Eureka!

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I still haven't been able to catch fish using the squishy fake baits.  I was going to various lakes around the city and these fish that seem to jump into the boats of the pros on ESPN were not coming to me when I used the baits the pros talk about.  Weekend fishing shows go something like this:

     "We're out here fishing with Stewie Joe Bobby Ray on the Hoochikoochie river in Snakebutt.  Stewie Joe is two-hundred time Bass Champion and universally recognized as the best thing ever.  What are we doing today?"
     "We're fishin' with the new HooDoo funky worm.  I love this.....got one!"
     "Wow, that HooDoo is really.....got another!"
     "And now a word from HooDoo about fishing."

But for me, the HooDoo doesn't do that voodoo that Stew do so well.


A site that has been a tremendous help has been the NC Angler forum.  It's full of great advice on all things fishing, and the folks are friendly and always willing to help a fellow fisherman.

Then I found Uncle Steve.  Steve is a Raleigh resident who goes fishing pretty much every day now that he's retired.  He posts great videos on his YouTube channel about fishing from the shore in and around Raleigh, and he is particularly fond of Umstead Park.  One day I saw his video on using a rubber worm in the creek.

  I went to the store and picked up a pack of Zoom Finesse Worms in black.  I went to the creek and rigged the worm without any weight, and tossed it into the water.  I began to twitch the rod and reel in ever so slowly.  Something jerked on the end of the line.  After a second jerk, I felt a steady pull.  I yanked therod into the air and began reeling in.  I was rewarded with a largemouth bass that propably weighed about three pounds.  Success!  I removed the hook and dropped the fish back into the water.  As I watched the fish swim away, I walked along the shore, doing the same ritual of cast, twitch, reel.  I caught two more small bass that day, and went home.  I was able to completely tune out my wife that evening, which was just icing on the cake.

It's amazing how an afternoon can change your outlook.  It felt good to catch a fish again.  I couldn't wait to go back and catch more.