Windy. Wiiiiiiiiinndy! I knew the weather wasn't going to cooperate with me this morning, but that was to be half expected. Still, the urge to wet a line for an hour or two was too strong, so I headed out to Buckmaster's Bridge this morning, hoping to catch a walleye or perhaps some crappies. I really just wanted to work through some crank baits and see how each was working.
I have a general idea of the shoreline along Buckmaster's, as I've fished this area since long before I lived in Mankato. And I know that if I fish off the point into the main part of the lake near the bridge, I can run cranks and other baits along a nice weedline about 50 yards out or so. But today's wind made precision fishing nearly impossible. Still, I pulled in four bass. Not four walleye like I'd hoped, but four bass. Now, for a self-proclaimed bass addict, this should have been a good day fishing, but bass were low on the scale of fish I wanted to take in. Besides, catching bass out of season is a mere teasing of what I'd really like to be fishing for. And while I like the versatility of the crank bait, each bass hauled in just made me long for my real bass lures just wating for the 23rd to roll along.
Now, with that said, I mixed in a Mimic Minnow today. My brother-in-law, Dave, is a Mimic fanatic, and it is safe to say that I've watched him have enough success on a wide variety of fish to know enough to have a few handy in the ol' tackle box. What I mostly like about this lure is that I can use it to search to bottom of the lake and feel out the structure. With a crank bait, the percentages of picking up a stray leaf suspended in the water is pretty high. The heavy jig head of the Mimic Minnow allows it to fall more naturally to the bottom of the lake. When retrieved, the tension is light, making weeds, rocks or bites magnified. And after a little practice with this lure, a person can figure out which sensation is a bite or weed or whatnot. And when you fish from shore, anything you can substitute for the fancy electronics of the boat is a bonus.
The Mimic turned up three of the four bass today, but I also hooked into something that flat out overpowered me. I'm putting my money on a carp, but for a good five minutes, I watched my line peel off my reel in chunks. This fish darted for deep water and I could almost feel its thunderous back working against the current. Now, being that I haven't prepped my poles properly for the bass opener, there came a point when I thought this fish was going to strip me of all my line, so I fought hard to turn its head and work it toward shore. At one point, when the fish and I were both tiring, I tried to switch my grip to power the weakend fish in, and that's when I slacked my line just a bit too much and it spit the hook.
I still had my Mimic Minnow, and its soft body was unharmed, which makes me believe this wasn't a sharp-toothed fish like the northern or the walleye. But man, a guy can dream, can't he. My arms are sore as I type this ... now that's a big fish.
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