I teach English in Seoul, South Korea. It is a job I have come to truly love, and it affords me at least one day of fishing a week. Add my live wire wife, and I couldn't/shouldn't ask for more. Recently, my base human instinct reared its ugly head and drove me to retool my website in an attempt to achieve the semblance of scale for my modest supplementary language education business. Like with most things I take on, I was moving fast. Reacting rather than researching, and hoping that things fall in place. I pitched my plan to two individuals that were the easiest to access in the rolodex. Needless to say- they were skeptical beyond a doubt. Not only did they not share my vision, but they seemed to think I was trying to fleece them. That 20 minute zoom call left a bad taste in my mouth and put me in an even worse mood. That was on Monday.
One moon cycle later I was in my subcompact car loaded with my fishing gear. Spring has just sprung and my favorite quarry, the largemouth bass is waking up from the drudgery of winter. Early spring is not an easy time to fish as the water temps are still below the ideal prespawn feeding conditions, but this is the season to catch the heavies- their weights juiced up a pound or two with bellies full of eggs.
I routinely fish out of a frame less pontoon that has oars, but still leaves my feet (with fins) in the water for control. I have a fair amount of range in the little boat, but not enough to execute multiple game plans per trip. If I decided to fish shallow in the backs of creeks it would take a good 45 minutes to paddle to the main lake points, and by that time the bite window might be over. On this particular day I decide to focus on rocky shorelines, and was immediately rewarded with a bite. And then another. Never satisfied, I wanted more.
Off went the sink tip and forage matching three inch streamer. On came a foot long articulated bucktail. I had dreams of catching the kicker. And so my hunt began. I was throwing at every little bit of structure I could find and slowly stripping the "meal ticket". This particular pattern had a round head made of spun bucktail and trimmed with a flat face. The rear articulation is weighted and the continued movement when the fly is paused causes a change of direction. Traditional jointed swimbaits have a nice “S” swimming action. My bucktail looks more like a "<" wave as it tends to favor one side.
The action was tantalizing enough and soon bass started to follow. I moved three fish before one viciously attacked. It was a swing and a miss. I was devastated. There went my opportunity. I fished around a bit more without success. I came back to the spot were I missed the aggressive fish. Sure enough it was there, two pounds at best, but one of the most memorable. It swirled my bait as it was trying to attack it head first. After that catch I had a moment of clarity. My mood was instantly back up. My mind immediately shifted to work. Time to take advantage of this euphoria. I fired off a few emails an made a quick content post; feet still dangling in the water. I figured out my new direction. That fish redirected, energized, an focused me. Thank you ditch pickle. Sorry for the hole in your lip.