Fun-filled afternoon on the lake

Finally resolving a wiring issue on the boat trailer by mid-morning, friend Hack and I still had a 90-minute drive that would put us on the water around noon.

But that was OK — it had been a couple of weeks since our last fishing trip when we boated seven, five meeting the legal-length requirement. With a string of warm afternoons, this panned out to be a great day on the water.

A stiff wind began blowing shortly after we backed the boat into the water, making it difficult to slowly bounce a soft plastic along the edge of steep and rocky banks. But at least it was blowing from the optimal direction, and nearby hillsides protected the sections of shoreline I most wanted to fish. In turn, I could keep the boat positioned within casting distance of the shoreline.

Coasting to a stop at the first location, I dropped the trolling motor into the water and cast the lure within inches of the edge of a steep and rocky bank. Although the first several casts appeared to go ignored, I finally detected the first bite of the morning.

Noticing a taut line, I slowly pulled back on the rod. Yep, I had one on. And with a stiff jerk, I experienced the first battle of the day. It was a far cry from a monster, but she certainly met the requirements to land herself in the livewell.

I boated another bass before reaching the end of the section of shoreline that we planned to fish. This guy was far too small, so I tossed him back, pulled the trolling motor from the water and went elsewhere.

The next section of shoreline I had hoped to fish was obviously out of the question. The wind had done nothing but intensify, and there was no way I could control the boat enough to crawl our lures across the substrate.

So we headed farther down the lake to yet another spot that I had been anticipating. This little stretch of bank had been a consistent producer through the years, no matter the season, with large spotted bass lurking near the large boulders concealed beneath the surface.

Sure enough, I tied into one of the most impressive fish of the day within a couple of casts. We added a couple more to the livewell before moving to the next location.

Rolling into another stretch of bank, we boated several more. To this point, we had caught exclusively spotted bass, to no surprise, but we added a couple of largemouths before heading to our final destination.

I had purposely saved this particular spot for last. Numerous were the times when I had boated a limit on this one stretch of bank. I suspect many anglers familiar with the lake might argue with my sentiments, but to my knowledge, this was the best section of water on the lake.

She didn’t let me down. They were abundant, and they were eager to bite. They weren’t all keepers but several made the cut, and the small ones simply kept us entertained between the keepers.

As the sun fell lower in the sky, we called it a day. Pulling from the parking area, I took one last glance at the lake through my rearview mirror. She had again proven a place where we could experience our share of success while enjoying the wonderful outdoors. And without a doubt, I would return soon with hopes of experiencing yet another action-packed outing.