Ahh, baitfish in the morning!

Hit the local lake in the float tube about 7am this morning with two rods, one ultralite with a crappie crankbait and a ML spinning reel with a chigger craw, more lures in the tuperware.

By the time I got in the water, I could see small schools of bass tearing em up on the surface.  I fin kicked myself to the middle and cast the crappie crank into the middle of them.  Wham! A pounder quickly to the float and released.  

Three or four more like that and finally one that was much bigger.  I was casting pretty far out to the moving school and had the drag set pretty tight on the six pound mono.  I was mostly using the rod and line stretch to absorb shock.  When I got this bigger one, maybe a two pounder from the looks of her, up to the float, she decided she was going to the bottom.  With the rod in nearly a U shape and only 6 or 8 feet of line out, it broke the line.  Dang stupid mistakes!

I switched the spinning outfit to a white lipless rattle trap and kept it up.  With this, I could really haul them in.  I am using 20 pound braided fireline with a 12 pound mono leader.  I get four or five more and it slows down and I decided to switch back to the craw and fish the lilly pads.  No real luck there but they started churning the surface near me and I just cast the craw into the mix.  Wham!  Another pounder on a craw at the surface!  I was using it like a topwater bait.

More and more schools were out in the middle of the lake and I still had the broken line on the ultralite.  Just for fun, I tied on a three inch topwater popper in gold and green and cast it a country mile.  When the lure touched the surface, I had one on.   I think these fish would have hit a bare treble hook.

Three or four more like this and my phone rings. It's my wife at work and her pants split and I had to take her another pair!  Good grief.  Well, it was getting hot and I had landed 12 or 15 in two hours so who should be greedy?

I think I'll take a nap and go back down there this afternoon.  Ahh, bass on the surface and a day off!  Life is good.

Woman to friend, "Yeah, he's a real go getter.  When she gets off work, he goes and gets her."