Well, my second week of summer break was pretty eventful. I got the chance to fish with some great people and have fun in the outdoors. I spent a little time "guiding" and a little time fishing for myself. When I use the term "guiding," I don't mean that in a professional, I'm-getting-paid-for-my-services way. I'm not a guide. That would be an insult to actual guides. However, I'm trying to help some folks catch some fish and develop some skills that will be important if/when I do become an actual guide. Enough about that though. Let's go to the highlights.
Monday, June 1
I had the pleasure to take my buddy, Riley (son of a coworker), to Lone Jack Lake in Lone Jack, Missouri, to chase some bass and bluegill. We fished out of my raft and used 1/80 ounce jigs under an indicator to catch some nice bluegill with the biggest being 9 inches long. The bite turned off around 10:30 but Riley landed 10 fish, on his own and on the fly rod he got for his birthday. He has some serious skills for a 6th grader and it was fun to help put him on some fish!
Tuesday, June 2
My coworker and friend Justin is a busy man these days. Aside from being a teacher and a father of two kids, he also has a 3 month old baby at home. Lately, it has been hard for Justin to find time to get on the water. When he did get a chance to fish, I wanted to help him catch some fish. While Justin doesn't need any help casting or selecting flies, I decided to row Justin around in my raft and put him in spots to be successful. He landed a couple of respectable bass on a Captain Quint at Rocky Hollow in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and it was a beautiful morning spent with my friend.
Wednesday, June 3
This was a day off.
Thursday, June 4
This day was dedicated to taking my youngest son, Cody, to Watkins Mill State Park in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. I wanted to help him catch some bluegill on a fly rod. More importantly, I wanted to help him catch some fish on a fly that he tied. While he had done this before, I was hoping that a morning of putting a bunch of fish in the boat would help him build some confidence in his fly fishing abilities. While he did land a few, it was a slow day. I'm guessing that a lot of bluegill were spawning which resulted in fewer bites. That's all that I can think of because the usual fish weren't in their usual spots or doing their usual things. Regardless, we saw some wildlife and shared a lot of laughs.
Friday, June 5
I'll be honest, I wanted to do a little fishing for myself on this particular day but I didn't want to go to the trouble of hauling, unloading, loading, and rowing a boat. After a lot of consideration, I landed on the option of chasing gar at the Smithville Lake spillway in Smithville, Missouri. I was hoping that the wind would stay down, we would have the place to ourselves, and the gar would be stacked up. That's exactly what I got and the conditions were perfect. Cody joined me and was my net man. I hooked five fish and landed two. Some bites were subtle and others were so aggressive that I was able to lay in to some solid hook sets.
What made this morning particularly interesting was that I landed the same gar twice. I put one hook in his cheek, right below his left eye after he t-boned my fly. Cody and I eventually made our way to the other side of the spillway where I hooked a similar sized gar. It was Cody that noticed the bloody spot on the cheek of the gar and said, "Dad, that's the fish you caught earlier!" The little guy was right! This made for a story that we have told multiple times and was a great memory.
Saturday, June 6
This too was a day off.
Sunday, June 7
The alarm went off at 3:45 on this particular day and if you were going where I was going, you would not have had a problem getting up before sunrise either. I apologize for not being able to tell you where I went but please understand that it is out of respect for my friend, Eric. The lake we went to is special to Eric and what I would consider his home lake. While it is public water, I don't want to reveal the spot he has chosen to share with me. What I CAN tell you is that we had ourselves a spectacular morning of chasing largemouth bass and big bluegill on flies.
I'm not sure how many bass we put in the boat but every one of them was duped by a Captain Quint. Each bite came in shallow water and within the first couple hours after sunrise. Eric's fish came on a shad colored streamer and mine came on a baitfish colored streamer. Eric caught his biggest bass on a fly rod and the most bass he's ever caught on a fly rod! I landed a few myself with a couple of them being in the 2-3 pound range.
The first few bass of the day hit the subsurface fly with serious aggression and the bites seemed to get a little more subtle as the morning waned. After the bass fishing slowed, we chased bluegill with the hope that some of the 8-9 inch fish in this lake would take our flies. Like Watkins Mill earlier in the week, the bluegill just didn't seem to be where they usually were or eating what they usually ate. Again, I think it might be due to them spawning, but I can't be certain.
At some point, we switched back to Captain Quint streamers in the hopes that a few bass were still in the mood to eat breakfast. We landed a few more bass and most of them were in the 1 pound range. What really flipped our lids was the fact that Eric caught a crappie on a Captain Quint! The fish was 10 or 11 inches and while it wasn't huge, we were surprised to see that it fit the entire 3 inch streamer in it's mouth. It didn't have a lot of room so spare so it must have some sort of precision guidance system that it employs.
It was a heck of a run and a great start to my summer break. The mornings were the ones I daydream about while teaching. I wish that life allowed us to do what we want, when we want, on a regular basis. In today's society, it seems like responsibilities take up more of your time as you get older. I cannot describe the joy that I have felt as a result of some free time and respite from work-related duties. I wish we could all have more time to dedicate to things that make us happy and I know that I am fortunate to have a summer break. I try to make the most of my time and dedicate a chunk of it to being on the water. I hope you're able to do what makes you happy this summer as well!
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