|
Boiling Point-Never too hot to fish
The moon tugged at the hairs on the back of my neck. The anglers air of anticipation was hanging like a cloud above the water. By the smell, I knew that the water was about to boil. Then, as if orchestrated by some benevolent conductor, the surface began to break. First one scared shad, then thousands began popcorning through the waves. We had arrived at one of my favorite places - the boiling point.
My topwater plug went as far as I could cast and landed among the many splashes. Before I could engage the reel and tighten the line, my bait disappeared with a violent thrash of white bubbles. "Fish on," I said to Ben Pinnell who threw his first sandbass of the day on the bottom of the boat and smiled as his lure sailed out again.
Besides death and taxes, there are two other things you count on during a Texas summer: first, it is going to be hot, andsecond, the sandbass and hybrid fishing on Lake Lewisville will be boiling hot! When a high pressure system sits on top of Dallas-Fort Worth producing strings of record 100 degree days, the schooling fish are on a definite and predictable pattern.
Some fish, like the largemouth, ambush their food with an explosive pounce, but sandbass and hybrid stripers on Lake Lewisville chase down their food in open water. Just like the open ocean, the predators chase the bait and the bait huddle together for protection. Once the eaters have the shad balled up and  at the surface, they move in for the feast.
{mosimage} It takes a fast, aggressive fish to feed in the open water. And their being hungry is about the only reason I can survive these hot Texas summers. I like to start before sunrise becuase it is the coolest part of the day. I can beat the traffic and watching the sunrise from the boat is very relaxing. The fish don't get started until the sun hits the water.
Once they do start feeding; it's crazy. Acres of fish chasing each other creates absolute pandomonium. Fish feeding on the top is nothing new to anglers. It happens everywhere. But when all the conditions are right, the fish in Lake Lewisville simply go bonkers.
A thousand yards in each direction the fish are popcorning. The hotter it gets the more active they get. After 20 or 30 fish a piece on topwater, Ben and I both reach a boiling point at about the same time . It is hard to target big fish when the fish are frenzied like this. As the day wears on the schools will break up and the watchful angler can find the schools of just hybrids feeding.
But in the morning, while the schools are all together, the big fat fish are sitting just below the school picking up the easy pieces that fall through. Ben was already looking through the bait box marked "big box of death" as I stowed the lightweight rods and got out the big sticks.
Controlled depth fishing is the way to catch the big ones. Trolling with downrigger or pulling a crankbait puts the lure right in front of the hungry big fish. "Bonk" ... "Fish on!" The rod keeps tension on the hook when hybrids whack the bait and pop the line off the down rigger. The drag on the reel lets the fish take line without the fish fighting too much. Once the angler has hold and starts to pull on the line, the hybrid starts to resist - frantically resist.
{mosimage} It is hard to describe the way a hybrid pulls once he knows he's hooked. If you want to feel a similar sensation without being on a boat, just through your lure at a passing freight train and hold on. Especially once the fish sees the boat, they really put the hammer down and make a second run.
 Yes the fish are food, but they have a much higher value as generators. Good fishing creates not only wonderful dinners, but many unforgettable memories. Fishing frenzies create untold decibels of laughter and miles of smiles. Boiling acres of topwater feeding fish bridge generation gaps and bond people together for life.
The fish are just a means to an ends - smiles, memories and good times are what we seek. That's why Ben's business card now reads "smile broker" instead of fishing guide. The great outdoors generate good times. A good fishing guide just connects those wonderful days with the right people.
Fishing is a unique activity that combines the most serene moments of your life with the most adrenilin packed exciting moments of your life. This fantastic combination of feelings is why people's eyes light up when the recant a fishing tale; why thgey love telling and retelling the tale. Which is why the most commonly heard phrase after a good fishing story is, "Boy, I can't wait to do that again."
 |
