The point is, while Di and my daughter Karissa were checking out realty, my son Michael (5) and I were checking out the action at Westlake! Yeah, Baby!! Somehow, the "Fishing Gods" had convinced my better half that it would be a cool thing to drop Mikey and I at the lake while "the girls" went their own way. The "Gods" would still end up extracting their due from me ... but, more on that later.
We arrived at water's edge to find clear skies, a very slight breeze, and a temp of 96°. I tied up my boy with a Malibu-rigged 4" Kinami Flash in Mad Melon and I went with a Yamamoto Double Tail Skirted Grub in Watermelon/Red Flake rigged the same.
Before I can even get my line in the water, Michael tosses his bait out a good 40-50 feet on his first cast of the day (only his third time Bass fishing). He lets it settle, twitches it twice, and BAM! He sets the hook and screams "I got one, Dad!" ... it's music to my ears!:
As he battles this fish on his Ugly Stick Spincast combo, it's obvious that this fish has some shoulders. The joy on his face as he repeated "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!!" is readily apparent in this shot:
After several arial acrobatics that deserved Olympic Medal consideration, I was able to lip this 2 pound Bucketmouth to the ecstatic cry of my son, "We got him! We got him!!". Meanwhile, I'm thinking "My boy's a natural!" as he posed with his catch:
We released Mikey's fish and got him set up again ... finally I could get a cast in. Sure enough, as my first cast along the boat line settled my grub got picked up and quickly moved to my right. BOOM! ... I set the hook and almost landed this little bass on the hookset (Mikey took the shot):
Mikey got two more on the hook, but lost both right at his feet. I wasn't getting any more love on the Grub with the slow presentation and I noticed that a couple of fish were chasing my son's bait when he cranked it in too fast. Perhaps they would go for more of a reaction bite. So I casted my bait to a likely spot, let it settle to the bottom, then gave it a pop and let it settle. On the third pop ... KABAM!!! My bait was nailed by this 3+ pound fighter that even peeled off a little of the 8# test Yo-Zuri Hybrid:
One of my favorite baits for a reaction strike is a "Rattle Shad" of some type. Lately I have become partial to the BPS XPS Rattle Shad - just can't beat the price or performance. Anyway, since the reaction bite seemed to be on, I tied on a silver/black model. On the second cast, about half way in, I get slammed ... KABOOM! It feels like I hit a brick wall that decided to turn and head the other way ... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! This fish pulls about 25 feet of the 12# Trliene XL on his first run ... and another 10-15 on his second. When he finally breaks the surface I know I have my biggest Westlake Bass on the line. Five to six pounds, easy.
All the while, Mikey is cheering me on like a possessed football fan on opening day. Finally, I get this beast within 12 feet of shore when I notice two other HUGE Bass swimming with him, hoping for some scraps from the meal they thought my fish was enjoying. So, instead of getting my fish in right away, I start playing him and tell Michael to toss his bait into the fray. His first cast went untouched and, as he made his second attempt, the Hawg rose up, shook his head, and spit the bait right back at me. Yes, the "Fishing Gods" wanted to make sure I knew who ran the show.
But, it didn't matter. My son and I got to fish together ... THAT was the godsend! The fact that we hooked, fought, and landed a few fish was just the icing on the cake. Still, I can't help but think, "Look out KVD, 'The Natural' is in the house!".
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