Nebraska Fish and Game Association - View Single Post - NEFGA Catch & Continue Contest, Sponsored by Cabela’s

Fish Recycler · 07-06-2008, 05:45 PM

That's a fantastic bass, huskerbowhunter!

Here is my entry - Bluegill, 9 1/8 inches, 1.14 points:

I caught it at Summit, and had to work to find a school of good sized bluegills, but sure enough, the Lord blessed me with a little "spot within a spot," one pocket in the weeds that was shoulder-to-shoulder with 8" - 9" bluegills.

I caught most of them on my SLR Nymph, but my two biggest came on a rust colored dragonfly nymph from FlyBoyWray - thanks FlyBoy! He gave it to me at the NEFGA Float Tube Regatta, so my time there paid off in yet another great way.

After having a 9"er in the bag, I decided to call it a day, and figured I'd fish a black wooley bugger on my way back to the truck. On about the 10th cast, my rod doubled and reel started singing. My little 4 weight St. Croix made a deep arc, and for the first 30 seconds I wasn't sure if I had a big bass or a big cat, but I knew whatever it was was big. As I got closer and it dogged down, I knew it was a cat. With just 4 pound test, I fought that fish for 15 minutes, and got it up to my tube several times. I got a real good look at it right at the end, and I'm pretty sure it would have gone 24", but we'll never know as once we made eye contact, it parted my leader and left with my fly in the corner of its mouth.

So that was fun, but with that, this'll be my one and only entry. I enjoyed it, but realized as I fished today that my mantra that "the competitive part of the sport is not the part that I enjoy most" still holds completely true. It's probably not that I'm not competitive, it's probably that I'm too competitive, and I personally prefer fishing to be something other than competition. That's not to knock anyone else who sees it differently, just that I confirmed for myself how I'm wired when it comes to this great escape.

Best of luck to the rest of you competitors!

- Teeg

07-06-2008, 05:45 PM	#113 (permalink)
Fish Recycler 2007 NEFGA Angler Of The Year Finalist Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Council Bluffs, IA Posts: 1,230 Thanks: 4 Thanked 13 Times in 7 Posts	WK1-Fish Recycler: LP=1.14 (9 1/8" BG) That's a fantastic bass, huskerbowhunter! Here is my entry - Bluegill, 9 1/8 inches, 1.14 points: I caught it at Summit, and had to work to find a school of good sized bluegills, but sure enough, the Lord blessed me with a little "spot within a spot," one pocket in the weeds that was shoulder-to-shoulder with 8" - 9" bluegills. I caught most of them on my SLR Nymph, but my two biggest came on a rust colored dragonfly nymph from FlyBoyWray - thanks FlyBoy! He gave it to me at the NEFGA Float Tube Regatta, so my time there paid off in yet another great way. After having a 9"er in the bag, I decided to call it a day, and figured I'd fish a black wooley bugger on my way back to the truck. On about the 10th cast, my rod doubled and reel started singing. My little 4 weight St. Croix made a deep arc, and for the first 30 seconds I wasn't sure if I had a big bass or a big cat, but I knew whatever it was was big. As I got closer and it dogged down, I knew it was a cat. With just 4 pound test, I fought that fish for 15 minutes, and got it up to my tube several times. I got a real good look at it right at the end, and I'm pretty sure it would have gone 24", but we'll never know as once we made eye contact, it parted my leader and left with my fly in the corner of its mouth. So that was fun, but with that, this'll be my one and only entry. I enjoyed it, but realized as I fished today that my mantra that "the competitive part of the sport is not the part that I enjoy most" still holds completely true. It's probably not that I'm not competitive, it's probably that I'm too competitive, and I personally prefer fishing to be something other than competition. That's not to knock anyone else who sees it differently, just that I confirmed for myself how I'm wired when it comes to this great escape. Best of luck to the rest of you competitors! - Teeg __________________ You can be a Fish Recycler too...let 'em swim. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by Fish Recycler; 07-06-2008 at 05:48 PM.