The lake is a little over two hours away, so when we got there Friday evening, it was time to grab some grub. P decided to snack beforehand.
While we were waiting for dinner to be ready, the kids were exploring the sea wall, NF was doing her usual set-up routine, and I was wandering the pier in search of the big beast that had gotten away a week earlier, with thoughts of reeling that behemoth in, and these fine folks came to visit.
NF gave the kids some bread to toss their way, so they became our friends and stopped by a few more times during the weekend.
NF and P were water ready and decided to get in for one reason or another. They had been talking about turtle hunting, which is an expedition that NF has taken the kids on previously. Then there was a sign:
While she was standing in the water, a tiny turtle swam right up to the surface next to NF! All she had to do was pick it out of the water. Crazy, until…
Just on the other side of the pier, P was in the water, checking out the paddle boat when:
Amazing! Just minutes later, P was able to pick a turtle right out of the water too! A swan family and a couple of turtles had visited, and we had only been there for an hour or so. Since animals were just coming up to greet people, this had to be my weekend to snag the big beast.
After dinner, because I hadn’t picked up any nightcrawlers to use as bait, we were all out looking in the water with flashlights. Given her turtle-hunting background, NF had a couple of nets that the kids decided to use to catch tiny perch and minnows that were hanging around the sea wall. With a little bit of practice, B & P got pretty good at sneaking up on the little guys. Then it was like shooting fish in a barrel (or bucket).
I was working the big fishing flashlight that I’ve had for a couple of decades now, spotting minnows and perch, with the kids working the nets and NF manning a smaller light, when I spotted something that looked like a twig or blade of grass, but seemed to be swimming. I had to know what it was, so NF helped with the smaller net, and we came up with this guy:
His name is Garth. He appears to be a baby gar. Now he’s living in a fishbowl at my place. I’ll keep everyone updated on his progress as he grows into a big ol’ nasty gar.
We were finished playing outside for the evening, so we decided to sit down and enjoy a game. NF and I had just learned to play Bananagrams recently, and she had picked up a set, so that’s what we were going to play. The kids hadn’t played before, so there was a need for instruction. NF was happy (I think) to go over the rules.
B should have been paying attention to how to play, but instead was distracted by dear-old-dad.
The next day, I still hadn’t picked up any bait, but I was trying to catch the behemoth on a line near the bottom of the lake using the perch and minnows that the kids had netted the night before. While I was waiting for the big beast to visit, I tried out my casting skill with some lures that a guy from work makes. Testing out different colors, styles, and spinner patterns was interesting. Especially when I found the one that was working in the sunlight about three feet down. I pulled out a few smaller bass, a crappie, and this guy:
While I was standing on the sea wall, fishing the mouth of the channel, I was looking at the rocks and such along the edge when I spotted something moving. It wasn’t a fish because it was wiggling in and out from under a rock. I knew what it was, so I called for someone to fetch the net. B grabbed the net, and the next thing we knew, we were looking at yet another creature.
NF took the kids on a turtle hunting expedition. It proved to be a success. Between the two they had grabbed the night before and what they caught in the hour or so that they were paddling around the channel, the turtle total had risen to eight.
There was a game of cornhole going on shortly after, and I was still looking to catch the behemoth. While I was casting, NF’s dad had come over to see how the fishing was going. Just then I looked down and something caught my eye in the water. Within a second, her dad was in the water and picked up this little guy.
It was getting warmer out, and I was way tired from battling all of those fish. P asked if I wanted to go float. I couldn’t think of a better way to relax, nor could I have chosen better company.
Not long after, but before it started to get dark, the kids talked NF into a boat ride around the lake. That’s always a fun time, except for the nut-busters. She’s got this thing about slamming into wakes from other boats that is only disliked by me. I’ll get over it, though. If I don’t, there’s a photo of her driving the boat from last year that I’ll threaten to share sometime.
Later that evening, it was time to break out the nets again and pull out some more perch and minnows. The kids were making dad happy by providing bait. This time they really were fish in a barrel (a red plastic barrel).
Finally, it was Father’s Day. I was gonna fish all day (and maybe float a little.) It didn’t turn out to be a very fruitful day for fishing. NF offered to take P and I around the channel so they could turtle hunt and I could fish from the back of the paddle boat. It certainly couldn’t hurt to get back near some trees and give those lures a try. NF spotted what could have been humongasaur, or a really big carp. I tried to cast in its vicinity. It wanted nothing to do with my lure. I lost a lure to a wily tree branch. Good thing I brought a few with me. The turtle hunt had wound down, so we dropped P off at the house and NF took me into another channel. When we got to the back of it, I spotted the place I plan to visit repeatedly. There’s a fallen tree, around which we could see all kinds of fish. With some live bait, I’ll be having a wicked time reeling those suckers in. I threw the lure in a few times and managed to pull out a decent sized perch. Then, another crafty tree limb came from nowhere to steal the lure from my line. Oh well, the day was done anyway. At least I thought so…
NF wanted to check out the corner of the channel around a weeded area for a last peek at turtles that may have sunning themselves. As we reached the corner, there wasn’t much to look at turtle-wise. Then she spotted it. NF says “Holy, s#!t!” As she began to coordinate my peddling and her net-work to get us in a position that would allow her to snag what is clearly brethren to the behemoth I’ve been searching for, I said “Yo, move yer net a little.” In this same shallow spot, there were two of the biggest gar I have ever seen. In an instant, NF had her net on the closer beast. I’ve seen smaller gar in spillways and not thought much of them. This guy will make you think twice about messing with him.
It was at that point that I began to suspect that my “one-that-got-away” story may actually be about a gar, though I didn’t get an opportunity to do a dental inspection, so pike is still a possibility. After seeing this beastie close-up-and-personal, I’m not sure I want to remove a hook from that kind of jaw!
Either way, I will be catching something monstrous this summer. It’s only a matter of time.
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