First Fishing Trip of the Season in the Boat

Last weekend, I was able to take my 16 foot jon boat for the first time this season.  While I have fished quite a bit this season, I have stuck to smaller bodies of water in my smaller boat and bank fishing up until this point.  I was incredibly nervous about getting it started and concerned about how it would run on the water after sitting in my garage for 6 months.  After some priming and choking (and maybe a little praying), it was music to my ears to hear the small 20 horse motor roar to life and purr like a kitten on the water.

My main objective was to clear some cobwebs out of the motor but my second goal was to target prespawn bass.  While I wasn't positive that the bass would be in prespawn mode on Lake Jacomo, it was my hope that they would be and thus, more aggressive.  That increased aggression, I was hoping, would make them more apt to hit a streamer.  While I didn't catch a lot of bass, I did catch the new "boat record" largemouth.  I started keeping track of big fish the first time that I put my boat on the water and it's just a way to make things more interesting and exciting when someone catches a nice-sized fish.  It also gives a nice reference point for us to compare fish to if someone is wondering if they caught an above-average sized fish.  

The bass I caught, while not a monster by any means, measured almost 18 inches long and broke the previous boat record of 15 inches.  It made a couple of acrobatic jumps and put up a heck of a fight!  It appeared to be spawned out (it looked a little skinny in the gut) but I'm not a bass expert so I could be wrong.  On the other hand, it was in the shallows (more specifically in vegetation) so maybe it was just a male with a high metabolism (kind of kidding, but maybe it was just struggling to catch food).  

Overall, it was a wonderful morning on the water!  The motor ran, the boat didn't leak, and I caught a nice bass on The Brave (my favorite streamer).  I'm already excited to get the boat on the water again and with only 13.5 days of school left, more days like this are hopefully on their way.  Speaking of way, Waylon had a good time too!