Got some pre-trout season fishing in with the club last Saturday. We headed to Kistler Ranch, which is just off Highway 108 and offers three large ponds (or small lakes if you’d like) containing bass, crappie and bluegill. The sky was clear but the wind played with us all day. Unfortunately, the water temperature was on the low end for bass and sunfish spawning or feeding.

This was my first time float tubing and I think I did well. The wind required constant adjustment, and a day later I felt sore muscles in my legs that I previously didn’t know existed. But it was fun to float around and target the weed beds from an off-shore position.

It’s said that “A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work,” and that adage applies to much of this day. I was able to encourage one strike during the morning, smack dab in the middle of some weeds. Ironically, I was fishing from the shore when this happened.

But I got the stink off in the afternoon with a solid strike and hook up with a decent largemouth bass. This time it was from the float tube, giving me the unique experience of playing a fish while floating in the water. Hope this is a good sign that I won’t see too much skunking during the coming trout season!

P.S. For the non-fishers, one refers to not catching a single fish as being “skunked,” hence the stink reference.