A Gorgeous Evening and My First Fish of 2012 - 1/31/12

[RiverCat09]

One Down and Eleven to Go: New Year’s Resolution Update
First Fish of the Year January 31 2012

I enjoyed about an hour of gorgeous weather on Monday the 31st, and caught my first fish of the year. After reading some of the CBBT reports and other stories, this is almost embarrassing. None the less, with a gorgeous sunset as a backdrop, I landed a small but scrappy largemouth bass at our local pond, and thus, started my quest to catch at least one fish in each month of 2012. The key to success today was a slow retrieve and small baits. Details can be found below.




A Flight of Geese Came Into View as I Was Snapping This Picture

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New Year’s Resolution
After hearing someone talk about resolving to catch at least one fish in every month of the year, I said to myself “that sounds like a good idea. I’ll think I’ll try and do it too this year”. And with that, I set out to do it, but I procrastinated for most of January. This past Sunday the 29th, I realized that I had not even dipped a line this year let alone caught a fish, so I grabbed a couple rods to take along while Kate and I took an afternoon walk by our neighborhood pond.

Sunday Skunk
We did our usual two laps around the pond, and I stopped and fished at numerous areas on our second lap. I got strikes in one or two locations, but the skunk stayed with me on this first trip out. I was tossing a 6” Berkley power worm in pumpkinseed in addition to a 1¾” Lunker City Fin-S shad in alewife. The tiny Fin-S shad got all the action.

One Last Shot at January
On Monday the 31st, I realized that I’d better get my butt in gear, or I would close out January fishless. I had one last shot at getting a fish in January. Monday’s highs were in the low 60’s, and the weather was spectacular. I had a shopping errand to run after work, which would leave me with about an hour at the pond to check off January’s box. I left work at the usual time, and after successfully avoiding a huge traffic backup that I got wind of, I made it to the Giant Food in Laurel by 4:30 pm. I dashed into the store and rounded up the items on my list, including back fin crab meat to have with our flounder which was on sale.



“OK, one errand down, and only the drive home to go” I thought to myself as I was turning the key on the truck. I made it home, put away the perishables, and was putting my fishing rods into the bed of the truck by a little after 5. The late afternoon temperatures were in the high 50’s to low 60’s, so I wore only a pullover sweater and no coat or jacket. I often walk to the pond, but to save precious daylight, I drove the short distance. With the sun almost on the horizon, I made it to the pond and parked the truck. I grabbed my gear, headed to the shoreline and started casting.

The Carrot Stick Angler
Just as on Sunday, I got several small swipes on my tiny Fin-S minnow at my first location, but I got nary a hookup. I continued down the shoreline and met and chatted with two kids with bait casters, one of which had a Carrot Stick. They had not landed anything either, but they were going for the brass ring; they were using larger baits than I was in an attempt at tying into a nice bass. “Is that a Carrot Stick?” I asked the one angler. He said that it was, and I commented on how they were very popular with light tackle anglers on the bay.

A Gorgeous Evening
I continued on down the shoreline, stopping to cast at structure which had yielded fish in the past, and alternated between the tiny minnow and the plastic worm. I got strikes in several places with my tiny Fin-S bait with no hookups, but the worm did not yield so much as a whiff.

I made it about halfway around the small lake, and by now the sun was about to dip below the horizon. “It looks like I’m not going to catch something in every month this year, but I can only blame myself for procrastinating” I thought to myself as I was taking in the spectacular evening. The sky was now painted in pastels of blue and pink, so I paused briefly to take a picture.



Snatching Victory out of the Jaws of Defeat
“At least I’m getting treated to a gorgeous sunset” I though to myself. My resolution to catch a fish in each month of the year was in jeopardy, but I was at peace. I moved to a new spot and started casting again. On my first cast at this new spot, I felt something take a strong swipe at my minnow, but I waited too long to set the hook. “Oh man! Dead to rights I should have had him” I said aloud as I made a second cast.

I let the bait sit for about ten seconds after it hit the water, and started my slow retrieve punctuated by gentle, occasional twitches. About half way through my retrieve I felt a solid “thunk” and got a solid hookup. “Oh hell yeah!” I exclaimed aloud as I made short work of the 8” bass. “I did it! It looks like I did it” I thought as I snapped a couple quick pictures before releasing the small fish. I had snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat.



Crab-Stuffed Flounder Dinner
I got a few more pictures of the picturesque scene before packing it up and heading back to the truck. On the way back, I met the same two young anglers that had I chatted with earlier working the shoreline next to one of the pond’s gazebos. I asked them if they’d had any luck, which they had not. I told them of my limited success, and commented “It’s slow, and it’s still early.” I then counseled “Go small, and retrieve it really slowly” as I showed them my Fin-S shad.

I then returned to the truck and drove back to the house to make a killer dish of crab-stuffed flounder using some of the fish that Kate and I caught last year at Wachapreague. One month down and eleven to go and I had better not procrastinate in February.

[J.A. Veil]

Nice going. Sometimes the fish for each month comes easily -- sometimes you have to work for it. You put yours off until the 11th hour, but still got the fish.

[blue lou]

Way to stick to it! You have mail.

[Chesapeake TJAM]

Sneaked it out at the buzzer! I made myself the same challenge. I'm still toying with refining the challenge to either a rock every month or a different species every month. Anyway, congrats and good luck. Maybe we can head out this spring together. Cheers!
Mike

[RiverCat09]

Nice going. Sometimes the fish for each month comes easily -- sometimes you have to work for it. You put yours off until the 11th hour, but still got the fish.

Thanks John!
I must say though that my undertaking of this whole new year's resolution is all your fault!
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/show...rch?highlight=

[J.A. Veil]

Thanks John!
I must say though that my undertaking of this whole new year's resolution is all your fault!
http://www.tidalfish.com/forums/show...rch?highlight=

I caught 3 pickerel this afternoon to get my February fish under the belt. Just in case the weather turns nasty, I am already set for the month. I never fished during the winter until about 2006. I now see what I was missing for many years.

[Chesapeake TJAM]

Your report got me thinking, why not check out a couple ponds on my way home from work? So I stopped this morning and took about 30 min to scout of a pond. I wasn't very optimistic until I had a LMB say hello to my crank bait. He wasn't big but it was my first LMB in many many years. I have a few other ponds to check now.
Better not procrastinate on Feb. get out there!
Mike

[wen]

Hey Don,
On the Sassafras we used to call that bait !
Just kidding !
Good fish, nice story.
Now shouldn't you be doing some electronic changes on that boat and not fishing ?!!!
Wen

[Virgil Poe]

They do eat year round. All of them. Not as often though as their metabolisms are slowed down with the lower water temperatures of winter. Small is good, and slower is too. I've caught fish dangling a bare ice jig colse to bottom. A little jigging action normally doesn't hurt if you are over them as in on ice or a boat. If standing on shore, try floating one under a bobber. I like the Rapala ice jigs, and Northlands new Puppet Minnow darters. A live minnow lip hooked to a shad dart and slow trolled or cast and retrieved can be a killer.
It's nice seeing guys discovering wintertime fishing. Enjoy