Good ole rooster tail
I never get a chance to get on the morning bite. But in between storms was impossible not to. I was still late (around 7 AM).
My last trip ended with a bit of frustration so I threw a big rooster tail at the end just to see if ANYTHING would bite (caught a crappie). It was still tied on this morning, so I figured why not.
Caught one on the third cast. Did 5 more casts and switched to top water. Nothing. Fish jumping all around and just nothing. Buzz bait, floating rapala, even a frog without the structure to justify its use. That’s what I get for sleeping in.
Finally switched back to the rooster tail when nothing else worked. They’re not huge but I ended up with five of these all safely returned to the water.
There’s something so damn cool about catching fish on lures that we often forget work so damn well. The childlike joy of “this is what grandad used to catch them on” is drastically underrated.
Also, watching theory turn into real life. I was casting along the shore right by the edge of the vegetation. One of these fish I visually watched pop his head out to attack the lure. It’s rare to get to see it.