Granny and I scooted across country on Thursday and spent the night with my brother in Amesbury, MA. We caught Game 5 of the Stanley Cup at his local bar. That was a blast except for the Bruins losing.
Yesterday we drove up to Wolfeboro, NH and Granny and I are all moved into the family cottage on Lake Winnipesaukee. This weekend there will be Mom, my brother’s family, sister’s family and some cousins staying at the small family camp.
My priority is spending time with my nieces however most are busy with sports and plays and all kinds of stuff. But not Montana. She purposely made sure to be free. She’s not the normal 15 year old teenage girl. When I walked in the kitchen to press some coffee at 4:10 AM this morning she was up texting her boyfriend that she was fishing with her Uncle Jeff the fly fisherman.
Probably one of the highlights for springing up so early was her new Winston Rod. She didn’t get one of my top dogs like an Air or Pure, but she got a 9 foot 5-weight Kairos. This is a damn nice rod for a 15 year old! Montana attached her pink reel and after we paddled to one of my smallmouth bass hotspots, a place I’ve been pulling poppers through for more than 45 years, she launched her first cast before 5 AM.
The fish were there. Montana’s cast with a popper is about 25 feet. That’s all she needed to get the fish. The first fish she hooked into wasn’t a smallie but they’re all fun. Here’s a hard fighting little rock bass.
I say hard fighting little rock bass because he was hard fighting. But nothing like the next fish Montana hooked. The nice smallmouth that didn’t jump (usually they jump). The fact that he didn’t jump meant a deep rod-testing dive for the rocks about 18 feet below the canoe. Montana tried to hold the line and I yelled “let it loose!” in a nick of time or she’d been broken off. She picked up on the situation quick and spent the next 2 minutes going back and forth beautifully.
In the end, Montana landed her first nice smallmouth bass that she handled entirely on her own. I snapped some pics and she was able to dislodge her barbless fly with no trouble. She released him like a pro and was already false casting for her next before the bass slid from sight.
Smallmouth bass fishing is one of my all time favorites. I’m often asked what my beloved species of fish to catch are and no doubt it’s the smallies. I’m sure a lot of this comes from them being a fish of my childhood – nothing but great memories of fishing with dad and my grandfather and my cousins up here in NH. But its deeper than that. Smallies fight hard, jump and take poppers. What more can you ask?
We rapped it up around 8 AM. Montana landed four nice smallies. I even snuck in a few casts and landed a 13”er. We got to the camp in time to see the rest of the family just waking up.
Not only can Montana toss a Winston around nicely but she can make her Uncle a kick ass breakfast. After the feast the rest of the day was spent relaxing with family and a visit to dad in the Ossipee nursing home. There will be plenty more fishing to come.
Jeff, it’s 5:59 06/13 and I am starting my day out with a pleasant smile and warm heart reading about you and Granny being together with your family. Nothing surpasses those times and memory’s. Enjoy, Jack & Suzanne