Doubled Up!

When you are fishing with friends, family, or other company, if you are lucky, sometimes you get into some fish and there is a chance of a double. We refer to that when two of you get a fish on that near the same time. It doesn't seem to happen very often and I certainly haven't been around to see more than a couple of instances over the years, but it happened not once, but twice in the same morning for me and a couple of friends of mine while we were fishing in a small boat recently.

It certainly made for some entertainment trying to get two fish off at near the same time and get them both to cooperate for a quick pic. It is even better when you try to get both into a net.

I met up with Aaron and his work friend Tristan down at Pactola after telling them of the good trout bite that was still happening at the time. As we headed out to the spot, we could see dozens of trout swimming around on the glass surface and all kinds of surface activity. I was hopeful it was going to be a good morning, especially for Tristan who has been getting back into fishing recently.

Well we were not disappointed! It was a very good morning of being on the water, filled with dozens of fish caught as the trout were particularly active over a three hour stretch before they stopped wanting to chase lures and preferred to have it placed right in front of them. My St. Croix trout series rod got quite a workout over the morning, but it is by far my favorite rod for trout fishing now. And hearing the drag of my Piscifun Viper II reel time and time again was a sheer joy to hear!

After a bit, the bite slowed and Tristan had the idea to tie on an orange spinner, which I honestly did not think would work. Boy was I wrong! After his 5th straight fish, I asked to borrow one of his if he had another one.

Luckily, he did since I had nothing of that color in my box. And so, I proceeded to catch 4 in row myself on it and left it on for the rest of the morning. During the time we were orange colored lures, Aaron and Tristan both tied into one at nearly the same time. I could not reach Aaron's fish at the back of the boat with my Clam Fortis net, but I was able to help Tristan with his.

After they both got their fish free and handled, it made for a sweet picture for sure. And not long after that, both Tristan and I were treated to a double, but this time it was a bit trickier. After I got mine in the Fortis, I told him to keep his line tight and I would get my fish unhooked fast and net his too. Since the bass version of the Fortis is large, I did not think it would be a problem. After a quick hook release, I was able to get his fish netted as well and we had two fish in the net! It was some good timing and luck that we did it before either fish got off. These two instances where the highlight of the morning for me!

It was a fun morning of catching fish and hanging out in a boat with some friends. We could not complain after catching dozens of fish each, enjoying some laughs, and taking in the fresh chilly air. While the bite has largely subsided in the area, it will not be long before the ice comes and hopefully with it, an early bite frenzy! But until then, it was certainly a good time and some impressive catches we had including those elusive doubles.