Well,

A buddy I work with took me on my first real bassin' trip last month.  Yeah, I know--why am I just now writing about it?  I'm slack.  What more can I say?

First, about my buddy.  He's been fishing tournaments for over a decade.  Even won a minor fishing league series in 2001.  Point is, he knows what he's doing.  He's got a brand new bass boat, too.  A Triton, I believe it was, that moves so fast my cheeks felt and looked like they were going to slide off my skull.

Anyway, we set out at the southern end of Jordan Lake in North Carolina.  We made it there at about 6:00 am.  Water was low, he said.  It was only my second time there ever (the first time I simply paddled a raft within 100 yards of the ramp) so it could have been 20 feet low and I wouldn't have noticed.

Anyway, we set out and start fishing pretty quickly.  He tossed nothing but FLW finesse jigs throughout the day.  I tried a few different baits: a Rapala Original Floater, a Jitterbug, a Rapala DT-6, a 5 inch Senko, a Spinnerbait--all without success.

Then my buddy tied a Zoom Brush Hog onto my spinning rod.  I had no idea how to fish it.  I simply cast it out, let it sink and then jiggled it a bit.  I tried to "hop it" slowly back to the boat, the way one might work a jig ( At least, I think I did.  I'm so new to this, I believe I probably had that sucker jumping several feet at a time like it was a Super Hog or something.).

Within 6 minutes or so, I felt something tug at my line.  I had been talking to my buddy when the strike came--wasn't even moving the bait--and I almost missed it.  If the bass hadn't set the hook on himself it wouldn't have been set at all.  "Hmm, I think I've got something" I said and lifted the rod tip clumsily.  I reeled in a 1 pounder and lipped it into the boat.  The hook popped out with little effort and we both admired the little thing for a second before releasing it.

My buddy ended up snagging another one not long after with his finesse jig.  It, too, was about a pound.  Within that half hour I caught one more with the Brush Hog.  Again, it was about a pound.  No keepers so far.

And that was it.  The bite died out completely for the rest of the morning.  We headed back to shore around noon.

All in all, it was an enjoyable time--even if the fish weren't biting.  I'm looking forward to my next trip.

So, which was more exciting?  Catching the two fish or the boat ride?

I would say catching the fish, since I've caught so few in my short fishing career, but both catches were sort of anti-climactic.  I wasn't focused.  They bit, set the hook themselves, and I reeled them in after the fact.  

I should have felt like doing cart wheels.  Instead, I wanted to kick myself for not being in the moment.

As for the boat ride, again, I was impressed by the speed, but I wasn't blown away.  Even while my cheeks were flapping in the wind like a flag, my mind was on catching fish.  I just couldn't wait to get fishing.

And then, I get fishing and miss the only two bites I'd get all day.

Oh, well.  Maybe next time I'll learn to relax and enjoy all of it.  From the drive there, the take off, the fishing, everything.