Sunday, November 13, 2011

Size doesn't matter

We still have warmer fall, and I've been busy both running and fishing during weekends. Yesterday, a school concert was held in our daughters' school, and I ran 18.5 km before I attended it. 
Today, I got up at 04:00 AM, left my house at 05:00 and start fishing at 06:00 in my float tube. As I mentioned before, I wanted to try Smithwick lures such as Wood Chug, King Snipe, and Devil's Horse for starters. When I reached a tip of a small cape, I cast my Wood Chug into a small spot between bushes. I gave a small action on it, and then the water surface broke up with splash. I caught a breath and then set a hook! This bass was not so big, but, as most topwater fishing freaks know, catching bass in this time of the year is a lot of fun. Yes, size doesn't matter. I took some pictures and thankfully released it. 


After I caught the fish, I could not get a hit for a while, and changed lures to Heddon ones. I could catch another bass with a Zara Spook in XRS color. 


I was also impressed with the actions of King Snipe (a fat double-prop bait), which are totally different from those of other lures. The props are very light and rotate smoothly, and their sounds are great, even though I could catch no fish with this bait.

  

The water surface was calm, mirroring the clouds in the sky.
After I got home, I changed into running clothes and ran 22 km on sloping roads around my place. I had worked my legs hard during my fishing in the float tube before I knew it, so I felt exhausted, almost knocked out in the last 2 km, maybe because of my lack of stamina.
BF=20/27
Today's tackle:
ABU Record 5000 (BLK), Phillipson Challenger (9055 rebuilt), Stren 14lb (clear blue), Smithwick Wood Chug, King Snipe, Devil's Horse, Heddon Chugger Spook, Wounded Spook, Zara Spook, Lucky 13, Zara II, etc.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Smashed my own record

When I can spare time, I make it a rule to run routine 7 km during lunchtime around my place of work. Today, I could break my own record for the first time in two years. I'm feeling very happy to renew myself, being in my mid-forties. I've applied to two races, one half marathon and one full marathon, held in Dec 2011, and I'm feeling I'm getting in good shape so far. 
In most years, I close my bass fishing season not later than late Oct, but it is still warm this year. I have to be very busy for both fishing and running during weekends. I've recently got more and more interested in these keen-eyed wood lures, and I'd like to go out with these next time, if it is still warm in this coming weekend.


Saturday, November 5, 2011

The end of the season?

It has been very warm this past weekdays. My bass fishing season is about to be over, but I tried again today. I went to a pond in a woodland area, where I had to walk almost 1 km after I parked my car to get. It was a big job to carry all my heavy tackle including float tube and fins to go there, and I got sweaty inside my waders. I started fishing at 06:00, just before the dawning time. When I lightly cast my nose-line-tie Zara Spook for starters and it reached the water, I lost visual contact with it. Then, I just -- set a hook, and the line became tight. I find a nice fat bass swim on the other end of my line, and enjoyed the good fight. I did not expect to catch a bass by the first cast, but of course I felt very happy with it.


In the next point, another bass chased my lure and dived into water biting it. It was also a very active bass (a little smaller than the first one) and I was satisfied with catching two bass in this time of the year using topwater lures.


The leaves were still greenish around this pond. I may be able to go bass fishing a couple of more times this year, as we now have warmer fall days this year than usual. Thinking of last year, the last fish I caught was with a nose-line-tie Heddon Zara Spook, which suggests...?

 

BF=19/26
Today's tackle:
ABU Record 5000 (BLK), Phillipson Challenger (9055 rebuilt), Stren 14lb (clear), 1st Zara Spook, Chugger Spook, Lucky 13, Zara II, Wounded Spook, Meadow Mouse, etc.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Active but small bass

It is a holiday and I went fishing for a couple of hours early in the morning. I caught five bass, but all were very small, just as large as my lure.

 
 
BF=18/25
Today's tackle:
ABU Record 5000 (BLK), Phillipson Challenger (9055 rebuilt), Stren 14lb (clear), Chugger Spook, Zara Spook, Wounded Spook, Meadow Mouse, etc.