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Pleasant surprise despite the heat
Last weekend’s heat and humidity brought to mind all that is good – and bad – about the so-called dog days of August.
It was good to have some honest-to-goodness summer weather, the kind that reminds us of years long past when picnics were every family’s favorite weekend highlight and ice-cold lemonade was the best way to beat the heat.
But to many anglers, the soaring thermometer and humidity were bad signs for the weekend’s fishing prospects. The breeze was still and the air hung close, driving local folks to the reservoirs – but to churn the water with skiing, tubing and speedboating.
All of this spells poor fishing. Or so I thought.
I persuaded wife Barb to join me for a quick dash out to Berlin Reservoir last Sunday afternoon. It was well past noon and the day’s best fishing was behind us – or so I thought – so I vowed this would be a boating excursion, not a fishing trip.
She agreed, so we packed the cooler with Cokes and water and towed out to the lake on U.S. 224’s hot asphalt. The heat was shimmering and the humidity was almost more than the air conditioner could overcome.
Even the simple tasks associated with unbuttoning the BassCat from its trailer and slipping it into Berlin’s tepid water brought a ring of sweat around my hairline. The driver’s seat was hot enough that I squirmed for a cool spot as we idled out for a dash across the wakes of hundreds of boats and jet skis.
At the ramp, a bass tournament weigh-in was concluding and dozens of anglers milled around the hot pavement to see who would win. People and boats added up to a scene reminiscent of Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
Not much about the afternoon made me think fishing would be productive. Or so I thought.
We bounced over the topsy-turvy water from the Bonner Road ramp to the Ohio 14 bridge and idled through the long no-wake zone before venturing up into one of several major creeks that drain into Berlin. There in the calm, sheltered from the bustling turmoil in the speed zones, we cruised along and admired the wooded shoreline.
The water temperature registered 87.4 degrees on my Lowrance screen. Way above the temperature that bass find comfy. Or so I thought.
Soon enough the hum of the long idle made me restless. I spied a nest of Christmas trees sunk by Ohio Division of Wildlife crews as fish shelters and steered near to investigate. I shut down the Merc and pulled a lone rod from the under-deck locker.
I promised Barb I’d just make a few flips. Turns out, I didn’t need even a few.
A pitch next to a piece of sunken wood was rewarded with the sure-fire sign that a fish was interested. The line “swam” away from the cover and I jerked the hook into the jaw of a strong fish.
The water was only 18 inches deep, so the only way the fish could go was up and away. It did both. When it cleared the lake’s surface, I was immediately impressed. The bass pushed 4 pounds and fought with every fiber of its muscle.
Times like that make a bass angler feel pretty smug. Five minutes later, a 2-pounder also took my bait. I released the second fish, pulled up the trolling motor, wiped my hands and sat down next to Barb to continue our Sunday cruise.
Now, maybe it’s time to reconsider all the work I put into each trip. There’s something pretty appealing about one rod, one lure, one cast and one bass.
Fishing is rarely that easy. Or so I thought.