Frustration of the Highest Magnitude

I made plans earlier in the week to go fishing with my buddy Rob some time this weekend. We zeroed in on today, Saturday. The hard part was deciding where to go. After much conversation, and multiple suggestions, we decided on Oakum Creek. I knew it was going to be tough, though, because of Charlie's report from the other day. Plus the fact that a weather system recently passed through and warmed up air temperatures greatly. The high today was in the mid-seventies on the first day of winter!

Anyway, we met up in the parking lot at Munden Point Park around 0900. We were on the water shortly afterwards. It was then that I realized just how difficult the day was going to be. The water level was up a little bit, the water temperature was still low, but the clarity was unreal. There was easily four feet, or more, of visibility. I have never seen it like this. No matter what lure I threw I could see it all the way back to the boat no matter what the depth it was running.

At any rate, we headed up the creek. My arsenal to work with today was three bait casting rods and my old trusty ultra light spooled with braided line. My first attempt at using braided line, too. To make a long story as short as possible here is a list of what all I threw today:

- Three different suspending jerk baits in different colors and sizes
- Three different jigs with craw trailers in different colors and sizes
- Three different spinner baits in different colors and sizes
- Two different Texas-rigged worms in different colors
- One smaller hair jig rigged in the Beetle Spin fashion

Even with all of these fancy, expensive lures in multiple colors and sizes the only thing that even produced a strike - a short one no less - was the humble Beetle Spin. I rigged it with a 1/8th ounce red jig head and a solid white curly tail grub. I do not know what the blade size was for sure, but I think it was a number two size. This lure was the ticket to any action all day. It produced five different, yet violent, short strikes. However, I missed them all. Thus the mounting frustration.  It was especially frustrating because with the water still being cold I was concentrating on the deeper channels and drop offs. But this would not work out one bit. The only thing that seemed to work throwing the lure up to a Cypress knuckle and work it towards deeper water. That is the only way I got any hits.

I finally just gave up and started heading back to the dock feeling defeated. Rob had not had any better luck either. We were both facing the dreaded skunk! It was on a straight stretch between two deeper bends that I was just paddling a few strokes and casting to more Cypress knuckles. I do not even remember exactly which one I threw to, but I tossed the Beetle Spin up towards the knuckle and started retrieving it. Out of nowhere I had a hit. I light one, but it was a hit. I honestly thought I had just bumped a submerged stick or something. But when I jerked it set the hook on this little guy:

This little twelve inch Largemouth Bass went nuts! He was quite the acrobat jumping five times! I brought him to the boat, snapped a photo, and released him. He shot off rather quickly, too!

The wind blew me down the creek a little bit so I turned around and headed back by that stretch "just in case".  That is when I caught this:

This seventeen and a half inch Chain Pickerel hit the Beetle Spin hard and then went BERSERK! I have never seen a Pickerel jump that high nor that many times! He also made some long, hard runs next to the boat. Once I took the photo he decided to release himself and launched off of the measuring board, into my lap, and then right back into the water.

Those were the only two fish I caught and I caught them in the last twenty minutes on the water. So, while the frustration level was extremely high at least I avoided a skunk.