Published: March 14, 2008 01:05 am            

Spring break — a perfect time for fishing

Spring break is a time of fun for kids of all ages. During my early years it was a time for playing baseball and fishing in between games at the old Meridian Invitational Tournament. And so it is even today for youngsters like Mason Wooldridge. While baseball isn't cranked up full force yet, the fishing is another matter.

Young Mason has spent time on a variety of different waters this week as he squeezed out every ounce of fishing time. On one particular afternoon Mason and I made a trip to a local lake in search of a lunker bass.

Arriving at the lake we quickly launched the boat and began casting crankbaits toward the shallow water ledges in search of pre-spawn bass. It didn't take long for us to catch our first fish of the afternoon either. Mason and I both doubled up on bass at the same time and the fun began. Working our way around the lake we continued to catch fish on the crankbaits.



Menu change



Later on we worked the shallow water coves with worms and jerk baits and we continued to draw strikes and catch bass. The bass were very fond of the soft plastic jerk baits and worms and we caught or missed bass very frequently. Even the small bass would smash the lures with a ferocity rarely seen with other species of fish.

When it comes to fishing Wooldridge is all business, and he rarely missed a chance to make a cast. If we'd have had a hidden camera you might have even thought we were fishing a tournament, with the intensity displayed by the young angler. But at the same time we were having a lot of fun catching and releasing most of the bass.

On one cast Mason bowed up on a good fish which turned out to be a crappie. The lunker bass were obviously getting ready for the spawn as most of them had a good case of the lockjaw. Though we had come in search of an old sow bass, I wasn’t sure we would find one in the mood to eat, but we were giving it our best shot.

As we fished our way along one deep water bank we cast our crankbaits out at the same time within 10 feet of each other. We began cranking the lures and we both had strikes once again. Mason had only cranked his lure down a couple feet when it was stopped cold. His rod came to a full stop as it met an immovable object.



Mission accomplished



Suddenly a monster bass exploded through the water surface like a torpedo as it tried to rid itself of the sharp steel hooks. The lunker had engulfed the lure completely and not a sign of it could be seen as the bass wallowed and tail walked on the surface.

As soon as I saw the bass I set my rod down and went for the net. This bass knew what it was all about and instantly dove under the boat, almost taking Mason's rod with him. Wooldridge was up for the task however, as he fought him tooth and nail and finally worked him out from under the boat. Once the fish tired the youngster led him to the net and we quickly brought it into the boat.

After I reeled my bass in and turned him loose we admired Mason's triumphant catch and took a few photos of the proud angler and his large bass. This bass would live to spawn again, and perhaps grow a few more pounds and give some lucky angler another chance to feel the thrill that Mason felt. We had come in search of a lunker bass for the youngster and had been successful. I just don’t think it can get any better than that!

        

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