"No motors!"
On a whim, Davis and I decided to go bass fishing on McCaslin Lake in Argentine. We started at 7:00am on Saturday morning. The weather was very nice. 60 degress with a slight breeze. We launched the boat on the south side of the lake off of McCaslin Lake RD. All was well until a local (I dubbed, "The Lake Nazi") shouted from the end of his dock, "no motors!" I replied, kindly, that it was electric and would not disturb the environment nor make any noise. He made it perectly clear that he didn't care, so we abided by his rule and ventured out onto the lake with this paddle as our only means of transportation.We headed straight for a large group of lily-pads situated near deeper water on the south side. The first half hour was very slow. On advice from Jim, I started out using a small blue Rapala with a slow return. The first hit of the day snapped my line and the fish got away with the lure. Needless to say I was pissed, seeing as I've caught MANY fish with that Rapala. (I'll get back to that.) I then switched to a bright white spinner-bait. BINGO. Now this is the first time I've ever fished this lake. But if I had to give any advice, it's use anything white. We pulled in about a half a dozen large and smallmouth. Some of which are pictured here.
After about an hour it was almost routine. Throw in a white spinner-bait, get a fish. I couldn't believe our luck! Just then the hilarity ensued. As Davis was pulling in his third largemouth I noticed something blue in it's mouth. When he finally got it into the boat we both burst into laughter. His fish was the very one that stole my Rapala! Talk about dumb-luck. We stayed out much longer than originally planned, but were well rewarded for our efforts. We caught many fish, and had saw little hassel from the Lake Nazi for the rest of the morning. And just when we were about to pack it up...WHAM! I hooked into a monster. This sucker took me a solid five minutes to reel in. And after much reeling, pulling, and drag adjustments, I claimed my prize. He weighed in at a little over four pounds and measured 23". Definitely a personal best!
So again, if you decide to fish McCaslin Lake, stay to the south end and use anything white. You'll be rewarded with plenty of small and largemouthed bass action! Eric and I will be heading out again Monday to try our luck. I hope to have more pictures for everyone.
posted by Jack T Briggs @ 9:19 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
You should get that bad boy mounted! LOL that you got your rapala back!
I didn't think about it 'till after I threw it away. I should've kept it. Oh well. I have a witness and a pic. I couldn't believe that we got that Rapala back! We weren't even in the same area of the lake that I lost it in!
Jack- that's a quality fish, regardless of latitude! I'm glad you released it though, maybe you can catch her (and yes, it was female) next year- or next spring when she's about 1-2 lbs heavier!
Sounds like that little bass was having delusions of grandeur!!! I've heard of northern pike doing the same thing, but NEVER a bass!
Just one question: THAT fish broke your line??? Jack, C'mon bud, it's time for some new line or an upgrade to higher pound test! LOL
On the topic of white spinnerbaits: one of the best bass I've personally witnessed was caught by Simon (go figure) on Copneconic on (what else) a white, silver colorado blade spinnerbait- on a slowroll retrieve. In recent years, I had done well on the Boo-Yah brand white spinner with a red eye (gotta have the red eye). Here is a picture.
One final note, when it comes to spinnerbaits, don't settle for the bargain bin- spend a few extra bucks and get a quality lure.
Sorry I have nothing to contribute lately- my boss is leaving for two weeks, so the technicians and I will be doing some "sampling". Hope to have pics within a week.
I've NEVER held on to fish caught inland. I figure a pic is enough to prove I caught it. You're right, I'll get her again! The one that broke my line was my fault. I use 4lb Spiderwire on my ultra-lite. I've never broken it on a fish, but he dove down deep and buried himself in the weeds. I just got excited and pulled too hard. I won't make that mistake again.
haha, okay :)
I recently did something similar. I was fishing with a cheap ultralite (walmart special) with 6lb Berkley trilene XT. I hooked a small (maybe 2lb) bass, reeled it to shore where it got caught in some arrowhead growing there. In my excitement, I tried to horse the fish thru the plants and then SNAP! broke my rod clean in half. The worst part was that it was my second cast of the morning, and I hadn't thought to bring more than one rod. I was pissed. Lessons learned: don't use walmart shit; Berkley XT is the best mono out there; and ALWAYS have a back-up fishing pole.
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