Therapeutic Cast and Retrieve or I Write a Self Help Book To Excise the Demons of Modern Life Before They Take Over the Boat...

I admit that I am a power boat guy. I'm not all drunk on horsepower but a modest outboard motor sings a melodious song on it's way across the lake as a day with the promise of fun and fishing dawns. Even looking at pictures of antique motors and boats brings to my mind the memories that were made in times gone past, my own and those of some embedded group mind. As they say these days, if you know, you know. 

After a childhood spent in small boats my dad bought an early bass boat model, a Raycraft when I was a young man. When I became able to afford my own boat I went with the pontoon party boat and have adapted my fishing as well as lots of days spent, well, partying on the big lake to this type of boat. I always had the idea of a canoe and small water fishing as different thing to try so several years ago I decided to buy one while I was still young enough to load and unload from the back of the truck. Lately one of my favorite places is the Walnut Slough paddle trail in Martin Dies Jr. State Park.       

On my big boat I use a depth finder. It's a modern down image type. I can see fish but mostly I use it to find drop offs and depth changes where I know fish will be. In the above photo I watched a guy with one of those livescope depth finders picking crappie off the pilings of the footbridge. Apparently with electronics of this type you see the fish in real time and present the lure right in front of his nose. That's important in crappie fishing as they suspend in a particular spot and don't chase a lure like other species might. He was very efficient with his gadget. 

From the something for everyone department there will always be something new and something better. It will probably involve more technology. It will require study and practice. After a life I've spent in fast paced production and health care environments where quick thinking and faster learning was the coin of the realm I don't think I want to even be near the instruction manual for a livescope. There is something gently therapeutic in the monotonous casting and retrieving of a spinner bait.          

I talked to the electronic fisherman a bit and he was friendly but never took his eyes off the screen. I thought about fishing the pilings he had already passed but there were a couple parties on foot fishing from the bridge so I skipped it as crowding is not my thing.    

I think I caught four fish, two bream and two crappie. No size so they all got CPR, catch photo and release. There were a lot of short strikes, which as I was mostly using a one inch long crappie slider is a bit hard to imagine. I think they were very small male bluegill in the shallows before the spawn or even small gar that are hard to hook because of their boney, toothy mouths. 

A canoe is a great way to cut down on screen times in these modern days. I was not very efficient though. I logged about five hours sitting in the canoe and uncounted paddle strokes and casts or at least that's what the muscles of my back and shoulders tell me this morning. Not really a lot of water covered. Just slow and simple fishing.   

Great colors on this crappie but he's a bit shy of the 10" limit. 

Saturday in the State Park and it was a bit crowded as canoe rentals have resumed after a pause due to COVID concerns. I was there early and got to fish my favorite spots so they did not bother me. Good to see folks out on the water but I'll try to keep my trips to the week days in the future and give special attention to those bridge pilings even if I can't see if there are any fish there. .