Nice Bass

Twenty five years ago my dad and I did a lot of fishing. Note, we didn't do much "catching" -- just the throw-your-line-in part, followed by the reel-your-line-in part. He being a teacher, I being 12, and neither of us owning a boat, we would tromp through the weeds out at Pleasant Creek (mostly at dawn or dusk) to reach a cove of some sort that looked promising from a distance. Occasionally a fish would mistakenly take our bait and we'd have a catfish or crappie to clean. Rarely did we have two.

I am now my dad, and the kids are me. We go to Pleasant Creek and catch lots of sticks and water grass, but few fish.

There are two ingrediants necessary for really good fishing in Iowa. The first is water temperature. When the calendar hits mid-June and the water is warm to the touch, the fish stop biting. The second is a good fishing hole, preferably a well-stocked, semi-private farm pond.

Last Saturday, we had both, and we had fun.

We caught fish. Big fish, little fish; blue fish, yellow fish. Fish that flop, fish that do not. Fish that like worms, fish that squirm. Fish with flair ... fish were everywhere!

For one hour on Saturday night, we must have caught a fish every minute. For my part, I caught the biggest bass of my life -- an 18-20 incher that must have weighed 4-5 pounds. The kids each caught a few too. It was ... fabufishious.

(The Adventureland day was great too. More on that in a future post.)