February 23rd, 2008
[ OUTDOORS ]
There are two kinds of snake-bite; one’s undoubtedly more painful
OUTDOORS
JIM RAMBERG
C-J outdoor writer
While searching for mushrooms Friday afternoon, I had a little shock. I almost got snake-bit.
It was the first copperhead I’d seen in a long time but there was no mistaking the body or slightly V-shaped head. It wasn’t a big one, only about a foot long.
I saw it out of the corner of my left eye, coiled on the forest floor. It certainly knew something big and threatening had come upon it.
I watch for snakes all the time. We of Norwegian blood naturally attract snakes since there are none in the ancestral country. Maybe the Irish do, too. I never asked an Irishman about it.
I skirted past the snake and went about looking for mushrooms. I escaped once again. Then I got to thinking.
I had already been snake-bit this week. It’s a term that often comes up in angling circles. It happened at Pomona Lake Wednesday afternoon when I met up with John Custenborder and his son Tom for a quick crappie trip.
“They’re biting,” John said. “We’re going to catch some fish.”
And some of us sure did.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL evening to be on the glassy-smooth water. Do you remember the three-day blow we had at the start of the week? No way you could have taken a boat out.
“We fished from shore last weekend,” Tom said. “Over near North Shore Marina. We slayed them.”
Well, north seemed to be the key. We started fishing several of the coves on the north side.
We were pitching jigs that day to the shoreline, fishing in two to three feet of water near brush and rocks. We were using bobbers to hold the jigs up over the bottom. When the crappie did hit, they did it with a vengeance.
“Got one!” was a familiar cry. “Here’s another one!” was another. Every now and then someone would exclaim “Ah! Missed him!” I was silent. As the hours went by I was desperate. I got a couple bites but didn’t catch them. Meanwhile, the others had put 25 to 30 nice sized crappie in the livewell.
Towards the end of the trip, I finally caught one.
It was about five inches long.
And that’s all I caught.
I WAS THE BRUNT of some good-natured joking. Heck, I could take it. I’d been on the other end often enough.
Getting snake-bit at fishing is a phenomenon I have observed many times but one I can never explain. It can happen in a boat — like it did Wednesday — or from the bank.
I’ve fished farm ponds with buddies at times. Someone would hook a bass every other cast. The other guy wouldn’t get a nibble.
Explanations? There’s a theory out there that you give off scent that fish can smell. Maybe some days you smell better than other days (that is what my wife and daughter tell me, anyway).
Maybe you don’t have the right lure. Maybe you’re at the wrong depth.
Perhaps your presentation is wrong.
I believe in luck, good and bad.
I didn’t get bitten by a snake this week. That’s good luck. I got snake-bit, though. That’s the other kind.