First Cast

Memories were all I had of fishing when I came back to Nebraska with my wife after our engagement December 2006. 

Then, several years later, I was at Veteran's Memorial in North Platte, NE just south of the interstate when I threw a very old lure with no hopes of action. After a few weeks of pulling in small bullhead and even smaller sunfish with Beetle Spins - an otherwise highly lauded lure for all kinds of species, and a personal favorite to the present - I found myself chugging this old piece of cork my father-in-law had gifted me, admiring more the dance of it on the surface than hoping for any line-stretching.

Well, I got both.

Ladies and gentleman, this was my introduction to the Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides. Native to many of the warmer waters of North and Central America - and highly addictive to catch - this fish is often called "bucket mouth." Watching it take my plug was burned into my memory, probably forever. Or at least for as long as I continue to remind myself of it.

I was immediately and irrevocably attached to this species as I unlatched this adrenaline-pumper and admired its size and heft. Man, that was fun!

The rest of that year was spent in search of more of the exciting brutes, with plenty of luck on crank baits in the early mornings on Standing Bear Lake in Omaha. Here is one.

This one was about the same size, if not slightly larger. 

I continued my pursuit of the hobby, pulling in my first Freshwater drum:

And my first Buffalo Fish. What an ugly one! And massive!

Many other fish were caught from that pond during 2010. 

My daughter was also successfully introduced to sunfish:

  
 

Needless to say, this became my hobby of choice during 2010. I am getting better at organizing my time so that fishing doesn't infringe upon other, more important things. I know that as I do so, the sport will become more and more enjoyable to myself and my family.

And this, my friends, is where I will blog about it.