SOMETHING DIFFERENT...FOR A CHANGE

Went bluegill fishing, then a fight broke out!

What a crazy 'hot and cold' winter it has been so far in the Mid Atlantic region. One week it's in the 50's and the days are balmy, and the next we are having record low temperatures with zero degrees at night. I am sure Mid West folks would laugh at us Back East snow wimps when a little cold or snow comes our way. But as the result of this up-and-down pattern of weather, ice fishing conditions along the Mason Dixon area seldom see a prolonged spell of 'safe ice' conditions at the minimum of four hard inches of clear ice.

First fish of 2014, a nice gill!

But as a result of the cold snap the first week of January, I did manage to find a pond that had a good 5 inches of ice on it. After test drilling a few holes and making sure it was safe, I ventured out in quest of some nice bluegills for a fish fry with the wife. First fish of the year was a nice bluegill on a small jigging Rapala with some maggots on the trebles. But the next hole I checked gave me a nice surprise...

Bass through the ice...that's nice!

It was my first largemouth bass of the year...a nice 17.5 incher that smacked a gold Kastmaster spoon with some maggots tipped on for spice. Challenging on 2-pound test. The next fish was a little bigger...

This 19 inch largemouth is my best ever bass on the ice.

Yeah...I was excited! Almost 'out-gunned' with the 2-pound line and the micro ice-jigging stuff. Wasn't expecting bass, hoping for the gills, but I'll take what I can. Then...I started thinking...should I keep a bass or two and fix 'em up for a meal? My last 'keeper' bass were some pounder-sized guys to help round out enough fish for a meal on a slow ice-fishing gig back in 2008. This ice fishing thing can be notoriously slow. You know...a fish here, a fish there...slow. What would they look like, or taste like, in the pan of hot grease?

I had no issues whatsoever consuming these Old Bay Bass Cakes.

As I began to think more and more about bass cakes, the dream of succulent flavor and pleasing aroma overpowered my mind. Shucks, I had released eight-pounders from this same lake in the past, and the gills weren't biting. Why not do the bass-cake-boogy?

Icy bass make me happy, happy, HAPPY!

Yes, I concluded...I'll take my chances with the flavor of a fish thought of as a 'never-eat' gamefish. Too worthy to consume, too pretty to cut, too fancy to fillet. If the word got out, I'd likely hear it from some of the purists...'you mean you actually EAT bass? Are you out of you mind? I'm never fishing with you again, never!'

Bass Samitches! Yum!

But some things just seem so 'right' at the time, so you gotta' go with your gut. And the gut had spoken. No, I'm not in a habit of eating bass, but I will say this...if you haven't fried or baked a nice bass and tasted it's texture and flavor then you are surely missing out on a fine food fish. Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper, chips and a soda, maybe some bass samitches...it's all good! It was some different, for a nice change.

The total catch.

Not bad, not wrong, just different. And indeed a change. Change can be good, and change can be life-saving. I made a change back on August 14, 1975 when I accepted the free give of eternal salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Since that day many years ago, I have enjoyed and embraced change in my life...the way I think, the way I act, and the way I live. Some things changed immediately, some changes took years, and some of my sin issues I may take to my grave. I hope not. But it is absolutely certain...there was profound change, for the good, in my life.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it states...' If any man be in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come' We become a New Creation in Jesus Christ. Not perfect, not totally sinless, just different, and all for the better, as our accepting Him into our lives assures us of spending an eternity with a gracious and loving God who loved me so much that He would die for me...and you, too!

                WOW! WHAT A CHANGE! TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, BUT IT IS!