There’s gold in them DAR hills!

The other day I wrote about landing a trophy bass in a pond I had meaning to check out… I knew I saw more monsters in that pond. I kept thinking about it all day yesterday. Now that the time has changed, we have more light after work so I grabbed my board and headed back to it.

Knowing this was going to be more of a pitch and flip situation I brought my pitching sticks, a couple 6-power rods with 20 and 65 lb. braid line and reels in the 8.x gear range. Creature baits were the lure of choice, Havoc Pit Bosses to be exact; just two primary colors were used, Texan and June Bug.

When I first got there I could not see much into the water so I was blindly pitching as it was overcast and the sun was going down. I also used the good ole’ fan casting technique, ran the lure along the weed edge, and even a few casts were also lobbed towards the middle of the pond. None produced bites. The pattern was repeated for about an hour, moving each spot about 50 yards away from the last. After those tactics didn’t produce results I switched tactics and was only going to fish when I saw one… and did I find one.

Paddling along the weed-line I spot a Donkey of a fish. As I paddle over it, it spooks. It gives itself away when it did so I go out about 20 yards and paddle my board into the thick grass about five feet so I can use the paddle-board as more of a fishing platform and not have it rock every time I move on it- spooking my quarry below. As I’m getting my gear ready for the battle to come, the donkey comes back and sits on its bed.

I dropped the June bug Pit Boss a couple of feet away from it and it gets its attention-barely. It circles around it, then it just sits there. I dead stick it for a couple minutes, nothing; shake it, nothing. This staring contest lasts for a good 20 minutes.

I can’t figure it out until I remember one technique I saw Scott Martin do on his YouTube channel. Once, in a similar situation, he leaves the first bait down there deadsticked while presenting another bait.

Leaving the ignored June Bug Pit Boss on the bed I drop the Pit Boss, in Texan flavor, on the other side of the bed, give it a couple of shakes when it inhales it!

I set the hook, almost falling off the board. I have the drag set tight so the fight doesn’t last that long, less than a minute. It manages a jump and couple runs but not much. I’m still in the grass so I just drag the donkey onto it, grab it by the mouth, and take the pics to share. It is let go, right back on its bed, and I call it a night. It wasn’t as big as the one I caught yesterday but still a great catch.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it …