Last Tuesday, taking advantage of a slow day in the Lodge we decided to grab the monster 4 man canoe down at the waterfront and head out for an afternoon of bass fishing. With the winds low and the temps in the mid 70s we thought that even if the fish weren't hitting, it would be a great day for a short canoe adventure.
After portaging into Caribou Lake the fishing commenced. After only a couple of casts Kasey landed the first big fish of the day. A nice 19 inch smallmouth slammed her 5 inch watermelon senko, and after posing with her big fish, Kasey successfully released the fish to be fought another day.
Wasn't much later that I had the opportunity to land a big smallmouth. What a day!
Kasey's cousin, Cameron, wasn't to be left out of the action and he too landed a nice sized smallmouth. The only person left in the boat without a fish was Ady. Ady is now 6 years old and while quite experienced with fishing off the dock, she she wasn't sure about fishing out of a canoe. Besides, she was spending more time rifling through the day pack looking for snacks than she was fishing. After some coaching she managed to land a 14 inch smallmouth and declared her time fishing to be over. An hour and a half and a dozen fish later Ady announced that she was board. We all looked at her, by this time she was laying down in the middle of the canoe. Not wanting to leave while the fish were biting but also being worried that Ady would have a bad experience on her first fishing trip, we told her that if we caught 3 more fish we would go. Upon hearing that, she immediately sat up, picked up her rod, grabbed a pumpkin seed 4 inch senko and casted for the shore. Upon watching the soft plastic hit the surface, Ady closed her bail like a pro and begin a slow retrieve. She had only gone around 2 or 3 times when the end of her rod dipped and Ady leaned back to set the hook. Immediately, the wonderful sound of the drag zipping out line from the reel's spool could be heard, and I felt my own pulse quicken as I realized she had a big fish on the line. A few seconds later the fish broke water and we watched the bass shake its head trying to spit out the hook before falling back into the water. All three of us reeled in our lines so as not to have her line cross ours and snag up. Twice more the fish jumped out of the water and I tried to coach Ady to keep the line tight but not to horse the fish in. Ady continued to reel in the line and fight the fish while we watched the fish get closer with each pass. After a few minutes Ady told us that her arms were tired and the reel wasn't getting the fish closer, it just kept pulling out more line. Once again we urged her to continue fighting the fish and not to give up. Finally, after another minute or two the fish was alongside the canoe and Kasey was able to scoop it out with the net. Beaming with pride Ady wanted to have her picture taken, but said she was afraid to hold the fish since it might flop around she could drop it. Not to worry, Kasey stepped in and held it for her while I snapped the photo. Here she is, 6 years old with her first big smallmouth bass. She did it all herself and I hope this is the first of many great fishing stories for her. Enjoy her picture!
Adyson Van Tassell 6/18/13 19.5 inch Smallmouth Bass
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