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New species of Bass?
I finished building a new rod just recently before the big warmup and just had to take a few casts, but couldn't find any open water. So I drove to a river inlet at a local lake that usually is free of ice, even in the coldest weather but even it was covered with a nice skim 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 was pleased with the distance it cast the bait.
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 it 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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