Proof of Fish

So here you have conclusive evidence of me catching fish number two of the season. On a cool and overcast Sunday morning I went out to begin my big vacation fishing adventure. There was some light rain and a little mist but overall not a bad morning, if you don't mind the high 50's. Again catch and release only at the moment, for one thing bass are still protected and for another thing you really ought to be prepared to cook the fish if you are going to take him home with you (not a whole heck of a lot else to do with a fish at home). This little guy is maybe 2 lb. and about 9" long Rock Bass. I am not really a 100% sure on the species, but comparing the shape of the head to the NH Freshwater Fishing Digest (page 32) Rock Bass seems like the most likely culprit. Tough to tell from my lousy photo but cell phone photography while holding a living fish is not exactly easy. I got a little ten dollar scale at Wal-Mart that has a tape measure built in. At his size weighing wasn't worth the effort so two pounds is totally a guess but the length is pretty accurate, his tail fin is basically behind my right wrist.

I went back this morning to the train trestle in downtown Laconia. I was out the door before five and the location is only a few minutes from my house. I caught our little friend today with a "wild eyed shad" a small lure that looks like a little fish with a neon tail. All of my efforts with the Senko have been unsuccessful. This four inch cigar shaped worm is famed for its bass catching prowess but he's done very little for me. I saw a couple of larger fish (one 12-18" that looked like a trout) in the water today but one literally swam past my lure without interest. I also had a very nice sized snapping turtle pass under the trestle, he was also disinterested in my lures sadly. Obviously I still have a lot of work on what the call presentation, which is making the lure act like the thing that it is supposed to be. I also have had some nice bites that I lost so I need quite a bit of work setting the hook, which is getting the hook to stick in the fella's face once he starts to nibble. Special thanks to my wife who has been very supportive of my new found desire to wander off at five in the morning.

Cell Phones

Apparently I was the last American not to have a cell phone. Congress sent me a letter saying that I was really holding the nation back technologically and economically and that I should get with the program. So yesterday I finally broke down and bought a Wal-Mart Trac phone with their unlimited plan. Seriously though, with my promotion I am going to be on the road a bit more and it will be good if my staff and family can get a hold of me as needed.

The nice thing about the Trac Phone is that Wal-Mart has some very respectable phones (I went with a Samsung model pictured at right,think of it as a mini faux-Blackberry) and no service contract is required. Additionally the unlimited plan is only $45 per month which is significantly cheaper than anything I could find in my area for an unlimited phone and web plan. With the speed at which technology changes the last time I had a cell phone was the technology equivalent of the Hoover administration, so considering that phone looked like this, it was probably time for an upgrade.