BASS FISHING Marty Hall Greenville, Ohio

Big Bass

When I was in high school I was always going fishing. My dad had taught me at an early age. So I knew my ?'s & Q's' when it came to fishing. I had two buddies that had never fished before though. Their dads were not into fishing so they never were taught this fine art. One day they said they wanted to go bass fishing with me. Well, I knew of a spot in a little creek with very few trees that was a good area for smallmouth bass.

When we got there I set them up with white rooster tails and advised them to fish under the bridge. I went over what they needed to do. In the past, I would always get one or two smallmouth bass from under the bridge. They caught on real well to casting. I decided to move down the creek and let them go at it. They were not into walking along the shoreline, but were content to just lounge in one spot.

After about half an hour I walked back to see how they were doing. They were all excited and screaming for me to, "Get up here!" When I arrived, they told me that they were tearing the bass up and had caught fifteen smallmouth. I got excited too and couldn't wait to look at them. It did seem strange to catch that many so quickly, but you always wish for a good day like this one.

When I lifted the stringer up I discovered that they had fifteen alright, but they were six-inch Redhorse Shiners! I tried to keep a straight face but just fell on the ground laughing. The looks on their faces I can still see today. They had this blank, dumfounded look. After I explained to them that these weren't smallmouth bass, they had a good laugh. To this day, 15 years later, it is one of our favorite stories to share with new friends.