It begins...

I'm not a fisherman.  That title would suggest that I consistently catch fish.  Instead, I just like to think of myself as a guy who likes to fish.  It's great if I can hook into something, but half of the fun is just being outside, getting some fresh air, and resetting my rage-meter back to zero.

That's the way it used to be at least.  Over the past few years, I've moved from Pennsylvania to New Jersey to Indiana, got married, and had a bunch of kids (not necessarily in that order).  In all that time, I've probably only been fishing a few times a year at the most.  I want to change that though, and I'm going to chronicle my adventures here.

A few weeks ago (April 22, 2020), I got so stir crazy from being cooped up inside due to COVID-19 that I jumped in my car and drove to the Lake Monroe spillway just south of Bloomington, IN.  I took my Shakespeare ultra-light Ugly Stik and some night crawlers, hoping to do some worm and bobber fishing, only to find that the flood gates were wide open, and the river was super high.  When life gives you lemons though, find some slack water, and hope for the best.  I skipped the bobber, added a split shot about 12 inches above my hook, and tossed in a worm.

It took a while to figure out where the eddies and current would take my line, but eventually I figured out the spot I was in and started getting some bites.  My first hook up was with a yellow bass. He wasn't quite the water donkey (i.e., keeper) that I was looking for, but he was fun to catch!

The panfish were next.  I reeled in a tiny sunfish and a micro-crappie.  #MultiSpeciesDay

At this point, my hall pass away from home was expiring, and too many people were showing up at the spillway for my liking anyway.  I packed it up, headed for my car, and decided that I'd get back to the water soon.  Maybe I'll catch a water donkey next time.

Back in the saddle

I still had some worms left from my April 22 water donkey adventure - and my wife hates having worms in the fridge - so I decided to head back to the spillway two days later.  There was a fly fisherman working the spot that I was in last time, so I set up shop next to some flooded stairs hoping that a few fish would be hanging out around there.  Long story short, it wasn't a great place to fish with worms.  The fly fisherman was having some luck, so I decided to try tossing out a lure.  Out of sheer dumb luck, I managed to land a blue gill and another yellow bass (#MultiSpeciesDay).

Obviously, none of these little guys were water donkeys, but that's what the fly fisherman was reeling in.  He caught a 5.5 lb largemouth bass and a good-sized wiper.  Either fish would have been a trophy for me and ended up in my belly, but he was strictly a catch and release kinda guy though.

He was also friendly, and we got to talking, which wasn't easy next to the roar of the spillway and our physical separation due to social distancing.  He recommended bottom-fishing for the wipers, using anything that looked like a shad.  I might just give that a try next time...