It's been a week since I fished last but the day is still fresh on my mind. Partially because I was running a fever early that morning and partially because it was a new spot that I had never fished. My regular fishing partner and I arrived early before the sun came up after stopping for coffee and the normal five star gas station breakfast.
I had Texas-rigged a dark blue/purple senko worm on my light action spinner the evening before. My secondary setup was a Picasso chatterbait which got a hit on my first cast about six feet in front of me. Good feeling when that happens. You know there are fish willing to go after your bait early on. As light broke on the pond I worked my way down the bank to where the pond curved around. Dave stayed in the same spot for a little while longer. Near the bend was a good size tree that had fallen into the water. As an inexperienced fisherman, the structure in the water looked intimidating to me. I wasn't crazy about casting into water with a downed tree underneath.
That soon changed when I saw a big grass carp swimming around the downed tree. I motioned Dave down and he started to work on the other side of the down tree and almost immediately got a bite. I soon followed with a bass on a deep-diving crankbait. Over the next hour or so we hung around that same spot. Both Dave and I were forced to cut line and retie on new hooks after getting caught it the downed tree. But it was a small price to pay for the bites. Turns out, fish love cover! They school and tend to feel safer in tall grass, downed trees or heavy rocks under the surface. And casting into cover comes with the risk of getting snagged or losing your favorite bait.
This particular pond will be worth going back to. If not for bass fishing, definitely for catfish or carp fishing. Making my way back around I walked up on a carp skeleton with the body ripped to shreds. Not sure if a bigger fish or something outside the water got to it but it surprised me.
