| Hey Maylon, grab the net! |
|
|
|
| Written by Dan Walker | |
 Hey Maylon, grab the net!I am sure all crappie fisherman are aware of the dishrag feel. You may have your own name for it, but you know the feel i am talking about. You know when Mr. Crappie decides to take that ever so gentle bite that you really cant see or feel. However you know when he is onboard the line, cause it feels just like you ran into a wet dishrag. Just a heavy drag to your line without a real tugging fight. Well me and an old fishing partner of mine were loading up on the dishrags and I was sort of dreading cleaning the laundry when we got back. All of a sudden, I felt a big tap on my line. Yes it was that crappie tap that most crappiefisherman can distinguish from any fish in the water 99% of the time. I set the hook and the fight was on. Now giving that I use ultralight tackle and line, I knew i had the dishtowel this time instead of the rag. It was a heavy drag up until it almost reached the surface of the water. I was wondering just how big the fish was going to be. Hey Maylon, grab the net! I shouted with an anxcious heart. However, about the time I got the fish to the top to see it, it decided it did not want to be put in the laundry basket. It started rolling and fighting and tugging back down to the depths of lake. I knew at this time that I did not have Mr. Crappie on the end of my line. I knew this was a much larger fish. Now it was time to try to determine what I was dealing with. I eliminated it being a crappie, then was trying to determine if it was a catfish or bass possibly. I was thinking catfish, but was not quite sure. The fish made its way deeper into the water and eased up on its intentions of getting the best of me and my light line. I began reeling the unknown fish back up in the hopes of my friend being able to get the net under it this time. The same routine played out, just as the fish was about to come into view, it made another roll and tug and fought its way back down. Usually when someone is struggling to get a fish netted, there are other boats taking witness to the action in hopes of seeing the result of the struggle. However on this day, nobody was around to see my catch. I said to myself, where is everybody at when i hook the big one? I just new he was going to break my line before I saw what it was.
By this time I was so ready to see what I had, i put all my effort into forcing him up without a line break. I managed to do just that. Lets just say, I am so glad there were no other boats around us that day. It went from dishrag to iron drag. When I got it to the top, it was an iron rod that had been thrown into the water when the bridge we were fishing under had been built. Every time it got close to the top, the surface swirl of the current was causing it to sway and twirl and was tugging it back below the surface. Never felt anything feel so much like a fish that wasnt a fish and never been more embarrassed on a fishing trip. Thank goodness there was only one witness to laugh at me over that one.
|
After many times of the fish coming up and going down, I did not know how much more my line could take without breaking, and I did not know how many more times my friend was going to be willing to lean over with the net. So I decided the next time I got it close to the top I was going to risk breaking the line to get it out when it started the fight. | < Prev | Next > |
|---|
