We don’t fish the gravel pit bass pond on bright and sunny days, because the waters are crystal clear and the fish can see us too well, but last Sunday conditions were just right. My brother Billy picked me up at 6:30 during a soft, steady rain, and we arrived at the pond under heavy gray clouds over dark, murky waters. Perfect, we thought, as we pushed our canoe in. We’ll catch a million today.
     Which we did not. We landed nine fish, eight of which were largemouth bass, in two-and-a-half hours, which is good for most fishing venues but not here, where we often get 15 or more in a morning and where we once took 26 fish in three hours.
     But who’s counting, right, when you get a chance to get out with your long-time fishing buddy, who also happens to be your younger brother? Billy and I fish together often but differ greatly in our lure choices and methods. He likes a heavy jig for bass, tipped with an artificially-scented plastic worm, while I favor crankbaits – the Frenzy Minnow brand in particular – and various treble-hooked Rapala swimmers. But our results are about the same.
     After we caught our eight bass, I happened to mention to Billy that he had caught a crappie about a year ago in this pond, and he remembered and agreed. One minute later a fish struck his jig rig, and he set the hook and reeled in a 12-inch white crappie. That seemed like a fitting ending, so we beached our canoe, loaded our gear in Billy’s Jeep, and headed for the coffee shop.

~ Don Feigert, 09-19-10