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Fishing Stories from Ned Kehde |
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Submitted by Ned Kehde - September 12, 2000 On that occasion she caught a bass on the last cast of our last day. This summer, she caught one on the first cast of our first day. But there was a difference. The smallmouth bass that engulfed her deftly worked Chug Bug last year weigh five pounds -- the finest smallmouth ever caught at this lake. The largemouth bass that took the same lure this August weighed merely a pound. Even though we tangled with bass aplenty on this recent sojourn, the marvelous fishing of a year ago never materialized. Last summer, we caught and released 223 bass in five days of rather leisurely angling. Many of those bass were hefty creatures ranging from two to five pounds. This time we fished a few more days but boated just 221 bass, and most of them were small; only one exceeded four pounds and a few others weighed slightly more than three pounds. A year ago the bass rapaciously attacked big topwater lures and split-shot rigs that were adorned with Berkley Power Worms. This summer, however, the bass turned circumspect for long spells after a couple big storm fronts rumbled across the state, carrying massive bolts of lightning, gigantic claps of thunder and chilly temperatures. Thereupon the bass often shunned our bigger offerings of Chug Bugs, Zara Spooks, crankbaits and plastic worms, preferring instead the daintier presentation of a two-inch black Berkley Power Grub on a 1/32-ounce jighead attached to either four- or six-pound line. Using these tiny lures on lightweight spinning tackle is an effortless and often profitable method for catching bass. It is also an engaging way for novices to quickly master some of the basic tenets of bass fishing. Our days afloat last year weren't graced with children or grandchildren, but this time around our grandchildren from New Jersey joined us partway through our stay. They are the fifth generation of our family to ply the lakes that bejewel the big woods in this part of Minnesota. Once these two youngsters got a handle on how to cast and slowly manipulate the diminutive lures the bass favored, they caught bass about as readily as their grandmother caught them, and she has been employing these tactics for near two decades. Whenever the bass turned a bit too persnickety for this young duo's taste, they pursued small northern pike and jumbo rock bass. And they caught an impressive array of these creatures, too. There were times, of course, when the youngsters' interest in piscatorial pursuits flagged. On those occasions, they joined their grandmother for a swim or paddled her canoe across the lake and back. During the evening hours, they poked at the log fire and gazed at the majestic sunsets, moon rises and clusters of stars. On one evening, they sat spellbound around the fire, listening to their grandmother read aloud from Homer's Odyssey. At other times, they took long walks, and as they ambled around the woods, they listened to a menagerie of songbirds and investigated a guidebook full of wild flowers. On top of that, there were loons, bald eagles and osprey to keep an eye upon. During their short stay, these two youngsters found the big
woods and its lakes to be as enchanting as their great-great
grandfather discovered them to be in the 1930s, and they swore
they would return. |
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