My family and I enjoy the outdoors, hunting, fishing and camping is something we all look forward to. Once the spring weather stabilizes and fishing tournaments get into full swing we combined our passions and take weekend camping trips in conjunction with ongoing tournaments. This past weekend a good friend of mine joined us and it was a nice way to get the family out and enjoy nature as well as mentor a fine young man while we both enjoyed doing what we love; Fishing.
Big Joush a new member of Ultimatebass.com and I hit Cypress Lake Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning and finished up the trip with a full day on the water Monday; those no-notice military down days are fantastic. Josh doesn’t get to spend near the time on the water as he would like and with his pending separation from the Air Force after recovering from an IED attack in Iraq, this was just the thing to help take his mind off all the unknowns his future holds.
You know over the years I’ve found that while taking someone fishing they are full of questions, we cover everything from what bait to try to work and family life, this trip was no different. Over the course of the day Josh and I had been talking sharing tips and trying to decide what the fish were doing. At one point he stated his reel was giving him a hard time. He felt the reel that was holding him back as he was having trouble pitching his bait more than ten to fifteen feet no matter what he did to it. I saw he was using his new Citica and even though I had been using the Carado I didn’t think it was the reel so much as maybe his technique. I picked up my Citica with a one eighth ounce shaky head on it and promptly pitched it about 25 yards. I then watched him try and before I pitched out again I advised to follow through with me and add a flick of his wrist at the very end.
I again made a nice easy pitch and watched it sail a good 20 yards landing softly next to the log we were targeting. Now Josh watched in amazement with the easy that small jig and worm flew just above the surface of the water and just laughed because he didn’t think I could cast that far let alone pitch. While he reeled in his line and got ready for another cast I reassured him it was all in the wrist and did a third demonstration. You could see the light turn on, the advice given and the chance to watch the demonstration sunk in and not only was he ready he had confidence in the new found tip.
Reel in his right hand, bait in his left rod tip drops and pendulums forward lifting the bait out of his hand and it took off at the speed of light sailing about 3 foot of the water. Not only did it reach the log he had only moments ago struggled to touch with an over hand cast but it went over the log and bounced of the bank a few feet behind the log and promptly wrapped itself around one of the branches. I guess the next trip we will focus on aim using the same style as instinctive shooters.
See You on the Water
Ronald S. Fogelson
Forum Admin for Ultimatebass.com
