A Very Bad Influence...

My neighbor and I have finally pulled the trigger on a relationship that I have hesitated to start for 4 years now. You see, my neighbor Dave is also an avid fishermen and for some time I have wanted to spend fishing time with him but my apprehension came from knowing that once we got started, it might escalate into a routine that our wives won't approve. We started out with back to back weekends, getting up at 5:00 am to catch the early morning bite. Those outings produced nice fish in limited quantity. This past week we went on Wednesday night and Saturday night, both times leaving his driveway at 8:30 pm. Night fishing is a blast!

The one apparent thing is Dave and I have share the same passion for fishing. In fact, I think Dave is a bit more of a fanatic then myself but with time, I may catch up. Also, Dave is primarily a Bass fisherman using spinning gear. He's teaching me how to use all different types of spinner baits, crank baits, and his favorite of all, Plastics. We love using the plastic crawdads and salamanders. Bass can't resists these tasty offerings when they get dragged in front of their nose. The best part is listening to Dave's commentary when he's got a fish on. You would swear he's fighting a Tarpon on 10 pound test. His enthusiasm for catching fish, no matter how big or small, is fun to watch. At some point I'm going to introduce Dave to Flyfishing where he can learn a whole new language of entomology.

Here's a funny anecdote; while fishing the other night, Dave had a bass hit his rig and for some reason it got off. It looked like a big fish and Dave doesn't like to miss catching a fish no matter what the size is. A few minutes later he got another strike and he was determined to bury the hook deep in this fish's mouth to avoid missing yet another fish. The only problem was, this fish wasn't quite as big as the last one and when he set the hook, the poor fish came screaming out of the water, flying through the air where it proceeded to smack right against the side of the boat; Hard! You could say it was the Fish Heard Round the Lake. I felt so sorry for that fish. All he wanted was a bite to eat. Instead he got airfare, a concussion, and a sore lip.