This story, “Calabogie Bass,” appeared within the August 1956 situation of Outside Life.
As we handed beneath the railroad bridge and into the bay that stretched earlier than us, Invoice Levan reduce the motor and let the boat glide to inside spin-casting vary of the blooming hyacinths alongside the sting. His battle-scarred plug hit the quiet water, rested a second, then quivered a couple of dozen instances when out of the blue a bass exploded from the water and cartwheeled over the surf ace.
Invoice chewed his cigar nervously and held on to the rod for pricey life because the fish dashed headlong right into a mattress of weeds. I eased the boat towards the spot to untangle the bass and noticed that it was an enormous moss-colored largemouth.
Inside half-hour three extra whoppers got here to the web. Nevertheless it hadn’t at all times been this straightforward. Earlier than, different fishermen staying on the similar lodge on Calabogie Lake had been taking bass, however not us. We’d wasted two arm-aching days spinning plugs and spoons, catching solely a two-pounder and a few rock bass. Then I discovered my son’s toy balloons within the deal with field, and after that it was like providing bananas to starved chimpanzees.
Invoice labored lengthy and onerous to speak me into going alongside final August on this journey to Ontario, Canada. He operates a dry-cleaning supply truck in Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, and one morning whereas delivering some cleansing to me, he stated, “We obtained to make a visit to Calabogie. There’s loads of bigmouth bass within the lake. If these aren’t hitting, we will strive the Madawaska River for smallmouths or the 12 to fifteen lakes shut by which can be teeming with bass, northerns, wall eyes, and a few with lake trout.”
“Nevertheless it’s August,” I stated, “the poorest fishing month of the yr.” On high of that the East was having one in every of its hottest dry spells ever. I’d misplaced all ambition and didn’t relish the considered a 400-mile drive.
However when Invoice informed me that each one the dry cleaners closed down the primary of August and that it was then or under no circumstances for him, I gave in. At midnight the subsequent Saturday we had been on our approach.
We drove by means of Cortland, Syracuse, and Watertown, New York, then throughout the St. Lawrence River by means of the Thousand Islands Bridge. After customs, we went on to Perth, Ontario, and later, by means of the land of the balsam and blue spruce to Barryvale and Calabogie Lake.
It was midday after we obtained our first have a look at Calabogie. The lake stretched about three miles huge and 5 miles lengthy. It was rolling and tossing from the wind — too tough for a small rowboat — so we slept till nearly sunset.
Fred Clemens, the lodge proprietor, informed us that a couple of massive bass had been caught in Grassy Bay, additionally some husky channel cats operating to 12 kilos. I used to be prepared to fish for these heavyweights, however Invoice needed bass. The lake had simmered down, so we loaded the skiff and took off by means of Clemen’s inlet and into the open lake, heading north for Grassy Bay.
The bay, across the first bend from the lodge, is separated from the principle lake by a railroad causeway constructed of ballast. Two openings within the causeway let water into the bay. These are every coated by low, slim bridges over which two
small freight trains cross each day.
As we approached one of many small openings a dozen fishermen sitting on the railroad observe hauled in strains to allow us to cross. We discovered later that the robust present dashing by means of the opening makes it ultimate for smallmouths and walleyes. As soon as inside we discovered the bay chockful of weeds with wild rice, lilies, and hyacinths lining the shores.
“Let’s strive casting to the shore with floor plugs,” Invoice steered. He reduce the motor and we drifted to a sluggish cease. The sheltered bay mirrored the setting solar and the massive golden moon because it slid up within the East.
“Scorching climate and a full moon. We couldn’t have picked a worse time,” I stated, between puffs on a pipe. The following two days proved I used to be nearly proper.
Neither Invoice’s frog-colored floor lure nor my small popping plug did a lot of something that first evening-with one exception. That was a whopping splash at my plug. I used to be prepared and set the hooks onerous. The fish flew out of the water, leaping, diving, and thumping the road. It turned out to be a 2½-pound smallmouth.
We hooked a number of rock bass and a 10-inch largemouth, then all was quiet, so we went again to the lodge. That night time we realized from different fishermen that stay frogs had been about the one issues you can pin your hopes on for getting bass.
Got here morning and the air was cool and quiet, the sky flaked with small clouds. Certainly at the moment they’d hit. This time we went south previous a pile of rocks often called Crab Island and into an attractive cove known as Cameron’s Bay. Dozens of log pilings had been sticking a foot or so above the water, ultimate for bass and northerns. However we must always have stayed in mattress. We didn’t catch a factor.
Subsequent day we headed for the city of Calabogie the place the water dropped off abruptly to 30 toes. As one plug failed we tried one other, then turned to spinners and spoons. We scared up two small bass throughout the morning, so within the afternoon, we rigged spinners and trolled the river channel. Clemens informed us the water there was 150 toes deep, with concentrations of massive northerns, walleyes, and muskies. We couldn’t show a factor.
After dinner we held a powwow and concluded that since Grassy Bay was the one spot which produced a great fish, we must always focus there. In order that night we joined the parade of boats outboarding towards Grassy Bay, took our flip ducking below the railroad bridge, and headed towards the spot the place I picked up the smallmouth. The wind was settling all the way down to a whisper.
Invoice snapped a battered plug to his line as I maneuvered the boat to inside good spinning distance of the shore weeds. Reaching into the deal with field for the flashlight, I uncovered a package deal of coloured balloons.
“Balloons,” I stated loudly. “They need to belong to my little boy, however how’d they get in right here?” Come to consider it, I’d learn a bit in OUTDOOR LIFE about how a man used inflated balloons to catch bass (Ken Smith’s “The Balloon Trick” Could, 1955). I’d put some within the field with the thought of making an attempt the stunt after which forgot all about them.
Fingering the balloons for a second, I additionally remembered listening to somebody say he had luck utilizing a slice of balloon fixed to a plug. I hesitated, then determined to strive it.
Choosing a yellow one from the envelope, I sliced it into 4 lengthy strips and slit every of those half approach to kind wobbly legs. I pushed one strip on the rear hook of my injured minnow-type plug, then handed one to Invoice.
Mumbling some skeptical phrases, he fixed the strip to his plug and forged it towards the hyacinths. I swear he hadn’t made way more than two turns of the reel deal with when the floor boiled, inflicting the hyacinths to heave and toss. Though taken unexpectedly, Invoice managed to set the hook because the bass wheeled over the floor.
“Seize the web,” Invoice shouted, chewing tougher on his half burned cigar. I maneuvered the boat to maintain the bass from diving below the craft, and after a couple of 10-minute battle, the bass succumbed to the web. Grinning broadly, Invoice un hooked the six-pounder.
In the meantime I made a forged towards a rotted stump standing close to a mattress of untamed rice. The minnow’s churning spinners made a slight purring sound as I retrieved. Midway to the boat the plug was sucked below. I jerked the rod onerous, and because the fish felt the biting metal, it broke water, then stood on its tail, shaking its head violently. It made two extra leaps and virtually jumped into the outstretched touchdown internet. However, removed from spent, it flopped on the boat flooring and walked over my open deal with field, sending plugs flying each which approach.
We caught these two bass and hooked six extra — two of them keepers — within the subsequent 20 minutes. Then the moon moved from behind a financial institution of darkish clouds and all was quiet.
“Don’t suppose these balloons had any factor to do with it,” Invoice stated, “however this was the most effective fishing we’d had in two days. The bass would have most likely hit something tonight as a result of they had been within the temper, most likely hungry from fasting.”
“Possibly,” I commented, “however I’m conserving on my balloon strips within the morning.”
That night time we had been the toast of the lodge. 4 massive bass starting from 3½ to 6 kilos had been the most effective taken out of the lake for days. We informed of fastening a bit of balloon behind our plugs. I suspected the others had been laughing at our stunt, however their smiles weren’t too massive as they gazed at our string of husky bass.
For the subsequent few days we loved Calabogie bass fishing at its greatest. Early mornings and evenings we motored to Grassy Bay and spun plugs and spoons adorned with balloon strips into the wild rice and blooming hyacinths. We didn’t take bass on each forged, however we took three or 4 whoppers every journey, plus an assortment of children and thin northerns. We forgot the Madawaska River and the myriad lakes within the area. Grassy Bay gave us loads of motion.
After we eliminated the balloons or reduce the tails quick, we didn’t get strikes. We missed two strikes in 4, however nonetheless we related and landed way more bass than the opposite fishermen caught on stay minnows and frogs.
And we had actual enjoyable with spinning deal with, notably when touchdown a scrappy 5 or six-pounder in dense weeds and stumps. Usually, heavy deal with is most popular, together with a stout casting rod and 15 to 18-pound-test line, so heavy fish might be stored from diving into weeds or below logs. Our spinning rods had fairly stiff motion and we used 10-pound take a look at monofilament strains. Eight-pound-test most likely would have been higher, for our casting distance was reduce considerably with the heavier line. However we had been capable of pull bass, weeds, and rotted limbs from the underside when the fish dived. In actual fact, the spinning outfits dealt with plugs as much as 5/8-ounce with none noticeable pressure.
A pair of leather-based gloves proved to be a helpful merchandise for us. Invoice as soon as suffered two badly lacerated fingers when he tried eradicating a plug swallowed by a northern. This time he took a pair of light-weight work gloves alongside in his deal with field. After touchdown his first bass, he pulled on the gloves and went to work unhooking the lure. The bass harmlessly dug the hooks into the glove, however Invoice’s palms had been totally protected and didn’t get a scratch.
The morning following our balloon debut was spent in Grassy Bay. The wind blew fairly onerous, pushing us throughout the lake. Whereas drifting we forged our plugs and half-reeled and half-trolled shallow-diving lures outfitted with balloon ribbons. We discovered that the bass moved into the thickest weed beds throughout the day, into the shallows at sunset, and again to the depths at dawn. Deepest water within the bay was round 15 toes, with weeds rising to inside 4 or 5 toes of the floor. Every time our plugs wiggled over a gap, a bass often zoomed for it. About each fourth forged introduced weeds to the boat. Weedless spoons picked up grass too, however we’d often get a partial retrieve freed from weeds and have an previous socker pound it onerous.
We caught a dozen bass that morning, together with three extra keepers. About midday, as we headed again towards the railroad tracks, we seen water surging from the lake into the bay, boiling the floor for 20 yards. We remembered what Clemens had informed us in regards to the lake water carry ing in meals and the concentrations of fish that dangle on the market at the moment, so we anchored barely left of the present and commenced spinning.
My second or third forged was grabbed by a scrappy small mouth that measured a foot. Then Invoice caught one about the identical measurement. Utilizing small plugs with balloon streamers, we hooked higher than two dozen bass inside 10 minutes, none value conserving. That afternoon we trolled within the deep channel and I snagged a fats walleye on a deep-running plug outfitted with a bit of pink balloon. We went again that night to Grassy Bay and picked up 4 extra massive massivemouths.
Saturday arrived far too quickly, however we weren’t reluctant to return to Pennsylvania. Calabogie had given us unforgettable bass-fishing thrills. As soon as we added balloon skirts to the plugs we had loads of motion. I believe this was the primary time the bass there had seen a plug waving a flag. It proved to be the downfall of greater than 50 of them.
Again on the street once more, we retraced our tracks over the twisted, hilly street to Perth, then south to the St. Lawrence River and again into New York. As we glided by means of Watertown, I spied a well-recognized 5-10-25c signal hung throughout the highest of a constructing, so I jammed on the brakes.
“Why are you stopping?” Invoice requested.
“I obtained to get my little boy some balloons. I’m going to purchase him the most important bagful I can discover.”
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