Outdoor Truths
Gary Miller
I just took another fishing trip with my favorite striper guide and friend, Mike Allen. There were four of us who met at the dock early that morning. It was an overcast and windy day with periods of light rain. Regardless of the not-so-favorable conditions, we started off with three quick catches - one a nineteen pounder. This was going to be a good day. We'll, yes and no. Despite our early fortune, our upward success immediately turned south. For the next couple of hours, we would sporadically catch a stray but we never landed on a spot that we would call very productive. Mike would locate the stripers but they were just not interested in eating at that particular time. Our only hope was to wait or to change plans. Waiting meant we would, well, wait; wait until they decide to bite. Changing plans meant we would try for another species of fish. Mike knew where some big catfish hid and he thought we might be able to entice them to some fresh bait. He was right. So, for the rest of our time we caught some nice, big catfish and had a great time doing it. We didn't get all that we came for but we got plenty that we didn't. Both fish fit nicely in a freezer. If we had chosen to continue striper fishing there is a good chance we would have left that morning without ever having the success we had planned for. There is a nearly a one hundred percent chance we would have left without having caught any catfish. We simply took what was given us. Gary Miller Outdoor Truths Ministries
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