The Ones That Got Away!

To continue my fishing saga, on Tuesday July 7, licensed fishing guide Scott Hill took me for a return trip to Lake Delavan. We got to the boat launch shortly before 9 a.m. and were glad to see many fewer boats on the water. It was much calmer and we got to catching fish, primarily bluegills on nightcrawlers. I caught about a dozen throughout the day.

Unfortunately, after about 12 noon our luck dwindled. It’s pretty much a given that the best times to fish are early morning or late in the day before sunset. Still, we kept trying. Scott wanted to give me the thrill of catching my first big fish. I was just content to catch the little guys, concentrating on feeling when they nibbled my line and learning how to set the hook. It was a beautiful day, and I just enjoyed being out on the water!

We headed out to the middle of the lake, where the water was 30 feet deep and I could see the bottom on the fish locator, with no luck. The Moody Blues song “Tuesday Afternoon” kept going through my head, and I was laughing to myself thinking about the Visa commercial using the same song, talking about being out of the office on a Tuesday afternoon being priceless. Yes, it was!

The best part of the day was truly “the ones that got away.” To my amazement, twice while catching bluegills, I managed to attract the attention of Northerns, who were busy trying to catch the bluegill on my line. The reel sang and the line got heavy as I pulled the fish up to the surface, catching a glimpse of nice-sized Northerns in tow that were after my fish. Both times, Scott got excited, grabbing separate poles or dropping my line back in the water in an attempt to catch “the ones that got away.” As I’m left-handed and Scott rigged my pole specially, it was a challenge for him to use my pole!

We were out on the water about 6 hours total. We had a great time. My next goal? To catch “the ones that got away!”