When Kevin Thompson and I recently planned a float trip on the Caddo River below Degray Lake, I made a mental note of lures to carry along.
This section of river was not very wide and with few holes that I would consider either large or deep.
But it has plenty of moving water, making my choices pretty obvious.
Although I had never fished this section, it appeared a perfect habitat for spotted bass.
We would likely find a few smallmouths along multitudes of small panfish that would pounce on just about anything on the line's end.
So, I selected a couple of chuggers, two spinnerbaits and some lures that would lend excitement to catching hoards of bream and other smaller fish.
Learning from experience the bait is not effective exclusively during the spring, I added a floating worm to my river fishing arsenal.
I saw little action early with a chugger while Kevin boated a couple of spotted bases. His Fluke was outperforming my topwater hands down, prompting a change after about 15 minutes. But I failed to carry any flukes. Kevin would have cooperated, I feel sure, if I had asked for one. But I wasn't out of options.
If the fluke worked, I saw no reason why a whacky rigged floating worm would not be equally effective. Sure enough, it didn't take long to entice a bass into biting. And within 30 minutes or so, I boated another handful. None was a monster but comparable to what I suspected would lurk in these waters.
Guiding the kayak down a set of rapids, I cast the lure between a large boulder and a brush pile in a small eddy. I twitched the rod tip a time or two after the lure dropped a few feet.
This was the perfect spot to ambush the next unsuspecting baitfish that swam within striking range. So I wasn't surprised when the line tightened and began cutting through the water.
I was in no hurry, as it was likely another small spotted bass. Positioning my feet against the foot-pegs, I turned toward the fish and gave the rod a good stiff jerk.
I quickly concluded that the spotted bass I had caught weren't comparable to what I had on the line's end. Fighting like a bass, it exceeded the norm for such a small river, if not the lake.
Quickly working the fish from the brush pile, I slowly retrieved it in the direction of the boat. By this time, I had an audience, as several folks floating down the river in tubes had noticed the battle and had also grown curious of what was on my line's end.
Eventually working the fish to the boat, I was amazed upon seeing a huge largemouth.
Carefully raising the rod and lifting the beautiful specimen to the surface, I lipped and lifted her from the water.
I have boated my fair share of large bass throughout the years but had never experienced anything like this. There was total silence during the fight.
But the crowd began clapping, hooting and hollering as I pulled a solid 5 1/2-pounder from the water and extended my arm into the air.
Although the river failed to cough up any more trophies during the remainder of the float, I was more than satisfied. Recalling a group of strangers who were pulling for and celebrated my success will lend to smiles time and time again.
Sports on 07/24/2016