Daughter 5, IB 1, but almost none

My daughter and I went fishing Friday, June 5, for about three hours on the shores of Lake Union again, just five days since our first trip.

It was one of those forgetful days. I forgot to pack her rod so she I let her use my Compre spinning rod. She opted for 6# mono over 8# and it was a wise choice.

Fortunately, I had two casting rods and two Curado D reels, one with 8# and the other 10# test.

She hooks into the bass number one in the first few minutes, a 3/4-pounder by eyeball scale. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera in the car so no picture for that one. It was her third bass ever and biggest to date.


Daughter 1, Dad none. Then I feel a bite and lose it (the bite/nibble). Then another, and another and I keep losing them. Either I have a great excuse that drop shotting with a casting setup is awkward to me or these are super dinks or I am just losing my finesse touch. I am hoping it is none of those choices.

We move to another spot. I switch to a Rapala X-Rap just to try it out. My daughter scores bass number 2, another small one. It didn’t matter to her because she was going for numbers. The best I could get were a few stares and follows by dinks with the X-Rap.


We decide to move to another spot but this time I tell her to pick it. She scouted ahead but within my visual range as I gathered our stuff. She signals she has found the spot. When I reach her, she says, “This is a fishy spot.” One of my adages is, “Go with your gut.”

We throw our baits in and I finally hook into something of fair significance. I get it close enough to the surface to see its whitish belly and it manages to get off somehow. I am a bit dejected after this one and my only consolation is that all of these strikeouts could get me listed as a DH for the Seattle Mariners.

I am glad that my loss was my daughter’s gain. Her bait wasn’t too far from mine and seconds after I lost mine she nervously says, “Papi, I have a strong one.” She was excited and a bit scared she might lose it. I calmed her down as much as I could and told her the steps to properly play the fish and in time it was hers. It was a new personal best. Two in one day; that is sweetness in my book.

The bass I lost was probably not the same one that struck her lure, but I have observed on many occasions in my short fishing experience that when one bass gets excited into getting onto a lure, nearby bass sometimes get just as excited. In addition, they tend to be about the same size. This is 100% an observance.

She was totally stoked but she didn’t want to lip it at all. A passing cyclist was kind enough to take the photo.

Bass number four came just a little later, then number five (a dink, so no photo) and it was time to wrap things up. By tally, dad was crushed defeated, pummeled, pulverized, and… proud. I don’t like to lose at anything (but never am I a poor sport) but this is a loss I don’t mind at all.

As we were walking back to the car, I asked if I could have one last chance with “just a few more casts” at the first spot and she said, “Okay”. We bump into an acquaintance of mine through a local fishing forum and fished with him. And finally, praise the Lord! We had a double on, the guy and I. It was a decent sized bass, about the same size as the one I caught on Sunday. I am relieved that I would not be going home skunked.

This was a phenomenal day for both of us, especially my daughter. I’m going to chalk this one up for the memory books.

-ib

June 5, 2009

Conditions: Partially cloudy, occasional sun. A short, but quick cooling trend the night before.

Daughter’s Rig: 6’6” Shimano Compre rod, Abu Garcia Cardinal 101a reel, 6# Trilene XL mono, Sniper Snub
Dad’s Rig: 6’6” Shimano Clarus rod, Shimano Curado D reel, 8# Spider wire Red mono, Sniper Snub
Extra Rig: 6’ Daiwa Strike Force rod, Shimano Curado D reel, 10# Sufix Siege mono, Perch Rapala X-rap.

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