Granddaughter catches mystery fish

When Molly (left) and Kennedy visit, they are always ready to fish. On a recent outing,
Molly caught a fish that looked much like a rock bass.

        When my granddaughters visit, they always want to fish.

I’m fortunate. I have four granddaughters and all like to fish. The good thing is they don’t care about the size, and I’m fortunate to live on a small lake where the bluegill usually cooperate and provide fun for the girls.

During a recent visit by Molly and Kennedy, both caught fish. However, Molly landed a mystery fish.

She was fishing with a worm on a hook under a small bobber. Apparently a bluegill bit the worm and was hooked. however it managed to get off the hook as she wound in the line.

Just as she was ready to lift the line from the water, a fish hit the remaining worm on the line just about three or four feet from shore. She landed the fish. But what was it./

Molly’s catch appeared to be a rock bass. (Unfortunately, I didn’t have a camera handy and didn’t take a picture...bad grandpa.)

We live on a small man-made lake. It probably is about three acres or so, and has produced lots of bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass and catfish.

Over the years, I’ve caught a number of rock bass in creeks and rivers, but never in a pond or small lake.

Rock bass are also known as goggle-eye, red eyes, and rock perch. They actually are members of the perch family. They usually are found in relatively clear, clean and rocky streams.

Indiana’s record rock bass weighed three pounds and was caught back in 1969 by David Thomas in Sugar Creek in Hancock County.

Molly’s fish was more elongated than a bluegill, and looked much like a small rock bass. However, I didn’t notice the red eyes normally found on rock bass.

I would be interested in receiving an email from any reader who has caught bass bass in a small lake or pond. The email is: outdoorscribe@yahoo.com