WookieeJedi Posted March 6, 2012 Posted March 6, 2012 I have a lot of good memories from fishing, but the day I got my personal best largemouth bass will always be my favorite. As it turned out, it would be the last time my dad, my brother Ron, and I would share a day on the lake. It was in the 1990's, and I was on semester break in January from school. We decided to take a trip to Cypress Lake/Black Bayou in Bossier Parish which was my brother's home lake. He is a better bass-catcher than I am, and he was really rocking some big fish on offshore structure. We met up at the launch in the morning, Ron in his boat with a good friend, and Dad and I in my boat. There were 3 good spots to fish, so we split up and fished 2 of the spots and agreed to meet up at 10 to assess what was working. Ron chose his favorite spot; he was getting transferred with his job and had set a goal of catching an 8 pounder or better before he would get a fish mounted. He badly wanted to get one before he had to move, and had caught 3 fish in the 7 pound range just that month. He could taste it, and it showed on his face when he was in the boat. I decided to take the spot that was his third favorite, leaving the second favorite open for Ron if he wanted to move earlier. I did not do this out of brotherly love, the weather had warmed up slightly and the third spot was not only a little more shallow, but it caught more sun early in the day. Between brothers, there is always competition. Ron is 17 years my senior, but no quarter has ever been asked or offered in any competition. When Dad and I got to our spot the bite was slow. Dad caught a tight-eye on his third cast, and I scored a 4 pounder about 5 minutes after. Then, nothing for a couple of hours. I had tried different sizes and colors of jig, but to no avail, so I tied on a 1/2 ounce silver and blue rattle-trap, thinking the warmer temp and bright sun might trigger a strike. I was tossing it out, letting it sink, and then rip it off the bottom, bounce it a couple of times on the bottom, and repeat. I snagged it a few times on the submerged brush, and my Dad warned that I would lose my lure. I told him it would be worth 3 bucks if it worked and kept fishing. I had sure enough snagged some brush and was trying to shake loose when the rod loaded up. I tried to gain some line and steer the fish, but she just kept chugging. Dad told me I had a big catfish, but I knew better and told him to get ready for the net. When I got the meathog alongside, I thought Dad was going to faint, but he slipped the net gently under her belly and lifted her in. He then called upon the name of his Lord and Savior a few times as he looked at the beast between his feet. I was busy hunting for the scale. We weighed her right there in the boat at just under 9 1/2 pounds. It shattered my old best fish of 6 1/2, and to this day, I havent caught one over 7 1/2. We put her in the well with the 4; it was 9:30 and we were due to meet up with Ron in just a few minutes, so we cranked up and ran to the point to meet. Ron was already at the point, it had been a cruel morning, they only had 3 between them with only one keeper, a 3 pounder. When he asked about what we had, I told him we had two fish, and one of them was a "decent" fish. I reached in the well and pulled out the chunky 4. He said, "That IS a good fish, how big is the other one?" I said, "This IS the other one, the decent fish is still in the well." So, I released the 4, taking my time, I was savoring this. "Well, the other one is a little better," I told him and reached in the well to pull out the giant. When he saw it, he was unable to form words properly, so Dad filled in the silence by announcing the fish's weight. Nine and one half pounds. The look on his face was priceless, as was the look when I eased the fish back into the water. The trip was over, there was no talk of continuing to fish. The icing was on the cake, and there was no more we could do. We never got the three of us together on the water again, jobs for my brother, and wars, injury, and school for me; kept us from making a repeat trip. But the memory of a day on the water will be with me as long as I live, and that is enough. Quote
Nkybassfisherman Posted March 6, 2012 Posted March 6, 2012 Good post! Never know when the last time will be, you have to savor moments like these. Thanks for posting! Quote
Super User Dwight Hottle Posted March 6, 2012 Super User Posted March 6, 2012 Great story. Thanks for sharing. Quote
Fishmaster10 Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 Again, great story and congrats on following your intuition and being able to catch that fish! Quote
nvhsaccel Posted March 7, 2012 Posted March 7, 2012 That is a great story and it would be a treat if I could catch a hog that big. Thanks for sharing! Quote
WookieeJedi Posted March 7, 2012 Author Posted March 7, 2012 I don't think I have had a better day and only caught two fish. I didn't even think that lake had a fish in there that big. My brother still hasn't broken 8 pounds. Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted March 7, 2012 Super User Posted March 7, 2012 Great Story ~ Thank you for sharing it. Are there any pictures of that "Meathog" ? A-Jay Quote
WookieeJedi Posted March 8, 2012 Author Posted March 8, 2012 No pics of the meathog. This was the era before digital cameras, and I almost never took a camera to the lake. Now I almost always do. Quote
Big-O Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 Excellent report and WTG! Big O www.ragetail.com Quote
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