My 1st funny fish story of 2020:
Maybe 1/2 hour and a 4-5” bluegill after arriving @ a local trout pond last Thursday, I got a “big” hit that broke my line, above the bobber. My hook set was not “big”, as I was expecting a 10” trout! The line must have somehow had a weak spot and it was still last fall’s line — Anyway, for the next hour “plus”, I was treated to watching my bobber go swimming & diving around the pond. This was particularly aggravating as I’d been using one of my “Rocket Bobbers”, which I really like, but are a bit pricey and hard to get since Wal-Mart no longer carries them. I try to only use them in “safe” circumstances - not around snags and such. At one point the fish apparently got tired and the bobber “rested” near enough to shore that I tried to snag it with my longer pole - no luck, of course - it just pulled free of my rod. Then the show swam over to the other side of the pond, where a young fellow fishing there started casting at it - oh, 25-30 ft. out, I’d say. I thought this was fairly hopeless, but, I’ll be darned if ~20 minutes later he successfully snagged the line and reeled in the trout & bobber, yelling over to me “do you want your fish?” Well, I wanted the bobber more & offered him the fish, but he didn’t want to clean just 1 fish: He wanted to trade me both bobber & fish just to know what bait I’d been using! I’d been using PowerBait trout dough balls, mostly, but a garden worm caught one trout.
Well, that was an obvious trade to make, so I got my bobber back plus the best fish of the evening (16-1/2” long). I’d better restring that reel, or at least test the remaining line, as “I’ll be back” as “Ahhhnold” would say.
You know....it is almost like those darned fish hate getting hooked.
I have had so much more luck going with light tackle that the recommended lb test line. I am usually in the 4-6lb test range which makes me and my son play the fish more (lots of fun) and coax him to the shore.
I think going high in the test like everyone did in the 50s and 60s was the way to go back then.....but nowadays since we are not using barbed treble hooks the lighter stuff works better.
I am hardly a fisherman so take that for what it is worth
What are the odds of THAT happening! How cool! :)
My story is a sweet one - I grew up on a lake, so I had a fishing pole in my hand as soon as I could hold one. My Grandpa was an Award-Winning Fisherman, and he was DETERMINED that I would be one, too.
My younger sister, I was 7, she was 4 when this took place, had watched us leave her behind to go fishing all the time and was really anxious to get in the game, but of course she was too little. That didn’t stop her!
When we were all off doing other things, she took a pole and put it in the water, no bait, managed to catch a small Sunfish, but then didn’t know how to get the fish off the hook, so she got a bucket of water, and all by her little self carried the bucket with the fish in it, and the pole ALL the way back up the hill to the house from the lake (it was steep, though there were steps and two landings) to show us her catch.
Grandpa was just BEAMING and he showed her how to unhook and clean the fish and next morning she got to go with us out on the lake, having proved herself. So adorable!