04-07-2007, 04:29 AM
Here's the story. I went every day this week. The first three days I didn't catch anything.
On Wednesday, I decided that I needed to look for another spot, as the people next to me were not having any luck, and I didn't see many fish biting the surface. I drove around on little back roads and assessed/threw my line in at a few spots. Thunderbird has 50 some miles of shoreline, so this took a while. Finally, I came to a spot called guess what, fisherman's point. I immediately noticed the difference. First, the water was calm. I could also see evidence of a brush pile, as there were some twigs visible, and I could see evidence that people had gotten stuck and cut their lines. It was also more of a point, and I could see lots of fish coming to the surface for bugs. I threw my line in a few times, and had no luck. I was using grubs of assorted colors, feeder fish and worms. I noticed that a guy a few hundred yards away was doing pretty well, and decided that maybe it was time to talk to some locals. He was using a chartruse beetle spin with crappie nibbles on the tip of the hook. He showed me how to tie a slip knot and where to place the bobber/weights on the line. I casted off in the same spot, and our lines were just a few feet apart. Still, he continued to catch quite a few and I caught nothing. He left, and I continued to try at that same spot. An houir later, two other guys showed up, and I could see that they were doing pretty well. They also seemed pretty friendly, so I went down to see what they were up to. They were using live minnows. They also offered some advice,and gave me a few minnows. I used the same bait, put my line in the same spot,worked it in the same way, and caught nothing. I was beginning to wonder if I needed to go to confession and absolve myself of some horrible sin that I'd unwittingly committed, but I returned on Thursday, armed with minnows and a beetle spin.
I also had no luck to start out with on Thursday. However, the first guy that I'd met on Wednesday was there, so I went over to say hello and fished in the same spot. At first I still didn't catch anything while Roger reeled them in, but then they just started biting. I came home with a whole mess of crappy. All of them were caught on minnows - I tried the bettle spin to no avail. I fried them up and it was really good - I know why they are so sought after.
Today I decided to go back and see if the whole thing had been a fluke. I still was not catching anything, but noticed that a guy on the dock was doing well. I went and asked if I could share the dock with him, and soon enough was bringing them in. I also came home today with a good catch. I also got to know the guy today, Gene. He was about 60, retired, and spends much of his time fishing. Reminds me of my dad, except for the fishing part; my whole family thinks that my new hobby is crazy.
So, lessons learned: patience and more patience, how to tie slip knots, where to place bobber and weights, how to cast, where to cast, what makes a good spot, and finally, that most anglers are nice! Haven't met a single person there that isn't. I'm sure I'll see them all again, and have a good time.
Also, learning how to clean a fish was...interesting. It's a good thing I had a decent catch last night, because if not I would have had a pretty puny dinner with all the mistakes I made and as little meat as I managed to pull off at first.
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On Wednesday, I decided that I needed to look for another spot, as the people next to me were not having any luck, and I didn't see many fish biting the surface. I drove around on little back roads and assessed/threw my line in at a few spots. Thunderbird has 50 some miles of shoreline, so this took a while. Finally, I came to a spot called guess what, fisherman's point. I immediately noticed the difference. First, the water was calm. I could also see evidence of a brush pile, as there were some twigs visible, and I could see evidence that people had gotten stuck and cut their lines. It was also more of a point, and I could see lots of fish coming to the surface for bugs. I threw my line in a few times, and had no luck. I was using grubs of assorted colors, feeder fish and worms. I noticed that a guy a few hundred yards away was doing pretty well, and decided that maybe it was time to talk to some locals. He was using a chartruse beetle spin with crappie nibbles on the tip of the hook. He showed me how to tie a slip knot and where to place the bobber/weights on the line. I casted off in the same spot, and our lines were just a few feet apart. Still, he continued to catch quite a few and I caught nothing. He left, and I continued to try at that same spot. An houir later, two other guys showed up, and I could see that they were doing pretty well. They also seemed pretty friendly, so I went down to see what they were up to. They were using live minnows. They also offered some advice,and gave me a few minnows. I used the same bait, put my line in the same spot,worked it in the same way, and caught nothing. I was beginning to wonder if I needed to go to confession and absolve myself of some horrible sin that I'd unwittingly committed, but I returned on Thursday, armed with minnows and a beetle spin.
I also had no luck to start out with on Thursday. However, the first guy that I'd met on Wednesday was there, so I went over to say hello and fished in the same spot. At first I still didn't catch anything while Roger reeled them in, but then they just started biting. I came home with a whole mess of crappy. All of them were caught on minnows - I tried the bettle spin to no avail. I fried them up and it was really good - I know why they are so sought after.
Today I decided to go back and see if the whole thing had been a fluke. I still was not catching anything, but noticed that a guy on the dock was doing well. I went and asked if I could share the dock with him, and soon enough was bringing them in. I also came home today with a good catch. I also got to know the guy today, Gene. He was about 60, retired, and spends much of his time fishing. Reminds me of my dad, except for the fishing part; my whole family thinks that my new hobby is crazy.
So, lessons learned: patience and more patience, how to tie slip knots, where to place bobber and weights, how to cast, where to cast, what makes a good spot, and finally, that most anglers are nice! Haven't met a single person there that isn't. I'm sure I'll see them all again, and have a good time.
Also, learning how to clean a fish was...interesting. It's a good thing I had a decent catch last night, because if not I would have had a pretty puny dinner with all the mistakes I made and as little meat as I managed to pull off at first.
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