I went down to the Lake Aquila spillway to get some angling action in, and sure enough, the waters raged and foamed. But where was that Leviathan?
I went downstream to find him and set up on the bank; it was neat to cast into the swift current, though I didn't get any bites. Fish were jumping, though, in mid-stream and that was tantalizing. Maybe with the right surface bait I'd have caught something; or not, the water was moving fast.
Then, like a lazy submarine, a Gar moved into the bank and I gently lowered a hook-full of worm into the water. Perhaps this was the Leviathan, and sure enough, the Gar took the bait.
But Gar are curious creatures, they like to test the bait before they bite and that's what this one did. I played along and gave the fish plenty of line, and I thought I had him.
The strangely prehistoric creature surfaced and snapped angrily at the worm. Yes! He's on! I thought, and made to set the hook. Too soon. The fish sensed something wasn't right and dropped the bait, and that was that. A smaller hook would've done the trick, I think, but as with everything else, hindsight's 20/20.
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| A Gar |
Still, I'm not complaining. It was good to get out and I enjoyed talking with the fishermen. One of them had brought a bow, to shoot the Gar. Maybe I should get one.
Fish on,
LSP
