Kicking Bass and Taking Names!

Braving near blizzard conditions, Rhon Bell AKA @BackwoodsPlaid (backwoodsplaid.com) and I decided to try out luck chasing “trash” fish on a unnamed pond in a uncharted section of central, Maine. Our intended targets were pickerel, yellow perch, black crappie and of course largemouth bass.

Well aware of the predicted weather, we were still bent on spending a day in wild pursuit of fish, rather than hiding inside, watching life pass by through the glass of a window pane. In Maine its best to you plan your adventures, oft with little care about what Mother Natures plans might be for to worry about what might happen is futile.

Having fished this water dozens of times, during both the summer and winter seasons, I was prepared with a head full of detailed information on where the best fishing could be found.

We barely had let the bait soak for 30 minutes, when the flags started popping, providing us with hardly any respite throughout the entire morning and into the early afternoon.

With small hooks, light lines and diminutive shiners, we were successful in catching countless pickerel and yellow perch and even several award winning bass through the ice.

Uncharacteristic for this time of year, the bass fought with ferocity, uncommon during the winter season and provided Rhon and I a lot of late season fishing fun.

We returned all of the big bass to the lake, only keeping a few of the smaller “trash” fish for the fry pan and fish chowder . . . DELICIOUS!