By LOREN BROOKS
I got a call from Bud and Alan on Tuesday, April 8, wanting to know where I was located on the lake. I said I was in my driveway, working on the boat. I asked Bud where he was. He said they were on the lake catching fish two at a time. I could see his boat in the driveway and was pretty sure he must have picked up a weather report that discouraged him from going. Bud said he was in Roger’s boat and I better get out there.
It only takes a few minutes to put 6 rods in the boat, grab the bait and pick up my brother and John for a half day on the lake, especially if the fish were biting and the lake was glassy. We arrived at the Echo boat ramp at 11:45 am.
Guess who was pulling out from a very successful early morning fishing trip? It was Lanny Waite and Jeffrey Jones with a nice catch of Large Mouth Bass. Lanny said this was his day on the lake. He had been fishing the coves and caught a 6 pound Bass. They said they got on the lake at 6:30 am and had the time of their life. We took a peek at what they were using (crank bait) and took some pictures of the big bass they held up for the camera.
We launched and headed north. John was driving my boat, while I adjusted the fish finder. Then I remembered we must be getting close to that shallow water marker, near Stewart’s Point. I looked up just in time to see we were on a collision course with a pile of rocks just under the surface. John swerved the boat as we cruised over the shallow water missing contact with the hidden structure. We fished until dark catching three Crappie and one Striper Bass. The Crappie were all females. Look closely when cleaning the females. Be sure to wash out any foreign stuff, if you know what I mean. They have a very light strike and tender lips so be careful when you bring them out of the water. They are famous for dropping back into the water and escaping the fry pan.
The next story of the day is “The Big One That Got Away”. We were all fishing with lures. Roy got a double bump and set the hook. He was using a spinning rod, with “spider wire”. I grabbed the net.
Roy called out that the fish was taking drag at an incredible speed. He acted like he needed help and I suggested a slight adjustment on the “drag”.
That was a mistake. When I did a quarter turn on his reel it caused the fish to break the line. The moral to this story is to mind your own business, keep your mouth shut and let the man (Roy) take care of business. That was the talk of the day about the big one that got away, thanks to Loren.
Stan and Pat had another good day on April 10, catching 11 Striper, and three Crappie. Paul Bernardo and Wes Schofield were on the lake early Thursday and fished bass near the old water intake for Overton Beach in shallow water. They boated 6 nice catfish and 4 stripers, “still fishing” and 2 small large mouth bass. It was A good day on the lake. They were off the lake by 1pm as it was getting too hot.
I have received calls to work some new people into my schedule of fishing but I have run out of time. I will have to pick up the good life again next fall.
“Keep your lure in the water, the waters of life”
