April 30, 2020 ~ Finally it was my turn to catch some fish! We have started riding our bikes to various fishing holes along the Turkey River from our campground, Skip-A-Way Resort, here in Clermont, Iowa. I love to ride my bicycle, and if I can ride it to go fishing…well, that’s like double the joy for me.
A few years ago, I had bought a collapsible fishing pole at Bass Pro Shops. My thought was to throw it in the back of my car so if the mood ever stuck me I could have fishing gear on hand. Scott was not overly enthusiastic about the collapsible rod and reel, thinking it would be of cheap quality. The rod and reel disappeared into the basement of our fifth wheel and did not see the light of day for a few years. That was until a few days ago when Scott came up with the idea of riding our bikes to a few fishing places and I reminded him about the collapsible rod. As it turns out, it collapses down to fit nicely in our saddlebags. Plus, it turns out the reel is actually of decent quality. He is now a big fan of MY collapsible fishing pole.
I also have a Yoyito hand fishing reel. A hand fisher is basically fishing line wound around a circular form that is called a reel. To cast the line, I hold the reel in my left hand and some played-out line with the hook and bait in my right hand. I slowly twirl the hook and bait line in my right hand vertically next to my right side until I get comfortable with the motion. Then I toss out the line at the right time for it to cleanly spool the line off the reel which is held in my left hand. I wind up the fishing line back onto the reel. Twirl, toss, wind, repeat. Yes, I have caught a fish with it! The hand fisher is about 2 inches thick and as big as a drink coaster. It comes with it’s own bag and is super easy to throw in my bike bag.
We ended up fishing at Whitewater Park in El Kader, IA. We have been there before and it is a well designed park. The bank has been shored up with concrete and creates a wide, flat walkway with firm footing close to the water. There is a small drop in the Turkey river there which creates a great fishing environment. It is also a put-in for canoes and kayaks although I have yet to see it be used for that purpose.
The day was sunny and the temperature got up into the low 70s. We started fishing shortly before 2pm and finished up at 5pm. I am always the one to call an end to our fishing, Scott would continue on for hours if I let him! He is like his mom and has endless patience for fishing. I have my limits.
The day started off with me catching a small largemouth bass. As it was the first fish I landed this year, I was very happy. We quickly threw him back.
Next, almost an hour later, I caught a walleye. My favorite eating fish! He was probably 12 inches long, but skinny. I guess we could have made fish tacos out of him, but we let him go to be a Walleye for Tomorrow. After a picture, of course!
Not too long afterwards, I landed my best fish of the day. I was having my best luck in fishing the end of the whitewater to the right of the drop in the river. It was there that I got a hit from a nice sized largemouth bass. He was heavy and was bending down the tip of my rod to where I was worried it might break. I reeled him in and held him against the bank, luckily he didn’t thrash around too much. Scott climbed down on the rocks and helped me by grabbing the line and lifting him out of the water. We had forgotten to bring a net. Scott ended up cutting the hook in half to get it out of his mouth. We took a quick victory picture and released him back into the Turkey.
Scott did not get “skunked” during our fishing today. He also caught a very nice Redhorse sucker. He was successfully landed, but escaped back into the Turkey so fast I could not get a decent picture.