Sometimes It's More Than a Speckled Fish...

[KiK]

Just got back from a highly enjoyable trip to West Point in GA/AL. Snatched lots of crappie, mostly around docks, and would rate the 3 day trip as one of my better springtime trips of recent years. A brother, a nephew and a longtime work related friend joined in along with the nephew's 5 year old son. It was refreshing to see the vigor and interest this lil guy showed toward fishing. Reminded me of myself so many moons ago. Lil Jake was as gung-ho as any hard core fish fanatic and never offered any of the troubles one could imagine with a boy this young on a first-of-the-season, cabin-fever reducing trip like this. I almost laughed out loud watching when he'd hooked a good slab, yelling "Hep me, Dad...hep me!" I knew these were moments Lil Jake would always remember...cause I can still remember some of my earliest encounters with these speckled fish.

Day before we were to check out, a group of 8 from up Cumberland Gap way rolled in. 8 men in 2 separate trucks, ranging from middle-aged to the "Old Man" who was 82. Greatest bunch of crappie jerkers you could ever meet. We actually left the boats & gathered on one of the docks one evening, sitting on 5 gallon buckets, fishing & swapping tales. I never laughed harder or longer sitting there listening to the old gent telling of his fishing adventures from Canada to Florida. He may have been in his 8th decade but the spark in his eye and his absolute love of crappie fishing was still as bright as Lil Jake's. From one end of the age spectrum to the other, the love of chasing ol' papermouth was very much alive. He brought his own recipe of what he called "smelly jelly"...something garlic-y he made up & swore by every time he smeared it on his Bobby Garland Baby Shad after dropping another slab in his crew's basket hanging off the dock. They shared with us that they had been coming down for the last 7 years to this place. It was our first on West Point. When they leave out to go home, they book next year's trip for the same date...regardless. We were seriously thinking of doing the same thing partly because of the fishing and partly because of the fact we would get to share the fun with that bunch. You hear too many stories about the inconsiderate dummies crowding you out of a favorite hole or jet ski's whizzing around while you're trying to make the best use of a good day on the water...folks like those Gap guys will restore your faith in humanity.

Oh yeah...the fish. While I have never caught all the crappie I wanted to catch, we certainly caught a bunch. Ate a lot of crappie there and brought a bunch of pretty fillets back home to tide us over till the dogwoods bloom or the water gets a little warmer up this way. If I should make it to 80-plus years of age, I hope I can be able to do what the Old Man was doing there on that dock. And I hope I've got the spark still that young Jake has. As long as there are folks like these around, the future looks bright for the crappie fishing crowd.




This guy tested my knot on the 6 lb line I was using. Smacked it right there under the prop of the boat off the dock and headed for open water. It took a little creative juggling of the rod around some railing and uprights, working my way to the edge of the dock but he eventually gave it up.

[DockShootinJack]

Glad to hear you had such a great trip.

[wahanlin]

great post

[lowe175]

Congratulations I'm going next week I love west point we go every year

[KiK]

I'll def be going back.
Maybe in a week or so.
By the looks of the eggs in 'em, I've got a little time.
I'm watchin the weather.

[RetiredRR]

Good write up and photos. Thanks for sharing.