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I finished building a new rod yesterday and just had to take a few casts, but couldn't find any open water. I was at an inlet at a local lake that usually is free of ice, even in the coldest weather but it was covered with about a half inch of ice. Since the rod was for spinnerbaits, I figured what the hell and tied on a double willow leaf and gave it a nice long cast. Couldn't really get the feel for the rod with the spinnerbait sliding along the ice, but found out it cast nice.
About the third or fourth cast I almost dropped the rod, when the ice exploded under my bait, throwing it about 6 inches into the air. I reeled in the bait and scratched my head and passed it off as a natural spring suddenly releasing a large amount of gas that burst through the thin ice. I cast again and as I was bringing the bait across the ice, the ice started to buckle about 10 yards from my bait. Suddenly there is a ribbon of buckling ice rushing towards my bait and then my bait disappeared in a violent eruption of ice and freezing water.
Instinctively I set the hook and this icebreaker of a bass turned what was previously a frozen pocket of skim ice, into a winter wonderland of flying ice shards. The battle was his and I just hung on in total amazement, wondering when my line would be parted by the sharp edges of the ice. The answer came quickly and with a jump like no others I've seen before; the massive bass re-entered the lake the same way it came out and my line came flying back into my face.
I stood there shivering, not from the frigid air, but from the adrenaline pumping through my body. It must be some sort of genetic mutation I said to myself as I walked back to my car. There couldn't be any other explanation, unless it's some new species of Bass yet to be discovered?
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