By Daryl Bauer
A couple of weeks ago, on my way out the door for the Independence Day holiday, I promised I would spend at least a little time on the water. We always thoroughly enjoy our time with family over “the 4th”. This year was no exception. We spent a lot of time together and had a lot of fun.
I am not going to tell you that I was able to sneak away and spend a lot of time fishing. I did, in the midst of all the activity and family time, manage to spend a little time fishing. One afternoon, the whole crew wanted to cool off in the water. I wandered a few extra yards away and made some casts. It was the middle of a bright, sunny afternoon, so I went small hoping to entice a panfish or three. However, if you fish, you know that you put a line in the water and you just never know for sure what might bite. My float went down and I missed the first couple of bites. On the third take, frustrated by previous missed hooksets, I tried to “jerk his eye teeth out”. Hooked up with something a little bigger than a panfish:
![a man holding a smallmouth bass](https://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SmallmouthJuly24.jpg)
It was not a big smallmouth, but it was respectable, almost 17 inches. The catch will be remembered because a lot of family was there together and it was caught just yards from where my Dad and I caught our first Master Angler fish on a July morning years ago.
![father and son holding fish](https://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FirstMA.jpg)
The spot where I caught my smallmouth holds lots of memories. It is a special spot for lots of reasons.
One of my cousins and her husband have a backyard pond. We have had lots of fun in and around that pond at our Independence Day holidays over the years. There are a few fish in the pond and often in the evenings, when things quiet down, one or more of us will grab a rod and dry off a few.
The celebrity of the backyard pond is one relatively big, bright, Koi. The Koi is often seen, but rarely caught. I did manage to catch & release the Koi a couple of years ago (Adventure Report, Mid-Summer 2022). This year I spent a couple of evenings watching the Koi’s behavior, especially in the evenings. I knew it was feeding and noticed it’s feeding areas and activity. So. . . I thought I would see if I could fool “Goldie” again and show it off for the kids. . . .
Mission accomplished.
![a man and two children holding a koi fish](https://magazine.outdoornebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/449106838_1465117587475329_5424646693665535085_n.jpg)
Do not know if the Koi had grown at all in a couple of years. I can tell you that the smallmouth I caught would have pulled the Koi all over the pond if they were tied to opposite ends of the same line!
That’s it. Not a lot of time on the water. Not a lot of fish. But, memories recalled, and new ones made. That is what it is really all about! That is what counts!
All fish shown in this blog post were released. They likely will be caught again!