Reel Reel Reel Slow Slower Slowest

OK! I know you were all waiting to see what happened on day two at the pond so here are the details. Thursday turned out to be another nice day and I awoke with the itch to get back over to the fishin hole and try to improve on the ill-fated fortunes from Wednesday afternoon.

Instincts were telling me that if I tried a different bait I might have better results so I opted for a spinnerbait. Strike King has a spinnerbait called the Red-Eye Special in a 3/8 oz model that is a white skirt with white willow leaf blades. I have fished many different brands of spinnerbaits over the years and this model has caught more bass and pike than any other model that I've thrown. Strike King doesn't pay me any money to endorse their product. It's just a darn good lure!

I started working my way around the pond, casting to the weed edges and turning that handle on my baitcaster just enough to keep that lure at a uniform depth. The tip of my 7 ft Shimano Convergence rod was pulsating with the vibration of the blades like a helicopter settling in on the landing pad.

About thirty minutes went by until I felt the first bump and I knew I was working the right bait, but maybe not the right area. On the next cast I found out I was in the right spot too! Watching the line, and lure on the retrieve, I saw my spinnerbait disappear right in front of my eyes, felt the weight of the fish and set the hook. Fish on again, only this one was much bigger than the day before. I managed to reel this one all the way to about 4 feet in front of me and got a good look at the bass. A good estimate was 21-24 inches and 5.5 to 6.5 lbs. Not too shabby for a pond 200 yards from my back door. The bass made one more run from right to left and I (stupidly) tried to turn it around instead of following it down the shore. I turned it around and a 3/8 oz spinnerbait came flying right back at me only it wasn't holding on to a 6 lb largemouth anymore.

Of course I started cussing and I probably drew some attention to myself from the residents who were sitting on their patio enjoying a perfect November afternoon. I'm just hoping it wasn't anyone who likes to fish with Strike King spinnerbaits. During the next hour I managed to catch 3 more bass but nothing bigger than 15 inches and they all looked like babies next to that other one. The good news is I know where it lives and I don't think that pond has ever seen an ice fisherman (until I start drilling some holes in a month or so) This is going to be man vs. beast, until the man finally wins. Cappy is looking forward to the fight on 2 lb test line and my Frabill ice fishing rod. Fishing is truly a 365 day adventure. Thanks for sharing a few minutes of your day at Cappy's Pond.