Life is a little rough around the house at the moment. Kid #2 is sick with what is likely going to turn out to be covid (or if not, a very bad flu), Kid #1 is scared of it and is barricaded in his room, wife is stressed, we're playing it cautious and staying away from friends/family until we figure out what's going on. I'm sure I'm going to get sick just in time for the nice weather to start. Good times.
But I did sneak out for a quick session on a local lake yesterday while my wife had a zoom call and the kids were hiding in their rooms. I really like this lake, but it has skunked me the past couple times I have been there this year. As most of you know, western WA spring has been cold and wet this year. But as we've finally gotten into some warmer days, I thought I'd give it another try. It's honestly not a terrible place to get skunked either. Lots of birds/wildlife around, not far from town but feels pretty remote, a few other boats/kayaks but not super crowded.
@RichS and @Anyfish were both nice enough to send me some bass flies and since @Billy has been mocking me for my gear bass fishing, I thought I'd give the Echo 7wt BAG a workout. And what would you know, I found one! First largemouth of the year and first proper bass on a popper for me. Not a monster like Billy's fish tend to be. But holy heck I can see why popper fishing is addictive. The rush of seeing that fish appear from nowhere and smash the fly was awesome. That's one of RichS's flies in the photo.
Had another one on one of Anyfish's flies, but didn't get a good hookset (my fault, line was a mess). Still though, the dudes with senkos weren't having any luck and I was only there for an hour and a half or so. Can't feel bad about that. Also, reports are that the lake still needs a few more warm days to get the bass going. Plus, between the wind and my terrible line management, I'm a super inefficient caster from the kayak. I gotta get the anchor trolley set up so I can cast without drifting around.
Cheers to it all! Extra thanks to RichS and Anyfish!
But I did sneak out for a quick session on a local lake yesterday while my wife had a zoom call and the kids were hiding in their rooms. I really like this lake, but it has skunked me the past couple times I have been there this year. As most of you know, western WA spring has been cold and wet this year. But as we've finally gotten into some warmer days, I thought I'd give it another try. It's honestly not a terrible place to get skunked either. Lots of birds/wildlife around, not far from town but feels pretty remote, a few other boats/kayaks but not super crowded.
@RichS and @Anyfish were both nice enough to send me some bass flies and since @Billy has been mocking me for my gear bass fishing, I thought I'd give the Echo 7wt BAG a workout. And what would you know, I found one! First largemouth of the year and first proper bass on a popper for me. Not a monster like Billy's fish tend to be. But holy heck I can see why popper fishing is addictive. The rush of seeing that fish appear from nowhere and smash the fly was awesome. That's one of RichS's flies in the photo.
Had another one on one of Anyfish's flies, but didn't get a good hookset (my fault, line was a mess). Still though, the dudes with senkos weren't having any luck and I was only there for an hour and a half or so. Can't feel bad about that. Also, reports are that the lake still needs a few more warm days to get the bass going. Plus, between the wind and my terrible line management, I'm a super inefficient caster from the kayak. I gotta get the anchor trolley set up so I can cast without drifting around.
Cheers to it all! Extra thanks to RichS and Anyfish!
