Birthday Bass

Nathaniel spent his last waking minutes as an 11-year-old and his first waking minutes as a 12-year-old doing the same thing - which was, of course, fishing. He and I camped on some friends' property, next to a beaver pond, sleeping under the stars in the bed of the truck.

We caught quite a few fish on out outing, but we also got to see a night heron nest with chicks in it, to watch the sunrise through the morning fog and to hear the bullfrogs and crickets get loud in the evening. The temperature was perfect for sleeping outside, and the bug spray seemingly did its job.

One highlight came on the first afternoon. Asher, my 5-year-old, joined for a couple hours of fishing and eating grilled hot dogs before my wife picked him up and took him home for the night. While he was still with us, he hooked and landed a bass of a little less than a pound. When I went to grab the fish to unhook it, I was surprised to see a snake curled up in its throat. The snake was dead but appeared very fresh, and it was probably about 8 inches long. What amazed me was that the fish hit Asher's YUM Dinger when it hadn't even begun digesting a very large meal that was already in it's throat!

Last Cast

With the evening sky turning pink and three fun and productive fishing days notched, Jon Thelen announced "last cast." About that time I felt yank on the other end of my line and smiled at the idea that I would finish on a good note.

"That looks like a walleye," Jason Feldner said as I began to battle the fish. We'd caught a load of fish, as we had the two afternoons prior, but most had been white bass or northern pike. Walleyes stay down and fight with more of a steady pull. Feldner, a full time guide on North Dakota's Devils Lake, has watched anglers catch countless walleyes, white bass and pike, and of course his read was accurate. It wasn't a giant fish, but it was a pretty good one and a nice cap for a great trip.

Shadling Vote - The 'Eyes Have It

"The walleyes don't like these Shadlings at all," Kyle Clifton called out with a sarcastic tone and a big grin as he lifted a 27-inch walleye from his livewell. Clifton, who guides for Perch-Eyes Guide Service on North Dakota's Devils Lake, had boxed a pair like that for photos and had caught dozens of walleyes, pike and white bass, all on Lindy Shadlings and all in a few hours.

Meanwhile, Jason Feldner, Jon Thelen and I had been having similar fun in another part of the lake. Feldner and Thelen fished mostly with Shadlings, while I swam Lindy X-Change Jigs rigged with swimbait type tails.

The best bite current bite on Devils Lake gets going late in the afternoon and gains strength as the sun goes down. The fish are shallow bays, relating to cattails and new cabbage growth along wind-beaten banks.

We'll catch some more this afternoon, and then its back to Georgia tomorrow.

Pike and Walleyes Aplenty

I really don't know how many northern pike and walleyes we caught yesterday in a short afternoon of fishing on North Dakota's Devils Lake, but I'm guessing at was at least 75. The fish were piled up up on a wind-beaten bank and could not resist Lindy Shadling crankbaits and Lindy X-Change Jigs matched with swimbait bodies. Most fish were very shallow, relating to cattails and rock.

Round 2 this afternoon. It's an amazing fishery, and I can't wait to get back out thhere.

Plane Pointed North

I'm Atlanta bound early tomorrow morning to hop on an airplane, with a final destination of Devils Lake, North Dakota, where spring walleyes await. It'll be my first trip to North Dakota. Apparently there was snow up there only a week or so ago, but the forecast for the next four days looks wonderful. I'm looking forward to catching fish, learning a bundle, taking photos and, of course, eating some fresh walleye!

Cumberland Gap

No new fish stories this week. Nathaniel, his 5-year-old brother Asher and I spent the first part of the weekend at Cumberland Gap, camping and taking part in a dulcimer festival at the national park campground. Then we scurried home on Sunday morning to be with Mom and the rest of the brood.

Nathaniel taught a class about fiddle variations and performed at the festival, and Asher even took a turn on the stage. We spent most of the weekend jamming, listing to music or attending workshops, but we also took a hike to the tri-state marker (where VA, TN and KY come together) within the park, and Asher had a big time watching an ongoing demonstration of campfire cooking. We all enjoyed sleeping in tent, tending the fire in the morning and cooking hot dogs on the grill.

Niagara River Steelhead

As so often happens, the big one got away today. That said, I'm sure not complaining.

The big one, an Atlantic salmon that Capt. Frank Campbell estimated in the 20-pound range, did two huge jumps and made a couple of sizzling runs - before it got free. It provided big excitement, though, as did a half a dozen steelhead, a lake trout and a smallie that did find their way into the boat today.

A couple of the steelhead were at the mouth of the Niagara River, close to Fort Niagara. The others were a handful of miles upriver, in a classic steelhead holding area known as Devils Hole. All ran hard and treated us to some acrobatic jumps.

It was a fun day on the water with Capt. Frank and with fellow writer and longtime friend Vic Attardo.

Weather Bullet Dodged

The forecast didn't look good early this morning. In fact it looked really bad. Eighty percent chance of rain, including thunderstorms, hail, strong winds... and the radar just to the west was seriously green, with yellow and red highlights. It was calm and rain-free early, though, so we scrambled to the lake and fished close to the harbor, figuring we might get in a few hours before the bottom fell out.

Somehow the rain never came. The whole system passed just to the south, and the wind stayed so low that a man could have paddled a canoe to Canada. Making thing even better, Erie's chunky smallies were chomping in the shadows of the Buffalo skyline, so there was no need to go anywhere.

I fished today with Capt. Tim Braun, a veteran Erie smallmouth guide, and with Lawrence Taylor of YUM Bait Company. We caught almost all our fish on Mardi Gras colored YUM Tubes.

Trout tomorrow.

Only On Erie

The thickness of the fish in Lake Erie astounds me. This smallmouth, caught today, weighed in right at 6 pounds, and it wasn't even 20 inches long. Unlike some "fat fish," which simply have big bellies, Lake Erie smallmouths are ridiculously thick from end to end, and that's true whether they weight 2 pounds or 6 pounds. The limite right now, by the way is one fish per angler, with a minimum size of 20 inches. This fish woudn't have even been a keeper.

YUM Tubes were the main attraction today.

Back for more tomorrow!