Anselmo's Blog-a-log: June 2009

Sunday, June 14, 2009

The view of rat lake

No not really
Lago from the kitchen terrace
The bridge is where I caught the fish

Lago del Montedoglio

One thing I love is when I catch a fish on the first cast at a new spot. 7.30 am First cast this morning and I had a perch. Not a new species for me but I hadn't caught one on a lure in Italy before :-D

Got perch on and off until about 11am then I found a spot where I could stand on a rock and cast 270 degrees and watch schools of perch come out of about 15 feet of water and smash a small topwater lure - especially exciting when you see the fish swim up and hit the lure right in front of you. At one point I caught 30 in 30 casts, none big but always fun.

I thought the bass had eluded me. At about 11.45 I thought it might be time to head off as it was about 35 degrees and I hadn't had breakfast. Then something bigger flashed at one of the hooked perch. Just about every American fisherman I know tells me their first bass experience was a bass taking a small fish off their line. I noticed that if I didn't hook up by a certain point the schools of perch would stop chasing. Just where there was a big tangle of wire, riprap and underwater weeds.

Sure enough on my self imposed last cast schools of perch battered the little popper but failed to hook up then as the lure came over "the spot" a light coloured shadow detached itself and hung under my lure. I stopped winding for a second, the bucket mouth opened and inhaled the lure, I pulled back and I was on!

The fish managed to wrap around an under water blackberry vine complete with thorns but I was able to wade in a short way and un wrap it and then a tense few seconds as the fish jumped and tried to run through my legs but eventually I prevailed! My first black bass!

2 firsts today - fish on a surface lure and a black bass. Celebrating with la rossa morretti beer char grilled chicken roasted potatoes with rosemary and a local Montepulciano red. Beats work!

Tuscany rules

Pics of fish to follow when I get home

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Saturday

Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti, lunch in Radda in Chianti then Castellina in Chianti. Went up the the tower in Castellina and 2 ice creams! Bass fishing tomorrow in Lago del Montedoglio