Playing guide for my Dad

My dad flew in August 28 - September 5 from North-Central Arkansas to spend a week with us here. He is a guide on the White River back there, and when we go visit, we always do a lot of trout fishing. So I have wanted him to be able to go fishing with me out here for some time now. Well, he finally got the chance during this trip.

Newton is extremely low right now. But fortunately, I am still able to launch my little Coleman Crawdad without issue. It is light enough to slide around when needed. We hit Newton Wednesday, Friday, and Monday mornings, with Friday being the best.

Wednesday was still good even though we got out there about 10:30. We managed to catch our fair share of bass, as well as a few perch. We saw about 6 muskie or so swimming around on the top of the water with their heads out too. My dad had never seen tiger muskie before, so he said just seeing that was a treat.

Friday was great. We got on the water around 7:15 am or so. Not long after we were out, my dad had a hook up, and I could tell it was a nice fish. Before too long, he pulled this 17-inch, 3 lb largemouth out.

A few minutes later, we really got into the bass, with the average size being about 12-14 inches. We caught about 5 or 6 that were pushing 15 inches too. Best day for bass I have had at Newton.

Right when we started getting into more bass, my dad set the hook, and I asked him if it was a decent one. He told me it felt like it, but I could tell from his rod that it was a very decent fish. I told him he has a muskie, and he replied, "Really?" About right when he said that, it shot right up out of the water. Sure enough - muskie on! He got it to the boat, and I got it in the net. His biggest fish of his life. I was so happy for him. I didn't care if I didn't catch anything the rest of the day. I just wanted him to be able to land a tiger, and he did at 40 inches and barely over 13 pounds. It was healthier looking than some others I have seen this year, but still not as fat as you would think a 40-incher would be.

Still, it was a beautiful fish.

Not long after that, some guys fishing on shore near the southeast corner landed a muskie. They obviously didn't know what they were doing, nor did they want to get any mud on their precious shoes. They drug the muskie up the bank, only to have it flop back in the water. Then they drug it up again, then finally unhooked it. They then proceeded to walk up the bank about 30 yards, carrying the fish vertically, to a flatter spot. They started sinking in the mud and quickly ran back up the hill. They walked back to their original spot, still carrying the fish vertically, and threw it down the bank back into the water. The fish flopped all the way down the bank into the water. It splashed a few times in the water then was off - or so I thought. When we came back Monday morning, there was a dead muskie in that exact spot. Lesson learned - next time I see anything like that, I will go over and check on the fish and try to help it revive itself enough to swim off.

But overall, Friday was great. We brought home plenty for dinner. 11 1/2 pound of delicious bass.

Monday was a lot slower. I did hook a muskie and got it to the boat - probably about 34 inches or so - but in moving around and getting the net ready, I lost him. It looked like a pretty healthy one too, which was good to see. We caught more bass and overall it was a great day. But it was just good to get out with my dad for a few days and fish.