Penn’s Outdoors

Perhaps, I am losing my edge.  Perhaps, I am getting older.  Actually, I’m definitely getting older but perhaps moving into my mid to late 30s is changing my mindset.  Perhaps, I am not as good of a fisherman as I used to be.  But I can’t deny that my outlook on what makes a great fishing trip has changed.

Several years ago, a great fishing trip would require lots of bass (preferably Smallmouth Bass) with most of them being big 3lb+ fish.  A great trip would have a few 4lbers thrown into the mix.  Panfish or even worse “junk fish” like Fallfish would not count and would be thrown back into the water with disdain for taking up my time in pursuit of “real” fish. 

There are a few other details that would be part of my great trip.  My own jet motored bass boat with the latest electronics and gadgets would most certainly have to be a part of it.  Tackle boxes loaded with the fanciest of tackle.  My rod lockers would be stuffed with outfits including G. Loomis rods and Shimano reels.  No live bait would ever find itself on my boat.  And no one would be allowed to fish from my boat using a bobber.

For many years, great fishing was defined by what I didn’t have.  Saturday morning, something changed.  I knew it had been changing slowly for me over the last several years as I fish more and more with my children but today was the day that seemingly it all came together for me. Not one of these elements of a great fishing trip were met for me Saturday morning.  But somehow, despite this, I had a great day.

There was no jet motored bass boat.  I was fishing from the closest thing I have to it, my new Old Towne Guide 147 canoe.  It was only my second time out and my first on moving water.  The Old Towne performed like a champ.  The Swatara was at .97 on the gauge at Harper’s Tavern and 2.19 on the gauge near Hershey, the two monitoring sports for the National Weather Service.  This provided for a very leisurely float.  It was a little fast at spots not letting us fully explore some of the best looking holes.  But it also allowed us to hit our take-out spot almost right on time without having to paddle very much at all.

I was particularly excited that we managed to fish 2 adults and a teenager out of the Old Towne Guide.  We had to be careful but no one got hooked and only a few crossed lines.

My tackle boxes weren’t full of the latest stuff.  In fact, I downsized to keep plenty of room in the canoe.  A couple of small boxes of my favorite plastics and topwaters were about the extent of what I brought along.  My prime lures of choice were 3″ Case Magic Sticks and a Strike King Spit-N-King.  I threw a buzzbait a bit without success.  Rod and reel selection did include a couple of Shimano reels, not the expensive ones,and didn’t include G. Loomis rods.  On-sale Bass Pro Shops Bionic Blade rods and a Berkley Lightening rod that I’ve had for years would have to do.

Oh yeah, I even stopped at Wal-Mart and bought a container of nightcrawlers.  Now, I did buy them for my 13 year old son who likes to fish livebait but part of the day found me throwing a nightcrawler underneath a float (fancy name for a bobber) and enjoying it. 

I feel like I need to go to support group and tell everyone “Hi, I’m Chris, and I have used a worm and bobber.  And….I enjoyed it.” 

After I had caught a few on a Case Magic Stik, my son asked to switch.  I was happy to let him use what I was using.  But I certainly didn’t want the $2.50 that I had spent on my nightcrawlers to go to waste.  After a short while, I threw the bobber and worm up against the bank on a rather unlikely looking spot for a bass hangout. And bam, my bobber went under and the fight was on.  The light action Berkley Lightening rod made for a fun time getting the 17″ Smallmouth Bass, pictured above, to the boat.  It would be the biggest fish of the day.  The bass probably didn’t hit the 3lb mark but for the Swattee, this is a real trophy fish.  Sure, there are bigger ones in there but a fish over 15″ is a really good fish on this creek.

A little further down the creek, I had another nice bass explode on my bobber and worm rig as soon as it hit the water.  I am honestly not sure that the bass didn’t go after the bobber.

Now, my son wanted his worm rod back, and I went to a mix of my Magic Stik and Spit-N-King for the rest of the float.  The Spit-N-King would result in a small bass, a rock bass and one more nice bass for the Swattee, coming in about 16 inches.  Still not 3 pounds but a very healthy fish.

The Magic Stik didn’t catch any Bass this day but it did produce a lot of fun.  What I’m about to tell you might be my most difficult admission in this story.  We were catching Fallfish and enjoying every minute of it.  Fallfish are the largest member of the minnow family and can get up to 18 inches.  We didn’t catch any 18 inchers but we caught them up to about 15 inches.  On light action, we had a blast every time we connected.  We jokingly called them “silver flashes”, the tell that you had a Fallfish rather than a Bass was their silver flash in the water. 

We decided that Lake Erie might be the walleye capital of the world but the Swatara Creek must definitely take the title of Fallfish capital of the world.  Each of us caught our share to make a 4 hour float an enjoyable one.

Some of you may wonder why I wrote this report.  There is no fancy bass boat in this story. There is no new hot technique to learn about.  There isn’t an abundance of big fish.  Many people wouldn’t even consider Fallfish a “real” fish.

But here is what there was.  There was a proud new watercraft owner learning about and enjoying his new vessel.  There was a dad spending quality time with his teenage son.  There were two friends getting to know each other while fishing for the first time together.  There were a couple of quality Smallmouth to take pictures of.  There were lots of fish to let battle on light action rods.  Many of these were the now infamous Silver Flashes that produced lots of laughter in the boat as we grew to appreciate the enjoyment they were providing us.

But most importantly there was a lesson, at least for me, that great fishing trips are not about what we don’t have.  They are about what we do have and enjoying and appreciating each God given moment that we are able to spend in Penn’s Outdoors with family, friends and Fallfish.