I had not been to the private hole in so long I had to weed the boat before I fished.

There were weeds growing in the dirt in the cracks between the flotation.  The North wind was blowing so hard Monday I gave up on the turkeys in the afternoon and went fishing. It was such a bluebird day I had no confidence in really catching any fish but figured I’d have better luck with them than with the turkeys. I started out with a DT-6 in one of my favorite spots for it but there were no volunteers. A shakey head was next and soon a chunky private hole bass was in the boat.

Continuing with the shakey head, the picture started to take shape with the wind, once again, doing the painting.  The bite was slow  and soft but after starting at 3:00 , by 7:30 the count was up to 17.  The gnats were terrible all afternoon and I had left my Buggins Natural gnat repellent in my turkey vest. I was ready to quit.  Fearing a mosquito attack at the bank, I remained  out in the hole to put up my rods and baits. They were all wrapped up when I saw  some fish activity all the way across the hole. The decision was made to go see what was going on, and on the way a “found” spinnerbait, refurbished with a new blade and a grub for a skirt, was tied on. The bass were concentrated in one spot where they had some shad hemmed up. I missed several but by the time I quit the count was up to 31. I retied my bait, almost in the dark and about two fish later the line broke. The blades were rattling when the tighteye jumped to throw it a few minutes later. Another was tied on and very soon another break. Moral: Old guys should not try to tie knots in the dark.

This is a photo of the 4 1/4 FOD. The largest fish was a grinner, grinnel, or bowfin, whatever you want to call it that was “long as my arm”.  It came off the hook when I put the “tenderizing” lick on it with the cut off hoe handle. Not a bad day for the conditions.