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

Snipe hunt no joke

        Back in the day, when kids played outdoors as darkness fell, it always was special when a new kid arrived to play in the evening. It was snipe hunt time.

The newbie was told before he or she could enter into evening games, they had to help us with a snipe hunt. It was their assignment to catch the snipe.

The youngster usually was given a burlap bag and a flashlight to assist with their duties.

According to Tom Cadden, public information officer, Arizona Game and Fish Department, the ritual goes like this: The unsuspecting newbie is told about a unique bird called a snipe and is given some ridiculous method of catching it, such as running around the woods with a bag while making strange noises or banging sticks. 

In our neighborhood, the kid was then told to hold the bag and the snipes would come to the bag for capture. In the meantime, we went on about playing our games while the bag holder waited.

The practical joke leaves the recipient red-faced and the rest of the kids had a good laugh.

Today, probably few people have heard of or played snipe hunt. However, many folks, including some hunters, might be surprised to know that snipe not only exist, but offer some enjoyable, sporty hunting opportunities.

“Snipe are one of the most overlooked game birds,” says Randy Babb, information and education program manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Mesa region. 

“They flush similar to quail, and their zig-zag flight patterns make for a challenging target.

Snipe prefer marshy habitats along rivers and lakes and will also use flooded agricultural areas. Birds can often be spotted by the hunter prior to entering an area by glassing the water’s edge with binoculars.

Babb advises hunters to check snipe habitat often, as the birds tend to suddenly appear and disappear in the feeding areas.

“Snipe offer a great ‘extra’ for duck hunters,” says Babb. “After a morning duck hunt, hunters should walk the nearby marshy areas or other flooded vegetation. If you prefer to jump-shoot ducks, snipe are common visitors to stock tanks.”

The Indiana season dates for common snipe this year are Sept. 1 to Dec. 16. The daily bag limit is eight.

Kentucky’s snipe season is Sept. 21 to Oct. 30,and then Nov. 24 through Jan. 29.