My boy, Jayce, gets us on the board for September

In conjunction with a weekend work errand I was able to swing a visit to the Knox County, Illinois strip mines, Little John Conservation Club to be specific. A last minute change of plans also had me playing fishing guide as opposed to struggling angler desperately trying to fool some more respectable bass for his less than impressive Top 5 total. Perhaps some time for that later this month as taking one of your boys fishing should take priority.

And it did.

As expected, however, it put just a little different spin on the outing. The nine-year old version of a fishing trip is considerably briefer and a bit more prone to distraction than the fifty-something guy who thinks he’s a Bassmaster version. We put in maybe 45 minutes on the water/bank and fooled only one bass but nonetheless had an adventure complete with some education, celebration, imagination and one’s that got away.

Jayce’s request for a heavier version of the wacky rig was the right call as the Zappu Inchi Wacky Head saved the day

Education – Rather strong winds were not only a challenge for the guide while rowing the boat but also raised a red flag for my young fishing partner. His weightless Senko wacky rig just didn’t have much sink to it in the choppy conditions prompting Jayce to ask, “Dad, do you have anything with weight?” Indeed I did and I was quite impressed with Jayce’s assessment that his presentation needed an adjustment from the only way he’d ever previously fished the highly effective wacky rig. Enter the Zappu Inchi Wacky Head which proved to be a winner mere minutes later. Well done, young man!

Well done, young man, on this task also as its kind of nice to just chill in the truck

Celebration – Like a dummy, I did not have my GoPro rigged up to catch the exciting action of our lone bass but we did do a post catch interview. Just like the big boys we ran down the details on the lure that got the job done even though we have yet to market our skills to some sponsors (Gary Yamamoto, if you’re out there reading though…). Unlike some of the big boys, however, we actually reported the stats on our catch to the nearest half inch and ounce. A little education here as well, the old “honesty is the best policy” standard.

Imagination – Don’t know if anybody else out there is into this “The Meg” thing but my boys sure are “obsessed with it” (Jayce’s description). If you are unaware, it’s “Jaws” for the new generation with a giant, prehistoric shark known as a Megalodon terrorizing ocean goers and facing off with a band of heroes out to save the day. Well, what I didn’t know is that apparently “The Meg” is not relegated to salt water as it had a bead on our eight foot johnboat while headed back to the ramp (insert classic boat line from “Jaws” here). Other than a handful of lightning storms or high winds, I have never rowed so fast during my decades on the business end of some oars. I’m not sure how “The Meg” ends as I’m still wavering on whether viewing is such a good idea for a seven and nine year old but in our adventure the good guys lived to fish again.

My assessment of how it feels as you attempt to escape the colossal “Meg”

Ones That Got Away – About ten minutes in, Jayce started to holler. “Dad! Dad! Dad!” and I observed the tip of his bowed rod nearly hitting the water’s surface. Jayce then stated, “It’s pulling good” before the lure came shooting out of the water as the fish had let go. Who knows but sure looked like it could have been a quality fish. Near the end of our afternoon Jayce told me to go ahead and fish as he prowled the bank messing with little frogs. A cast to a productive laydown got me a bite and from my perch on the bank about six feet above the water I actually got a decent look before my fish also let go. Looked to be one pushing the two pound range which qualifies as a “good one” in my book and a downright trophy bass for my rough 2018.

Chalk up another adventure that played out a bit different than the original plan but good stuff during some rare one on one time with one of the kids. Although the haul was only one bass I was encouraged by three bites in limited casting and less than ideal water conditions as the normally clear lake still features a substantial stain to the water. Solid call on altering his lure presentation by my protégé and good practice for him in casting for bass from a watercraft as opposed to the bank, he did quite well.

A welcome exclamation point to our outing

Oh yeah, and we tuned into the radio on the ride to hear the makings of a Cubs victory as they played longball on a young Phillies Cy Young Award candidate. A great day all around. Talk to you later. Troy

So here we are, back to school for a week or better depending on the kid and, as always, wondering just where the summer went. A summer seemingly so brief and absolutely so busy that it slipped by without the normal camping and fishing we usually manage to squeeze in.

Oh, but we did get to work in just a few other things. Like baseball, band camp, Tae Kwon Do, oboe lessons, color guard camp, birthday parties, tutoring, slumber parties, summer camp, a week of work on the road, a cleaning gig, dogsitting…you get the picture.

So, when my boy, Jayce, recently asked about getting out it was pretty much a no brainer as I knew he’d been chomping at the bit for quite some time.

We hit the local bait cooler for some waxworms for panfish and dew worms for catfish. We also picked up a missing ingredient for a doughball recipe to see if we could fool a carp as well. Finally, we grabbed a couple items of terminal tackle and a soda to complete our gear grab.

Armed with a doughball, “Papa makes them different” says Jayce.

After completing doughball prep in the kitchen and tackle rigging at the tailgate it was off to our potential multi-species destination at the confluence of the Hennepin Canal and the Rock River in Colona, Illinois.

Thirty minutes later we had two bluegill on our waxworms, no bites on our doughballs or dew worms and the 90 degree heat was getting the best of my young co-angler. I could tell he was no longer feeling up to the task of chasing fish so after our second bluegill it was time to make a move. No sense in pushing it when the youngsters begin to fade so I asked Jayce if we should rebait our ultralight slip bobber rig or just call it a day. Told him I was good whatever he decided. After all, “it’s kind of hot”, “the fish aren’t really cooperating”, “we can always try it another day when the heat breaks…”

With feigned reluctance, Jayce opted to head for home and I had to grin inside as I saw the glint of relief as I seconded his decision to hit the road.

Hey, 30 minutes prowling the riverbank was just fine as such adventures are always about more than casting, reeling and catching. After all, we’d revisited the practice of making doughballs (Jayce informed me that Papa makes them with some different stuff), dumped all of our waxworms in the mud and listened to the Cubs on my trusty ancient transistor radio as we watched our poles. Throw in two fishing buddies shooting the breeze in an old pickup truck on the way to and from the fishing hole and the trip was a winner no matter the duration or the haul.

Talk to you later. Troy