Jeremiah's Bass: Rite of Passage

As I've pointed out before, my son Jeremiah loves to fish. He's in a bass phase now, and is fortunate to have a friend whose Dad has been in a bass phase for years, and has a big bass boat, and boxes and boxes of lures. Jake took the boys out today, and Jeremiah finally had his big day. Two--count 'em--two five pounders. Nice work, J!

Photo by Jake via mobile phone. Thanks, Jake.

You know what they say: Give a kid a fish, and he'll eat for a day; teach a kid to fish, and he'll catch two bass bigger than the biggest bass you ever caught.

Kids Fishing Post: Bad Bet, Good Bass

Jeremiah and his friend Ian got to talking about fishing the other day and got the fever. So for the first time this season Jeremiah asked me to take them to a bass lake. He has gone out a few times with another friend whose Dad has a big bass boat. Jeremiah likes the roostertail Jake can make when he cranks that big motor up. I can't deny it, Jake has a bigger roostertail than I do. But on this day they wanted to fish a channel where they'd heard there are BIG bass. So off we went.

They each had some money, so we made a quick stop at the local sporting goods store so they could stock up on watermelon this and salted that. In a moment of foolishness I bet them I could catch more bass on a fly than they could with all the stuff they were buying. Loser would pay for their purchases. They had confidence, I'll give them that. I'm pretty sure they ran the bill up fully expecting that I'd be paying it.

No, there's nothing wrong with him. This is just how he looks when I ask him to hold still so I can take his picture.

The lake we went to is the one I've referred to on this blog as "the early season lake." I fish for trout on the opposite end in the spring before the other lakes are open. By this time in the season, this end--and maybe that end, too--is full of bluegill and bass.

They rigged up and hit the channel.

I got first fish, but that wasn't the bet.

They worked the channel over pretty good.

I got most fish, but that wasn't the bet.

Just when I thought I was off the hook, Ian caught a bass. He had a six inch soft plastic thing on his line with a hook big enough to catch sharks! How did that little bass ever get it into his tiny little largemouth? I don't know, but I couldn't argue. That's a bass alright. Take my advice. Never make bets with your kids.

Now that the pressure was off they relaxed and let themselves go.

I kept trying for a bass, but every fish I caught was a bluegill. Did I mention I got most fish?

They finally called it quits--just before I was going to catch a bass, I'm sure--and asked me to take them to the other bass lake where they like to swim. It's right on the way home, so off we went.

They had a great time in the water. It never seems more like summer than when I'm watching them swim in the lake.

Of course I kept fishing, hoping for a bass bigger than Ian's. Not so much to ask. But it was not to be. Still, even though it turned out to be more expensive than I thought it would be, it was a great trip.

POST SCRIPT: The very next day, while I was working, Jeremiah convinced Kim to take them back to the swimming lake. He fished off the dock, right where I had been fishing the evening before, and caught a good bass. He kept it, so I could get an eyefull. "See?" he said. "When are you going to pay me?" He likes to keep to the point. That evening Ian filleted it, more or less, and they had a contest to see which one could fry up the best tasting fillet. I tried both, and I can say for sure that it was indeed a good bass.

Have a Take Your Kid Fishing Day

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Cutthroat Lake Report: Taking the Plunge

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The kids' turn today. Hot summer day. Took Jeremiah and friend Ian, Lidia and boyfriend, to Cutthroat Lake. Home of The Cliff. Jeremiah an old pro by now, takes the plunge with panache. Boys took another plunge, into trolling for big cutts from canoe. Stuck with it. They didn't have to paddle; had an old motor in stern taking them wherever they wanted to go. Jeremiah got one pull, maybe enough to keep a spark of faith glowing. Could have stayed home; glad we took the plunge into summer's green depths.

It's Good To Be a Dad and To Take Your Kids Fishing

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It's good to be a Dad, and to take your kids fishing. My Dad did it, Mark did it with his seven--count 'em--seven kids, and I did it with my three grown daughters. Laura, who is coming out next week for a visit, tells me she would love to go fishing with me again when she's here. And, happily, I still get to do it with my three kids still at home.

This afternoon it was yet another expedition, this time to the early season trout lake, with Jeremiah, his Uncle Mark, and his friend Ian. This makes the third lake for Mark in his first five days here.

I call it the early season trout lake because it opens a month before the other lakes, and I fish it then for bright, cold Spring trout. By this time of the year, though, especially at the east end, farthest from the cold water intake, there are Bluegill and roving Largemouths.

Jeremiah and Ian had caught Bluegill yesterday--twice the size of what they catch from the dock at Bass Lake--and had seen some bass. (Kim had taken them while Mark and I were at Trout Lake; yes, mothers also take kids fishing.) So this morning they worked on their gear and made their plans and could hardly wait to get back there.

They started catching Bluegill in the outlet channel again, but they were dreaming of bass.

So was Mark. He plied his purple worm for awhile.

Then the boys moved down from the channel and started fishing where it opens into the main lake. I heard Ian start exclaiming, "I thought it was seaweed! I thought it was seaweed!" When I got there a very nice bass lay at his feet. He'd just plunked in his little piece of worm, started reeling it in, and Bingo.

At first he couldn't "lip" it--you have to get used to the idea of putting your thumb in that big mouth on a live fish and holding tight to that file-like lower lip--and neither could Jeremiah; but Jeremiah was the first to succeed at it, so he held the fish in the first photo.

Jeremiah went back to fishing, and then I heard Ian say, "Jim." I looked around and there he was lipping his bass. Nice work, Ian.

Then Adrian, another friend of Jeremiah, and his dad Jake showed up. Three Dads, three assorted kids, and lines shooting out in every direction.

I watched Jake, a veteran bass man, as he cast his soft bait way across the channel mouth and plunked it down beside a rock right on the shoreline. He got an immediate hit (he said, "I thought he might be in there.") but missed the set. He reeled in a bare hook. He baited up again and let fly, and it plunked down within two feet of the first cast. An immediate hit again, and this time he had him.

I took over Mark's rod and began working that purple worm like Jake was working his soft bait. And what do you know, I caught the next bass. It was bigger than Jake's--this time--and maybe bigger than Ian's, and probably bigger than Mark's from the other day. But it was Mark's purple worm, and anyway, who's keeping score.

It meant a lot to me to have Jeremiah snap this picture.

Jeremiah didn't get a bass this trip, but he didn't go home empty handed. The boys found a baby Painted Turtle, and Jeremiah, who loves turtles, brought it home in this pop bottle and made a little home for it. That's what we can use those leftover worms for.

When we got back home, Ian's dad--who often takes Ian and his brothers fishing, and sometimes Jeremiah too--came over to pick him up, and Ian got to show him his fish. Ian took all the fish, bass and bluegills, home with him, proud as could be.

It's good to be a Dad, and to take your kids fishing. Happy Father's Day, everyone.

Taco's Happy Ending

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I took Jeremiah and his friend Adrian to the bass lake this afternoon for the usual swimming/fishing getaway. This bull snake was crossing the road near Adrian's house.

While the boys swam I used Jeremiah's spinning rod and caught a few of the ubiquitous Bluegill. I had a small bass on, but it came off at the dock.

When we got to the lake a family with a bunch of kids was there, and this dog was running around playing with everyone. We thought it was their dog, but when they packed up and left the dog stayed. The boys named it Taco, and a bond was formed. Taco even swam with them for awhile.

A woman working for the Department of Fish and Wildlife who was there monitoring the number of people at the site said the dog had been there all day.  All by himself.

So when it was time for us to leave Adrian decided to take Taco home with him. That could be dognapping, I suppose. But I think it's a happy ending for a little lost dog.

The Boys See the Elephant

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There was an expression in the Old West to describe what it was like for a tenderfoot to come west and see firsthand the grandeur and enormity of the country, and of life in it. He was said to have "seen the elephant." And once you've seen the elephant, well, it puts everything in its proper perspective.

Sunday was warm and beautiful, and the boys were aching to get back to the bass lake. It was business as usual: a little fishing, catching those jewel-like Bluegill that swarm around the dock in clouds...

And a lot of swimming.

Then it happened. They saw the elephant. This guy came in with his buddy and hoisted up a nice bass for all to see. This is the biggest bass the boys have seen taken out of this lake, and it proves that they're in there.

The boys were all eyes. So I'm wondering whether they'll be content after this with those tiny Bluegill, or whether they might get the sudden urge to venture out and find their own elephants. Especially after learning that these guys had caught a mess of little Bluegill, too, which they were going to use that night as bait for catfish that run way bigger than that bass.


Once you've seen the elephant....