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Ultralight Fishing At It's Finest
by Maryjl

I'd have to say I've become hooked on fishing with ultra light rods reels and tackle. I've caught the most, the biggest and had the best fights on my ultra lights. I find it hard to fish with any thing else even though I know I should when I'm out in pursuit of those bigger creatures.

I came about this completely by accident. I'd be out fishing for Bluegill or Crappie with my ultra lights when all of a sudden a monster would decide to grab on to my line. I'd have the fight of a life time. Some times I'd catch them and some times they would break my line or bite it off.

My first big fight that I remember came early last spring. My husband and I were back in a man made channel that came off our favorite lake. You know the kind that they build houses around and their boats are docked right out their back door. Some people just have it made don't they. Any way it was a good Crappie spot in the spring. We had the boat anchored so that we were about 15 feet away from land on three sides of our boat.

I was using a slip bobber, plain hook and a Crappie minnow. I know sooner casted out my line when my bobber went down. Man this fish put on a great fight. It swam in one direction peeling out line then it turned in an other direction pulling out line. Then it decided to come straight at the boat and opps right under the boat bending my pole right in half.

Now during this time hubby is running from one end of the boat to the other trying to stay out of my way, but now he decides to raise the motor because I'm going to have to get my line around the boat and he didn't want me to get my line cut off by the motor.

Well I'm not very tall and my arms aren't real long so when I tried to get my line past the motor it got caught of course and bing my line broke. I never got the opportunity to see that fish, but I remember that fight. What ever it was it was big.

Now summer has come and we are out in the lake in deeper water in a pontoon boat. Our boat was in the repair shop so we used a pontoon boat from the resort we stay at. Fishing for crappie again.

Same set up as before slip bobber and minnow. Bam there went my bobber and another great fight was on. I managed to get this big tooth critter up to the surface and right next to the boat. Hubby went to net my giant Northern Pike and as soon as he seen that net he turned and bit of my line.

Hubby informed me he would not have fit in that net any way and that I shouldn't complain any more when he has the big net in the boat which always just seemed to be in the way.

Needless to say I don't complain about that net any more and always make sure its in the boat, but now it has its own holder and isn't under foot.

Then a few minutes later still fishing in the same spot my bobber goes down again. This time I'm thinking this fish is so big I can't even budge the darn thing.

So I'm pulling with all my might I'd gain a little and it would pull right back down and just sit there. All of a sudden my pole breaks right in half, but the line is still connected so hubby comes to give me a hand when he discovers my big fish was just the anchor rope. My most embarrassing fishing moment.

Fall has come and we are out fishing for the last time of the year before we pull our boat home and put it away for the winter. Yup we are fishing for them fall Crappies. This time we are fishing in deeper water so I'm jigging with a little white jig head and a minnow.

Low and behold another Northern Pike grabbed my bait. He gave me a good fight and in a few minutes I had him up to the boat. Hubby successfully netted him with our big net. He weighed 5 pounds and I even got pictures holding him.

Spring finally came this year after what seemed like a winter that was going to last for ever. We finally got back up to our camper for the first time of the year. I headed out to the dock early one morning with my first cup of coffee in one hand and my trusty ultra light in the other.

There wasn't a soul around and hubby was still sound a sleep in the camper. I put a small Crappie minnow on my hook to see if there were any Crappies lurking around.

All of a sudden my bobber disappears I was on a T dock no net, no fish scale, no camera and no witness. The fight was on and I knew I had something big on the end of my line. The fish made a couple of splashes on the surface of the water, but never came out to show him self. It took out line a couple of times and I finally got it up to the dock.

I knew that I was going to have to land this fish on shore since I didn't have my net. To do this I was going to have to take it around the T dock. For sure I thought I would loose it if he got under the dock and wrapped around one of the poles.

Luckily even though it did swim under the dock a couple of times I finally got the Big Small Mouth Bass up to shore. I had know way to hold him until I went up to the camper to get the scale and camera and by law I had to release him right away because Bass season was still closed.

I can only guess that it weighed at least 5 pounds. It was one of the best catches I've ever had. It would of been nice to have some one else witness it, but what really counts is that I had the experience.

So yes I'm hooked on fishing with ultra lights and Crappie fishing cause you just never know what you might catch and if I'm lucky I might even pick up a few Crappie well I'm at it.

Maryjl

Red Pine Resort
Ice Fishing on Kabetogama.