When I saw this Saturday night I was nervous about the dishing trip Sunday morning. In case you can’t tell what it is, it is the full moon rising over my neighbor’s house. Jackson and I went to Lake Monticello, full moon or not Sunday morning. In the first 20 minutes I had a bite on a 5 1/2 inch Bassmagic swimbait.  The fish immediately pulled a lot of drag and hung me up. Powerful fish.  After I retrieved my bait, I tested the drag and it was looser than I would like.  Losing a good fish is not the way to start the day. Jackson and I each had another bite or two but the one I had  just bumped the bait and never inhaled it.  After lunch, Jackson caught one on a small Lucky Craft crankbait that he has worn me out with before. Later I had one hit the swimbait right at the boat. After fighting for a few seconds, it liberated itself, I’m sure because I did not delay setting the hook.  Got a good look at that one, probably 4 pounds. I  finally caught a large white bass on a DT – 4 late in the afternoon.  We could not put together any sort of pattern today.  It seemed the fish were scattered. Even though the sun came out and felt good on my back, the a air was cold all day. My depthfinder is at the factory getting a software update so it will be capable of down imaging as well as side imaging so I’m not sure of the water temps. One fisherman told us it was 50.5 in one spot.  This year is getting a crummy start. That’s about as nice as I can put it.

Another post having nothing to do with fishing but having to do with a lot of fun.  This afternoon, after Bill treated us to lunch at the Blue Levee, Bill Dossett, his son Chapman Dossett, Matt Weissinger, Craig Shackelford, Johnny Laney, his dog Penny and I went  squirrel hunting in some of the Dossett’s woods near Beulah.  Johnny’s 8 year old dog Penny had treed and people had killed 2984 squirrels when the afternoon began.  She only needed 16 more for the landmark 3000 and it was our job to get her there.  Penny did her part and more.  After the first treeing, the action was steady all afternoon. Usually a shaking vine was all it took to move the squirrel. Sometimes a well placed shot. When the squirrel made the mistake to move, the shooting commenced.  On one occasion we shot three squirrels out of one treeing.  After we reached 17, one of which Penny did not tree, the 3000 figure was reached and a celebration and photographs were in order. A pop of Schnapps was passed to commemorate the occasion.In the photo are, from left, Craig, Bill, Chapman, Johnny and Penny, and Matt. Craig swapped photographer duties with me in the second one. As we continued the hunt, things picked up and the action was almost continuous.  We ended up with 30 squirrels of which Penny had claims on 26 or 27.  I’ve never been squirrel hunting with a dog. It’s more fun than a tree full of monkeys. Lots of laughs, plenty of shooting and good conversation in between. Craig found a well placed bucket in the woods and took a rest while waiting for Penny to call us to arms. I was a little jealous of him finding a  seat. Johnny had a GPS that kept track of Penny and also us. I believe it said we walked 5.7 miles this afternoon.  What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon!

Today with the water temp starting at 42, the bass did not cooperate.  This morning I fished near a man using shiners who caught nothing, at least while I was watching. That made me feel a little better.  Three kinds of swimbaits, a  DTF – 3, and a Booyah could not even get a bite. I called myself fishing slow too. I went to all the spots where I’ve caught fish in the past this time of year but nothing.   Finally I decided to go back to the first spot of the morning, which I consider the best one. There was another man fishing close enough for me to watch. Before I got my bait in the water he caught one about 3 pounds.  The 5 1/2 inch Bass Magic swimbait was what I was using.  The flurocarbon line was more sensitive than the line I was used to using. By now, I had set the hook on 3 good feeling sticks but when I thought I had a bite I set the hook again, since bites were so scarce. The line started moving, unbelievable! A 3 – 8 saved the day.  The man nearby caught another 3 and when he came close enough to talk said he  had also caught a 6 pounder. He was using a 200  Tennessee shad Bandit and catching the fish in 6 feet of water.  I guess they came up shallow to feed. The water temp by then was 45.  With the fish not jumping in the boat, thank goodness it was such a beautiful day to be out.

I came across something different Friday and thought, although it does not pertain to fishing, it would be of interest.  The mice at Catfish Point have been terrible this winter. It may be due to the large pecan crop in my yard or perhaps the cold weather but it’s a plague. Thank goodness they are all outside. None in the house. A few years back, my friend Curlee Simmons described a mousetrap that he claimed was the best, and since then, I have tried it with good success.  A slick sided bowl, bucket, or even a trash can with steep sides can be used.  Fill it with enough water so the mice can’t touch the bottom and wipe peanut butter on the sides down toward the water. Put a little on the rim too,  just enough to give them a taste. Then place it next to something the mice can climb up to get to the rim and the photo shows you what happens.  It’s a trap that keeps on catching. Usually I just lift them out by the tail but these had been in the trap for a few days so I just poured them out and put some fresh water back in.  This is the third largest number at one time. My record is 10 at one time. My bowl was broken this winter when I tried to “bump” out the ice. It still works however.  Rats as well as mice can be caught in a five gallon bucket or a cut off 30 gallon drum. The water just has to be deeper.  A warming trend is coming and if a 50 degree high is forecast, I’m going fishing. If the forecast stays the same as it is now, it looks like Wednesday and Thursday.           EDIT 2/23/10  I dumped out another 7 today.

In February of 1971, 2, or 3, can’t remember the exact year,  we had a slight warm spell before a cold front. The river had a brisk fall going on, Hal and I were in one boat and I believe Mickey and Mack were in another fishing on Lake Ferguson. Hal and I went to the upper lake and were fishing with about a 15 MPH Southwest wind.  I do mean fishing with the wind as it was blowing us along. All the trolling motor did was steer. The upper lake had some trees that had fallen over and were sticking out more than the rest. We found out you could cast a hot spot across the end of the tree or down the side, let it sink, and then slowly retrieve it, and the bass would bite. We would go down the line then crank up and go back and start over again. The boat was going so fast we couldn’t pick it apart, so each time we went back there were plenty more fish to catch. This was before cellphones so we couldn’t call our buddies to tell them to come help us. You can believe we heard a little  about it too. We ended up with 27 that weighed 87 pounds after weighing each one on a Deliar and adding it up. Here is the photo that was in the Democrat.Obviously this was before catch and release.  Our ears didn’t get cold that day as we had plenty of hair to keep them warm. That night we planned another assault with two boats for the next day. We even carried a fish cooker so we could get out on the bank and cook some of our catch for lunch.  The next day the front had passed, the cold wind was out of the Northwest at 15 MPH, and very few fish were caught. I think we did catch a few to eat but not very many.  If the river falls like it is supposed to and we get the slightest warming spell you will be able to find me up there with a “Hot Spot artificial minnow” as it says in the paper clipping. Wouldn’t it be neat to go back and repeat after almost 40 years? I tried to count the fish in the picture and came up with 25, but upon close inspection, a couple of tight eyes were tucked under the biggies. It was a great day and one of the high points in my fishing career.