May 10 - Crappie Fishing Lake Maynard

May 10th, 8th time fishing! 2pm. Went to Lake Maynard again, and was amazed to see little fish just going crazy in the water, boiling over onto the gravel shore! I learned that these were called shad. There were a couple of large-mouth bass that were also just watching the shad. I tried to drop my lure right on top, but they weren't at all interested. Finally, I moved slightly away from the roil, into deeper water, and was casting away. A mom, black dog, and her 6-year old daughter wandered over, and the little girl started asking a million questions. What are those fish doing? Can you catch one? Can you handle it if you do? Just then, I did catch a good sized Crappie! The hook came out easily (no barb) and the kid wanted to touch the fish. Her mom said go ahead, and she did! We gently returned the fish to the water. Now she wants her mom to take her fishing! Another convert! I caught two more Crappie, but the lake took two more of my lures, including my Wooly Bugger! Another good afternoon!

First Fish since last September

May 8, 2008. Sixth time fishing. Back to Maynard Lake, in Munster. I wanted to learn how to cast with my baitcasting outfit from Bass Pro Shop. Practiced all week, in the back yard. Constantly getting the dreaded birds-nest tangle. But I took my spinning reel outfit, so that if I gave up on the baitcast, I could still fish. Surprised to find 2 little groups of other anglers already at it. Temperature was around 50 degrees, and very windy. After several mishaps, like 4 horrible birds-nest tangles (which I untangled using my trusty toothpick), I finally made a few good casts. Then I picked up my tackle box, which I hadn't closed properly, and everything fell out on the deck. After picking up tiny lead weights, hooks, and lures, I moved to another spot. Here I hooked my thumb and finger while trying to tie a tiny knot in gale-force winds. The sun was going down, and I went back to my car for my cell phone. The last guy was leaving, and he said that they were catching fish in the cove by the north-west part of the lake. He said they had caught 4 fish, including a 16". So, I wandered over to this cove, and started fishing again. Around 7:45, I caught about a 12" Large Mouth! I was using my spinning reel, with a weedless minnow spoon on it. I had flattened out the barb on this lure because I was fishing catch-and-release. Suddenly, this fish hit it, and what a great feeling. Heart pounding, legs shaky, rod-bending, what-do-I-do-now feelings. I lugged him up, grabbed him on the lower lip, easily removed the lure, held him up sideways like they do on TV, and then gently lowered him tail down back into the lake! Whis is the first fish that I have caught by myself, with no one to ask for help! It was great!

Maynard Lake - Munster

April 30, 2008. Fifth time fishing in my life! We have a new park in Munster, with a nice little lake. I called that park department to find out if the lake is stocked, and it is! It is 5 minutes from our house, so I decided to go fishing! I got there about 7pm, temperature around 60. I decided to use my open spinning reel, on a Cabela's ultra-lite rod, with 6lb. test line. I picked out a silver spoon, and finally got it tied on. I could cast it pretty far, actually to the middle of this little lake. After a few casts, I thought I had a bite, but it was just snagged on something. I finally had to cut the line and lost the spoon. As the sun was beginning to set, a flock of geese began landing on the lake, with their wonderful honk-honk voices. I decided to try the brown plastic worm. I got some good casts, and I could see fish rising close to me to catch the bugs that were landing on the water!
I set the rod down, and was rumaging thru my tackle box looking for a diferent lure, when the rod jerked and starting sliding into the water! A Bite! I grabbed it and tried to jerk it, but the fish let go! At least I know there are fish in this lake. The sun went down, and the scene was beautiful, with the honking geese, and me casting away. Finally, my line came of in a big tangle, so I had to give up for the evening. A great way to spend a couple of happy hours!