Fresh Water Fishing
I have a fascination and love of fresh water fishing.
It all started when I was in 7th grade and I went fishing with a friend. Watching him catch a rather large bass really was exciting to me! From there, my fascination just grew and grew. As my love of fishing grew, I found myself wanting to try fishing in new places. Yes, my quest to catch the biggest fish had begun! Dreams of owning the state record danced through my head! It didn't matter which type of fish just that it was the biggest.
In my youth, my family traveled quite a bit during the summer months. So, what better way to try different fishing areas and catch that big lunker! This usually paid off for me (though I still don't own that state record for any type of fresh water fish). On one such occasion, our family and 3 or 4 others were going camping at a new campsite only a few hours from our house. Plans were that we'd all meet there by around 3pm. My father decided we'd go a little early since we had a new trailer and he still needed to learn how to set it up properly. I asked if there was a lake in the campground - yes!
We arrived and after a quick setup of the camper, off my brother and I went to go fishing. It was a bass haven - lots of tree stumps in the water and overhanging trees to boot! Some lily pads were scattered throughout - it was perfect! I tied on my new purple split-tailed rubber worm and cast it right where I thought a bass would like to live. I waited for it to sink to the bottom then 1 twitch and boom - I snagged it on a tree! Wrong - it was a fish and it hadn't taken the hook yet. It spit out the worm and I was so disappointed. I decided to try another cast to almost the same spot and use the same technique. Again the fish hit the worm - only this time I waited 2 seconds before setting the hook. Success, the fish was on.
I had 4 pound test line and a light action rod - so I had to steer the bass to where he wouldn't get tangled in the tree stumps and make his way to me at the shore! It took a bit to get him in but boy was it worth it! I landed a 51/2 pound largemouth. I quickly took it to the trailer and my parents had me go to the weigh-in station at the camp's office. The campsite owner took my picture and told me I'd caught the biggest bass in the lake - a new record! I was so happy! I kept the fish and had a fresh bass dinner that night. It tasted wonderful - but for me, the fun was in catching it. (Today I would measure it, take a picture and release it - but with age comes wisdom.)
The best part was... when our friends came to the camp, they all made a fuss about knowing we were there because they saw my picture on the office's wall! Now who wouldn't like to have that kind of notoriety? I had fun and got to have a few minutes of fame! Can you see why I think fresh water fishing is the best?