First Catch of the Season...Almost

Day 191

First let me say, it's a bad day when I have to work to motivate myself to go fishing. I had one of those sleepless nights, last night, that end with me falling asleep just before I need to get up and get going.

My mom calls to tell me, everyone at the senior living apartments where she lives, is just there waiting to die. Just the motivation I need to go fishing and get away from my telephone.

So I squeeze myself into my F-150 pick up truck and drive to Backus lake. My favorite fishing spot. It's about 3 miles off M-18 down a seasonal dirt road. The road is just wide enough for two cars to pass each other as long as one drives up on shoulder.

Before I even have the lake in sight I can already see the end camping site has a camper and two tents setup. As I turn the bend that brings the road parallel to the lake I can see most of the camping spots crowded with campers, cars and trucks. It could be very busy at Backus this year.

I swing my truck around at the boat launch and head back down the dirt road to M-18. Next stop, the gas station and then over to the marina and my brothers pontoon boat.

The marina is on a canal, on the east side of the lake near the Cut River/Backus Creek lake entry.

The boat is in the slip when I arrive so I grab my pole out of the back and my tackle out of the front. Armed with my gear, a container of worms and my super secret "makes the fish bite every time" formula, I step to the back of the boat.

I'm not taking the boat out. I'm just fishing off the back.

First cast, something steals my live bait.

Second cast, I try a small plastic swim tail. Nothing.

Then I have a feeling I should try the plastic swim shad (looks like a large minnow). Bass and pike seem to like it, when they're around and biting.

I attach the shad, dip it in the magic formula and cast it across to the far side of the canal. My bobber dips just seconds after hitting the water. I give the pole a twitch. The bobber goes down and stays down. I give the rod another twitch and the line starts to shake. It feels like a small one.

I tilt the rod back to tighten the line and a fifteen inch bass jumps above the still surface. Shaking his head from side to side. The swim shad comes loose and flies halfway back across the canal. The bass slips back beneath the surface.

A dozen more casts to the same spot brings a negative response. I switch baits several times with the same results.

My nephews pull up and want take the boat out for some trolling. I want to get home and see the season finally of Marvel Agents of Shield.

I wish them luck, but secretly hope for the opposite. If they catch anything. I'll never hear the end of it. Bragging rights. If they do, oh well, the season is just beginning.

Plenty of time to catch a few worth bragging about.

Until tomorrow,

Ken