Early Saturday Morning

Yesterday I had my alarm set for 5am. Friday night I put my kayak on the car and left the straps loose but at the ready. My plan was to get up at 5am, eat, tighten the straps, and head off to one of my new favorite spots for fishing from my kayak. 5am rolled around and I jumped into action.

2 microwaved hot dogs provided my breakfast (good food choices are often thrown out the window when fishing is on the plate.) I grabbed my water bottle and wallet and locked the door on my way out. My kayak was slightly wet from the morning dew, but she was ready to rock.

I made the last few tugs on the straps to tighten everything down then started up the car and took off. It was 48 degrees and I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of sandals. The reason I was dressed for summer is because I have a sit in kayak, meant for river runs, and ultimately I get wet. Plus the foot rests were put in by the original owner who was considerably shorter than I am, and they are as far back as they can go...so even wearing sandals would make the cramped conditions even worse. It is amazing however how quickly being under dressed doesn't seem to matter when you are fishing. After the short drive I completely forgot about it barely being 50 degrees out.

When I went to bed Friday night I didn't know if I would end up at Buck Pond or back at Durand Lake. I took some time to think of the benefits of one pond over the other and realized the narrowness of Durand Lake and the high hill sides with trees keeps it shady longer than the openness of Buck Pond. So, in hopes to have the sun help warm me sooner than later I went to Buck Pond.

6:01am

 I put in just before 6am.....it was perfect. The water was completely calm and there was fog floating around. I paddled out past the shore fishermen and made my way out to the furthest point I've been on this pond, hoping to find new shoreline to explore. The shoreline is all pretty much the same, so I paddled around finding the biggest holes in the weeds. This pond is FULL of weeds. I brought my new weed guard flies and found this to be extremely useful in keeping the fly from getting weeded, and from having to de-weed (is that a word?) way too often.

Guarded Condition

Within about 30 minutes I had hooked a nice sized bass. I reeled in all my slack line and started to fight him. He took a few jumps to show off his skills and then tossed the hook. It always sucks to lose the first fish you catch because you never know if you'll get another shot. Thankfully, I got another shot. Just after 7am another bass hit. I reeled in slack line and he dove for the weeds......

This should have been a bass

....it also sucks losing your second fish, because you don't know if you'll get another shot. Thankfully, I got another shot. A while later another bass decided to play along and after a nice fight I brought him in and got him all dressed up for his photo shoot. Recently I got a waterproof case for my cell phone so I'm excited to have the chance to photograph what I catch while in my kayak. So I get the phone out, tell Mr. Bass to smile, he then says "Cheese" and I take the picture and let him go. Then I went to check out the picture of my bass.....yeah....I was disappointed. Here's the awesome photo I somehow screwed up.

For $500 I can photograph your wedding too!

Apparently my new, awesome, Bending Branches Slice Angler paddle photobombed this shot. Let me just tell you I love this paddle. It's only a few weeks old but I've used the hook removal slot at least three times and with the bass above, I was able to use the measuring marks. The bass was 13 inches.

It was a great time on the water and I'm already planning the next trip out...hopefully this week with a friend of mine. It will be his first time in a kayak but I think he'll love it too.