I was to take a friend and his friend from out of town out tonight fishing….got a call early saying they were fishing bass on the Croix (all day) and were going to eat and call it a night since they were heading up to the cabin (that I’ve never been invited to…I might add). Bass must taste aweful good to pass up a night catt’en!
So I figured I would short myself on bait…so I would come in early and get some sleep myself.
Checked out a few new spots that looked good…tossed out a couple @#$#$@#@ bullheads that both stuck me…(can’t someone make them with out the stickers?)…and proceeded to listen to the game and straighten up the boat a bit.
Considering it was to storm…it was a night that MN (should be) noted for…slight breeze to keep the skeeters down…temps warm enough to be wearing a light long sleeved shirt… it was … what a good cat night should be.
9:45 was my first run….and he dropped the bait…then it was quiet for quite a while…I wanted to get in early so…mental note to self…outta here in 15 minutes….which is the time my next run came…pulled slightly after the “crunch” and and set the hook…not much wood or snags around so a played with him for a while. He was coming in fairly quickly…I was thinking 10 or so pounds. About the time you think you have everything under control…he suddenly decided that he didn’t want to play with me anymore…Seems I tend to get a little excited when the drag is cinched down on the Garcia 7000 and a fish is taking line…did the little Lund Square Dance and lipped her into the boat…which I’m not going to do anymore…I think a net is in order for anything over 10…12 pounds (another bloody finger). She read a plus 25 lbs on the scale. Sorry about the pictures…I was alone…
Just sat down to take a break and I thought I would check the line on my other rod to see if the bully was alive..I hadn’t seen him dancing for a while…just as I touched the line the line snapped and a few minutes later a 17 plus was in my lap. I didn’t get her back into the water and my other rod just started screeming..(love that sound!) Unfortunatly once the reel stopped singing…the fish was gone with a free lunch.
Ended up the short night with 4 runs and 2 fish. Not bad for being home by midnight. The wife thought something was funny until she got a good whiff of me…she said ” good night huh?” I said yup and roled over to sleep…. 
PS I think it’s lucky that my friend didn’t go…this is the second time a trip was planned and I ended up with a 25 pound fish…I’m going to have him cancel more often! 
Mike…don’t look at the pictures…. 
Good pictures for being by yourself. Keep them coming.
Sometimes the “short and sweet” nights are the best. 
