If You Only Get One Bite…

I hit a stretch of canal I don’t fish much anymore.  It gets to much pressure ever since the increase in fishing activity during the COVID lockdowns.  Even on a Thursday afternoon I saw several fresh, made today, sets of footprints.  Every spot I stopped to fish had been fished by at least 2 or 3 other people already today.  I figured I’d switch up between Club-Os and crankbaits, and fish each spot on the spot everywhere I stopped.  I didn’t get a single bite in the first three areas I fished.

On the 4th place I stopped I spotted a big fish up finning shallow.  I figured it was a giant carp.  I didn’t want to spook it and spook any nearby bass, but it was sitting just past a fairly large point or stickout on the canal bank.  Well as such things go on a relatively straight canal bank.  I made a long cast out a little wide and far past the finning fish.  I didn’t see the massive swirl a spooked carp usually makes when it is startled, but I don’t see the fin as I started my retrieve either.  After a few cranks I thought I hung up.  Then I realized it was moving and thought maybe I snagged that big carp.  Then it gave a head shake.  Nope.  Not a carp.  I brought it up right in front of me, and I could see it was a big largemouth.  It bull dogged towards deep water and turned.  I could see the turn leverage the crank bait right out of its mouth and it popped free.

It was the biggest bass I’ve hooked in the canal in a while.  Not the biggest ever.  I’ve caught a few pretty decent canal bass in the canals over the years, but this would have been the biggest canal bass in a long time.  It was easily over 4 pounds.  It was probably close to five.  Of course, I could tell stories and claim it was bigger, but I won’t.  I’ll just say easily over 4.

As I think about it and visualize in my mind that finning fish, I think it was that big bass.  I checked the spot afterwards, and there was no sign it was making a bed, but it might have just moved up when I stopped the truck to start fishing.

If you only get one bite at least make it a good one, but also if you only get one bite you should land the fish.

P.S.  If you were that F35 pilot that flew over me at about 1:47/1:48… did you waggle your wings at me?