My love affair with small lakes, little kids and giant panfish continues. I am blessed with about 30 small venues within a 45 minute drive of my house. Most have big bluegills or redear sunfish in them, some have big bass. All have charm and character...
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| Way back in the sticks of our memory, there's this little pond... |
Some are way back in the sticks, and some are right along the public highways. Many of them are overlooked, ignored by the masses. Some can be fished effectively just with pole and line efforts, a bobber and a worm on the hook. Others require a more sophisticated approach...
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| Looks like someone's gonna eat sunnies for dinner! |
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| More often than not, the bulk of the catch is modest. |
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| Decent sized red ear sunfish sure do make it a good trip! |
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| My friend Loren with a quality-sized pole-n-line largemouth ! |
Little gems of water that dot the countryside are almost too numerous and slight to draw the attention of 'real' anglers. You don't need a boat or a permit or a long wait at the ramp...because there is none. You might need a little guts and fortitude to tramp though the high weeds, sticker bushes or biting deerflys to catch a few fish. It's called work, but it has it's rewards...
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| New angler Jessica with one of her many bluegills. Cool! |
To young anglers, the tug of a bluegill can start a lifetime of outdoor memories that are just around the corner, not many hours of driving down the interstate. Economic times are tough, and we need to fish where we can to get the most out of it.
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| My 3-year old grand daughter Elena puts the squeeze on red ear destined for the frying pan. |
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| Elena is the 'quality inspector' of this nice catch. |
As a kid growing up, ponds held a special place in my heart. They still do, and when I can get away with my son Matt for a little bit of fishing it remains a precious time in my life, with precious memories to go along. A recent trip provided some special moments with some stunning hybrid sunfish...
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| Matt's remarkable hybrid sunfish taped out at 11.5 inches. Fins are stunning! |
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| I got in on the act with this 12 inch hybrid...what a fish! |
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| This one held still just long enough for a mug-shot. |
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| Check out them pecs! Wow! |
Yes, these are special times, special places, and, were fashioned for us, before the begining of time, to enjoy before any one of these days came to be. As it points out in Psalm 139: 'All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.' How comforting it is knowing that a Loving God has guided me to such joy without my ever asking for it. Like His Grace and Goodness, He just rains it down on me, blessing me time and time again.
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| Our precious Abby |
I PRAISE YOU BECAUSE I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE,
YOUR WORKS ARE WONDERFUL, I KNOW THAT FULL WELL.
Psalm 139:14
Indeed...small wonder!
