Little Bait; Big Fun

It wasn't a long outing, and Nathaniel and I didn't catch any giant fish. We just paddled around a nearby pond for a couple of hours, tossing artificial baits toward the bank. Nathaniel threw bass lures in hopes of finding a big one. I opted to stay small and simple, with a 1/32-ounce Lindy Little Guppy jig rigged on a Lindy Jig Spinner and fished on an ultralight spinning outfit. The bream jumped all over the flashy little offering, and I even managed to catch a handful of small largemouths. Little Bait; Big Fun.

Home for a Day

I've just returned from a week in Michigan. The trip was mostly a vacation - to visit family and to deliver my daughter in Indiana for a World Wide Pressed Flower Guild gathering. However, when you make you living writing fish stories and your visiting a place that has really good fishing, it's hard to justify not spending time on the water!

I spent fun day of brown trout fishing with Jim Bedford - fun depite the thunderstorm that brewed up while we were half a mile down the creek from any access! Rebel Minnows produced the most fish.

I also spent two days smallmouth fishing on Lake St. Clair with top local anglers Doug Cummings and Joe Balog. Doug and I did the most damage with XCalibur Rattle Baits and YUM Muy Grubs. Joe and I caught 'em on a pretty good mix of stuff, but the best discovery of the day for me was a nifty little swimbait called a Tiny Tim by TABU Tackle.

I spent today playing catch-up in the office (although I'm far from caught up). Tomorrow, I'll be in another office in Mareitta, GA doing editing work. Then Nathaniel and I MIGHT be leaving Saturday morning for a dulcimer festival in Ohio. Makes me a little tired just thinking about getting back behind the wheel and driving to Ohio, but we'll see!

Ma Ma, Da Da, Fish

"Fish."

It seems to be among the first words in every Samsel child's vocabulary, and Eli was no exception. He was barely a year old when he started pointing at fish pictures on shirts and in magazines and saying, "fish." It was right up there with "Ma Ma" and "Da Da."

He got to see and touch a real fish last week. I actually tried to get him in on the reeling action so he could claim his first fish, but he got distracted by some Canadas across the pond. So while I was saying, "Eli, Fish!" he was saying, "Geese, Geese!" (another favorite word)

He did get interested in the little bluegill after I landed it and enjoyed touching its sides before I put it back in the pond.

More Eli fish reports to follow not too far down the road, I'm sure.