OUTDOOR TRUTHS: Waking up the bass
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By Gary Miller
The summer can be slow for bass fishermen. The water is warm and the oxygen that fish need for peak activity is not found in warmer water. Therefore, they tend to go deeper or become more active when the days are at their coolest. That’s why early in the morning is some of the best times to be on the lake or river. My favorite way to start is by being ready to cast my first bait when the sun is barely peeking over the horizon. You have to take advantage of every minute the fish are active because in the summer those minutes are few. As many of you know, my favorite way to wake bass up this time of year is with a top water bait. The sound of this plug echoes for unknown distances at the break of day and each plop or buzz signals to the fisherman to be ready for what might be lurking just below the surface. The combination of sight and sound can at times be just too much for nearby bass to ignore. And for the fisherman, the crash of water just behind that bait can also be as addictive as well. Once you see and hear that unique moment, you will place it in its own mental compartment, and nothing will ever join it.
Thankfully there are other moments that deserve their own special place. I imagine myself making a file and labeling it with that moment but never adding anything else to the file except that which caused me to make it in the first place. It’s like making a folder on your computer for certain types of pictures or documents and only finding one picture or document that fits in the folder. In one way you are hoping for other occasions to add to the folder but it seems that nothing ever fits like that first file. There are a few things like that in my life. A first degree. A first accomplishment. A first purchase. All of these things were so special to me then and still hold their own special place today. But what really matters are not fish or firsts but moments when someone wrote something or said something that caused me to change into a better man. It was a sentence that wowed me. It was a lesson that challenged me. It was a gesture that took me aback. You see, while things like these may deserve a place in their own folder; unlike fish and firsts, their benefits continue not just as motivation but as actual ingredients that mold me every day. So, this week don’t forget that while you are making memories someone needs you to become a good one for them.
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■ Gary Miller has written Outdoor Truths articles for 21 years. He has also written five books which include compilations of his articles and a father/son devotional. He also speaks at wild-game dinners and men’s events for churches and associations. Stay updated on Outdoor Truths each week by subscribing at Outdoortruths.org.
