Passion Story

[soft-on]

Good Morning Fellow Raiders,

This is a story which i sent to a few National fishing magazines. Unfortunately i had no replies or interest. I did this one day after i was passionate about just catching a big bass i had been chasing since i was a child. So please have a read and please give me feedback.

Cheer Cam

The closed sign swings back and forth like a hand waving goodbye, leaving work like a natural disaster I make the quick dash to the mountains with only 45 minutes of daylight left. My anticipation has got me in trouble with the law before so I am light footed until the freeway where I quickly join the traffic like a lost ant joining his army. The steady but crowded trip ends as I wave goodbye to the marching lines as take the turn onto the valley road. The crisp air reminds me of cold spots in a hot bath. I arrive just on dusk a small track leading to the pond is like a quarantine line-up, the branches of the scrubs grab your face and torso like they are protecting the beast that lies ahead of me. She is a native of the area and roughly 650mm long and around 4000gms in weight, Her name “Macquaria novemaculeata”

Many times before she has put all my experience to waste, I am keen to get her now just for a quick snap and then back to the river she owns.

This is her home under the water is a large network of branches which holds half my lure collection. She owes me $200 in lures and this time I am confident I will have her in. On my knees I slowly creep to the pond. Its still and its running slow. I quietly disengage the bail and aim and fire. Perfect cast, so perfect I didn’t want to retrieve the lure. I slowly twitched it after about fifteen seconds of being in the water. Bass wont usually hit a fast moving bait or lure they usually wait until it stops moving, they also will often sit underneath the bait and watch the bug for a while.

My lure of choice was a small chubby cicada with two light rubber wings that were hinged to the lure. It gave a great effect. I twitched the lure and I spotted a dark shape coming from the bank, it was hard to tell but the shape was sitting close to my lure. This is the critical time you will either get struck or it will spook the bass, at this time you must never erratically move the lure or bait. This Bass decided to stick its nose right to the lure, it was like a teacher making sure this was real and I wasn’t cheating. This was her territory and she was smart, so smart she didn’t take the lure she moved back to the bank. I let the lure move about ten more meters down stream and then retrieved it.

“This is her home, under the water is a large network of branches which holds half my lure collection “

I was dumb struck, how could a bloody fish out smarten me. Bass will often play with their food or inquire what’s on the menu before they order. Their behavioral patterns are typical of weather and air temperature barometric pressure and water temperature and flow. These are only some variables which I have encounted while fishing some of the most productive bass fishing hot spots on the south coast. You have good days and bad days regardless if the fish are present or not.

For this occasion I prevailed in my confidence that I will catch her today, earlier on I had snapped up a few crickets from the water before any small bass lings could. I placed them in my lure box. I decided to put a 30lb fluorocarbon leader onto my 10lb braid.

I tied a size 9 French style hook to the fluro carbon and then used my small reel of black cotton to keep the cricket secure to the hook. I knew this would be a game of tit for tat so I walked downstream and crossed over and walked up to be exactly opposite to where she lives. I threw off my vest and lied on the ground then moved a little closer and punched the cricket hard up stream. It immediately began squirming and flicking.

Within ten seconds of the live bug drifting above her house she struck, I was on and holding tight. There is no room for error here. With the drag locked up I cranked the reel and gained some ground, every meter here is precious and determines catch and release or just a release. Her realms of terror runs and the feeling of branches pulse the rod but she finally tired and I gently slid her across the gravel to my feet.

Her eye was a grayish brown and her stereotype slim streamlined shape was instead a chest of steel and a concrete tail, she was a beast of the river. Scars above her lateral line meant the eels couldn’t even kill her, let alone the numerous healed over holes in the top and bottom lips. I removed the trebles (barb less of course) and gently moved her on her side and took a photo and then gave her a push and she was off straight back to the fortress of a home she lives in and long lives a legend.

Edited March 18, 2008 by soft-on

[arpie]

Very nice, Cam. It is almost a religious experience, isn't it, when you are out there, at one with nature. That anticipation alone is enough to give you the shivers ..... seeing her approach the lure & reject it ..... awesome!

Well done on the capture & release

Roberta

[ElwoodBlues]

Very nice story there Cam very well written

You made me feel like I was there

Absolutely beautiful pictures aswell