sight to see. She has never caught anything bigger than a few small trout and some 12 inch kokonee. It will happen but in the meantime, she is enjoying herself visiting my brother and his family in Southern California so I'm on the boat by myself for another 2 weeks.

So with one fish on the boat, I continue tossing a Senko. A few casts later, same thing. No tap, just a different feel to the line. I set the hook and another fish on the boat. I'm stoked. I have fished for 6 months with only one fish to show for it. Today is shaping up pretty good. I've got 2 fish in the boat and I've only been on the water a few minutes.

I was out for about 3 hours. I got tons of hits, 11 hooksets and 5 fish on the boat. Nothing huge, all between 2 1/2 and 4 pounds and certainly not the greatest hookup ratio but I'm happy. Very happy.

Yes, it was a very good day.

My point in telling this long story is so I can tell you this one.

While I was fishing a lot ( 3 or 4 times a week), not catching much, I couldn't figure out if I was doing something wrong or what. I took a tournament guy with me a couple of times, gave him the front of the boat and watched. I could never see anything I was doing differently than him other than he fished quite a bit faster than me. One bit of advice I can give new guys about fishing Senkos is that when the experienced guys tell you that the bite is very light, they aren't kidding. I felt no tap, no movement of the line, just a very slight heaviness in the line and that was almost imperceptible. Of the 11 hooksets, only 2 did I feel a "tap". The one thing I never saw on this forum explained in detail was how to keep in contact with your line on the fall where most of the hits occur. My tournament fisherman friend showed me that when you throw out a worm, instead of letting it fall on a slack line, he would raise his rod tip almost over his head and lowers the rod tip allowing the worm to fall naturally but still stay in contact with it so he can detect the bite on the fall. That little tidbit of information did wonders for me. I always let it fall with an open bail so I never detected a hit unless it was already on the bottom after I set the bail and twitched it once or twice.

Every day on the water is a good day but I finally had a good day "catching". I've read and learned a lot on this forum and I wouldn't be fishing at all right now if it wasn't for the awesome people here on this forum. From here I have learned what baits to use, how to use them, where to use them and what to look for. I've had a LOT of help from a lot of people. All from this forum. With the exception of this tournament fisherman, I've had no outside help at all. The Pacific Northwest is salmon and steelhead country so bass information is hard to find around here. Everything has come from this forum. If you have followed any of my threads, you know that I've been blessed enough to have had some very special people help in some very special ways and it's all from this forum and the great people connected with it. You know who you are.

I can't thank everyone enough and there is no way to express how much I appreciate not only all the fine people on this forum but just the fact the forum is here at all and we should thank all the guys and gals involved with BR for their efforts. You guys don't realize how much little things can affect peoples lives in such big ways.

Unlike most of you guys, I'm not looking for that "elusive record breaking bass", I'm not looking to make money fishing tournaments, fame, fortune or anything else. I just want to enjoy the day, enjoy some quality time with my daughter and hopefully put a few fish on the boat. That's what does it for me. Camping, a few cold beverages, a campfire and my guitar, getting excited about fishing in the morning, talking about the previous mornings fishing, that's what it's all about. Good stuff, good water, good people and good times to make those memories that both my daughter and myself can remember for a lifetime. If the boat gets us there and we can land a fish or two, we are pretty stoked. I'm hoping that the fishing this day wasn't just a fluke and we can count on catching a few now and then. Maybe not every time out but most times. In any case, this was definately a good day.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all their help and imput. It means the world to us I wouldn't be doing any of this if it wasn't for the people here and the fact that this forum exists at all.

Below is a pic of the first fish of the day.

 

[roadwarrior]

Nice fish!

8-)

[BassChump]

Nothing like the two your holding in your avatar but I was excited about it.

Gee, I didn't realize that my post was sooooo looooonnnnngggg.

I need to get a life. lol.

[Bassn Blvd]

Would it make you feel better if We said we only look at the pictures.  LOL..   nice fish and never ever give up.

[basspimple]

hay chump, ive seen your posts for a while now,  glad to see your luck turned around for ya. if it were  me i would have given up a long time ago, lol. persitance plays a huge roll in fishing i guess. keep it up man! tight lines!

[preach4bass]

That was a great post!  Congratulations on your catch.  Most of us probably fished a lot longer, or at least caught a lot smaller fish than you started off with.

[demonjd22]

I can't believe i read the entire thing but man, thats exactly how i feel.  Nothing better then a nice relaxing day on the water with a few cold ones, good friends, and good fishing.  Glad your finally onto fish   and heres hoping you got nothing but more good luck coming to ya!

[JShrock07]

Great Post!!!!!! 8-) 8-)

[Eddie Munster]

Nice fish; way to get out of that slump man.