Don't Let Small Waters Stunt Your Growth

I just got back from one of my favorite fishin’ holes: a 1 acre farm pond a few miles down the road from my place. It’s a great place to fish because not many people know of it and there is almost no fishing pressure. There is nothing I like better than to sneak away and enjoy the silence of pursuing largemouth bass on a Sunday evening.

This body of water isn’t what it used to be though… At one time there were lots of bluegills to keep the bass population in balance. These fish are no longer present and the bass population has exploded. Weather has also been a factor: we have had a couple of hot and dry summers followed by one of the longest and coldest winters I can remember. All of these factors have been detrimental to the health of the fish.

In its heyday it was common to catch several keeper-size fish in an afternoon, some of which were very respectable. The lack of proper management has made these fish a thing of the past. Lately I have caught mostly fish of mediocre size which often appear stressed. There simply isn’t enough room in this pond for the bass to grow the way they should.

If you took a fish from my favorite pond and put it into a 43,000 acre lake it could very well grow to be the fish that is talked about for generations. Take Table Rock Lake for example… This lake is legendary for fish that are worthy of residing in Texas. Large fisheries like these are monitored by biologists and maintained by fishermen to keep fish populations in check.

It is amazing how much we can learn about our own lives by looking to nature… This same phenomenon happens with people. When constricted we are not able to reach our full potential, but when given room to grow and proper guidance it is amazing what can be achieved. So get out there and use what you learned in the farm pond to get you out in the big water!

You Ain’t No Cowboy If ‘An You Ain’t Got No Horse!

Today’s post really has nothing to do with fishing… It’s just one of the many funny stories from my not-so-distant shady past when I moonlighted as a farmhand. Actually, to be more accurate I was the assistant to the farmhand.  In other words, I was the one who got stuck doing the jobs nobody else would do...


Most of my duties on the farm centered on the heard of almost-purebred Angus and Heinz 57 variety steers. Over several years I became quite accomplished at calling cows in for their morning feed and fixin’ fences.


Of all my adventures, moving the herd from one wooded “pasture” to another was the most eventful!  My job was always to bring up the rear, keeping the herd together and moving along.  I was also the one keeping an eye on the misfits of the group, and there was always at least one… a blind calf, a bull that injured himself in the line of duty, or a cow with an infected foot.

I would like to say that my stint on the “ranch” qualifies me as a cowboy. All of this wranglin’ would have been much easier with a horse and a lasso. Sadly, that wasn’t the case.  On countless occasions I stumbled for miles through thorn bushes, ‘cross creeks, up and down hills… all on foot!


At the end of one drive, after counting the cows about ten times (because counting 80 head of black cattle is like counting 80 identical marbles that never stop moving) we discovered one calf was missing.  So back to the woods we went…


Fortunately, it didn’t take too long to find the poor little thing that got lost in the timber.  This little feller had been badly injured and was pretty scared.  Catching an animal that doesn’t want to be caught is not an easy task and it eventually came down to us cornering it in a particularly nasty patch of multiflora rose.


Finally my associate tackled the calf and exclaimed, “Damn, I wish we had a rope.”  Then he looks up at me and says, “Take off your belt… we’ll use that!” Farmers are resourceful people who will use just about anything that will get the job done and this was no exception.

So here I was leading this wounded calf with my belt in one hand and the other holding my pants up.  After the longest half-mile ever I have ever walked we got him back to the barn.  The vet took care of him and he ended up being just fine, the only reminder of his injuries was a patch on his hind end that didn’t have any hair. For the rest of the season he was known as Patch.


Sure it would have been nice to have horse, and believe me I pleaded with the boss for an equine assistant many times.  We didn’t have a rope either, so we just used my belt and made it work.  So it is in life, sometimes ya just have to find a way to make do with what ya got…

Quit Worrying About the One That Got Away

All of my fellow thirsty fishermen out there know the story well… You’re sittin’ on the bank, just about to doze off, or maybe you’re in a heated argument with your fellow fishermen about which is better: stink bait or livers. Then all of a sudden the tip of your rod starts violently jerking towards the water, resembling an angry goose pecking into the air.

The fight is on and your heart starts pumping! There is nothing more exhilarating than gettin’ a big ‘un on the line. Playing and landing a fish is a fine art, unless you are a bass fisherman with 100 pound braided line, powered wench, and a telephone pole for a rod. (I can say this because I am a closet bass fisherman!)

You do your best not to reel too hard, which will surely cause this whale to snap your line. Yet you are dying to see what your next wall mount will look like. It’s a fine balance and patience is definitely a virtue well used in these types of situations.

All of a sudden there is a “snap” and a frayed end of line comes sailing back to you in the wind, settling around your hat like a halo. “Well, shucks!” you say. What could have been a state record, or at least a year’s worth of bragging rights with the boys down at the coffee shop, is now gone.

This happens often and it is easy for us anglers to immortalize that fish, creating stories of legend. One must be careful, as this thinking can be unproductive and even detrimental to your success… Yes there are lessons to be learned, but that fish isn't worth obsessing over. The important thing is that you were out fishing. So now the only thing to do is get back out there, get your line on that water, forget about the one that got away, and go catch the next big one!