Thought of y’all yesterday

We were slated for rain late morning so I got out as early as I could. Turned out I’d have a little over two hours before the drops began. I had a bunch of rods along but chose the little favorite of mine and never put it down for the rest of the trip. The 5’6” lightning rod and President 20 does such a fine job in semi open water. Second cast brought me a solid pound plus fish to the net and my anticipation went up along with it. Some water in the cooler and I moved on. That was the only fish I would see, or feel for about an hour. I checked out another area close by with no results and came back to spot one. Deep at the bank, I cast and let it fall as I counted. A slow retrieve to keep it as deep as I could get, I kept turning the reel as it came close to the boat, then came the thump. I lifted the rod and it stopped as if hung on the bottom. I held the pressure and sure enough, it wiggled. There was no lifting or bringing it to the surface to identify, this one had a mind of its own. Then Came the head shakes and the song of the drag. Music to my ears. This way, then that, I got a chance to grab the net that thankfully I had laid out. A serious pair of shoulders came to the surface and I steered her toward the net as best I could. Only took three tries to get it done. A beautiful fish, and heavy too. No devices to measure aboard but the cooler top as a background. Near to over 14” and a solid pound and a half, maybe more as she was very thick. A picture and dropped in with the other I had put up a bit earlier. Just a few casts later, another fish gave a similar fight but was not the size this one was. Now three in the cooler, plenty for a good dinner at the size of these, I noticed a few drops dimpling the surface, and the bite stopped once again. Close to the ramp, I figured I better go while I was still dry. On the trailer I headed to the shop for a grease gun to fill my bearing buddies. It was there I met up with Peanut that I work with. He walked up, excited, asking if I had done any good. Long story that much shorter, he took them home for he and the wife. Now raining hard I said a little prayer of thanks for the morning I had been blessed with. Hope y’all get out soon, and I hope to see you there. Til then......Skeet