5-20-10

I am not one of those fishermen that walks up to their favorite lake, pond or other still water....looks into the shallows, sees large mouth in spawn beds, and throws random flies, bait or artificials at them until they bite. I just don't believe in harassing the fish off of their beds, (the future of the bass population in your favorite water).....sticking a hook through their jaw, fighting them, stressing them out more then they already are from spawning, not allowing them to protect their young, then throwing them back in a weakened state....Makes no sense to me if you have a love, an understanding, a passion for the fish that you target. So when I reached my water of choice today, I noticed the LMB had moved to the shallows, and were guarding their nests....So I moved on to catch some of the huge population of crappies and bluegills that inhabit the water. I did hook one LMB while fishing crappies....All the fish were released unscathed. Beautiful day, sunny, 58 degress when I started, 65 when I stopped, promises to be 80 by afternoon....I'm hoping this is a sign of spring/summer is finally arriving....Tight lines....Responsible fishing....