This afternoon was too pretty to go deer hunting so I went to get my fishing fix at a small blew hole that is close to where I have been deer hunting.  My main fishing equipment is at home but I keep a rod and reel in the closet at the club. The reel is one that Hal found under a trestle on the upper end of Arkabutla when the water went down . He took it apart, cleaned it up and gave it to me, quite nice of him. It even came with some line on it.  I put it on a rod that my children had used with push button reels. The rod is rather whippy but for that reason, it casts well. The hole was  small, about four casts wide, so bank fishing was the way to go. I started on the balmy North bank just knowing the fish would be in the warmer water. No bites.  When I reached a shady corner where the wind had drifted up some leaves the action picked up. Those little fish hit the 1/4 ounce chartreuse Booyah spinnerbait pretty hard.  I had brought an old fish stringer with me  I used to use back in the early 1970’s that had a rope that would hold a bull.  The ones that were invited to dinner were put on it and it was tied to a loop on my pants. The stringer was overkill but was all that I had. The small 10 to 12 inch bass are the ones that I like to keep to eat but there were some too small as well as the  3 pound (estimated) FOD and a couple more that were too large. In two hours 14 were caught. A most pleasant afternoon.

This afternoon on Lake Ferguson, the second time I hit the trolling motor, it would not turn on. The foot switch felt lifeless. I turned it to the lowest speed and turned it to the constant on position. The motor ran constantly except when you reached down and turned the toggle switch off.   Not a good way to fish. The shad were everywhere in the lake and the white pelicans were more numerous than the last time. The bass that have been in the shallow end were not there, or at least not showing themselves. There was a small amount of visible action on top.  I’ve been thinking since being scolded by the Yozuri and figured a Little George might work on the schooling bass. On the second cast I had a hookup. I gloated a little but it didn’t feel right. Up came a catfish. To try to save the day I broke out the DT – 10 on the steep bank and caught 2 relatively quickly before dark.  At home I took the switch out of the foot pedal of my trolling motor and found the rubber button of the switch was broken. The switch is still good and if I can’t find another button, I’ll rig something to work.

Seviche or Ceviche

Are names for a fish dish made from fish cooked by the centuries old method of cooking by contact with the acidic juice of citrus instead of heat. It originated in Peru or Ecuador and the ingredients are highly variable from place to place and country to country. I have been experimenting with recipes and have finally developed what may be a better one.

Ingredients:

1/2  pound of fresh bass fillets cut into ½ inch cubes

6 limes, squeezed with pulp

1 orange squeezed

1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced

1/4 green bell pepper diced

3 small bunches of green onions, diced

3 or 4 or 5  Jalapeno pepper rings depending on your heat level, diced

1 clove of garlic, pressed

tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro (some may want 2)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 small can Old El Paso green chillies,  drained

2 or 3 good shakes of Tabasco

2 more limes juiced, to be added later

1/2 orange juiced, to be added later

Place cubed fish in a glass or plastic bowl and cover with juice of 6 limes and 1 orange. Cover and place in refrigerator. Turn or stir after 3 or 4 hours to make sure all fish gets soaked evenly. I like to leave it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. After 24 hours, drain and add fresh juice of 2 limes and 1/2 orange. Then add other ingredients and gently mix thoroughly. You can serve immediately but it’s best after it sits in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 hours. Keeps in the refrigerator for 3 days or so.

The firm flesh of a bass works well. Crappie gets mushy. Redfish works well too. Frozen fish will work but I prefer fresh. You can alter this recipe to your individual taste. This may be only a good starting point.

Mickey and I went to Lake Ferguson this afternoon. He took his boat and had Ed with him. We went where the bass have been schooling and they were there again. I was where the action was so I called them on the phone.  I was having trouble getting a bite even though I was in the midst of a school of striking fish. When Mickey and Ed got there, they started catching fish right away so I knew something was wrong. They were using a Yozuri lipless  crankbait that was more the size and shape  of the shad the bass were feeding on. It has a very aggressive rattle also.  They were out catching me 3 to 1 while we were  fishing close together. They caught 24 and I caught 7.  Mickey caught another grinner today and is trying to make a run at the Grinner Meister title currently held by Richard. Richard also holds the Goo Meister title and the Smallmouth Buffalo Meister title. A picture of his 12 pound Smallmouth buffalo, caught on a spinnerbait.

After a drubbing on Monticello, I went to Lake Ferguson this morning early.  Before leaving home the radar showed some showers directly across the river, then a large gap, and then some more showers.  When I reached to lake there was a tournament of about 20 boats going on.  I reached the intended spot where Rufus and Willie had fished yesterday afternoon and had seen bass schooling.  Willie hooked one on a spinnerbait that weighed ” 6 or 7 or 8 pounds”. It broke his line taking his spinnerbait. Not only were the bass schooling when I got there, but the white pelicans were there too.  The trusty Booyah would not get a bite even when thrown into the middle of a group of schooling fish.  Jackson was talking yesterday about the frustration of fishing for schooling fish and opined that a rattletrap was the best bait to use in that situation. Out one came. It was a medium sized one. Quickly I had a 3 – 14 in the boat.  Here is a picture of the bait and a shad that it snagged.

The bait was a pretty good match for the shad that the fish were feeding on and as you could see the hooks were sharp.  I snagged a total of 6 shad before the day was over.  By 9:00 went it started to rain, I had 11. When the rain started, the bite started to slow noticeably.  Even with the rain there were a good many people fishing.  One group of three was coming down the same bank I was covering. They asked if I was in a tournament and when I replied “no” they commenced to come right for my spot as if they were going to fish it too. Only after being asked, “You’re not going to come in here and fish my spot are you?” did they turn around and go back from whence they came. Some people. I ended up with 14 fish, the largest 5 weighing 18 pounds even, 2 over 4 , the 3 – 14 and a 3 – 4 being the largest.  I felt sorry for one of the tournament fishermen who was a back seater. He had on his knee length shorts and a visor in the pouring rain. A drowned rat was drier then that guy. A good day even considering the rain but I don’t feel like I’m completely even with them yet.

They whipped us again on Monticello. You’d think I’d learn after a few times. This morning Jackson and I started fishing about 7:30 on a unusually calm lake. Within 10 minutes I had a 3 1/2 in the boat on a swimbait.  Ten minutes later another smaller bass in the boat and ten minutes after that I lost another. I thought we were going to tear them up but we should have quit right then. There were no more bites after 8:00 except something that vibrated my bait twice in one place. I think it was a really small bass. The last one out turned off the lights. I’m mad and want revenge. That may have to wait until next April.

Not too many places to fish where I’ve been lately.

But I’m back, and Wednesday we attacked the Garhole in two boats. Frank Smith and Mickey in one and Hunt Lowery and me in the other.  Of course we wanted to catch some fish but mainly we wanted to invite some to Frank’s house to supper. The Garhole has too many  12 inch bass that need to be reduced in numbers so as not to be overpopulated.  We released all over 13 inches. This is a picture of Hunt and a nice Garhole bass.

We had great fun.  One unnamed party even got hung far up in a tree and had to get my lure retrieving  pole to rescue his bait. He left his rod hanging in the tree when he came to get the pole. Of course that had to get on the Bitespot.

Hunt and I were rounding a point where Hal, Mack and I had a casting contest in our high school days and in that contest Hal caught a fish that was strange to us, a chain pickerel. I was telling him the story, when Mickey shouted from the other boat that he had just caught a chain pickerel, his second of the day. What a coincidence.

The two boats caught  108 fish for the day, 28 of which were invited for supper . They came and were delicious. Most were caught on spinnerbaits and on worms. I even caught 2 on a swimbait. The FOD was 3 – 12. It seems to be the spinnerbait time of the year. The last few trips a spinnerbait has been THE bait.

Mark and I went to the Upper Lake Monday afternoon. It is almost cut off from Lake Ferguson at this water level.  He left them biting there Sunday at noon fishing with grandsons. They caught about 15. I remember the last time we went there where we caught an ice chest full. We went to the best spot right off the bat where we had a bump or two on the Yozuris that Mark has made famous. I pulled out a worm and caught one but even the Minnow Wand rubbed on the baits could not make a difference.  A catfish did make a pass at a small crankbait and got hooked in the tail.  One more small bass on the crankbait and that was it.  Just like Sunday with Rufus, we thought we would tear them up but the fish did not cooperate.