The clouds hung low over Lake Wateree at daylight. An intermittent mist left water droplets on our gear. The rods were out, the boat easing along at a half mile per hour, and no other anglers were in sight. Then, the first rod went down.
The result after the first rod went down and our guide had to do extra duty as a photo model.
We were fishing this morning with Captain Jason Wolfe. Our group included four members of the South Carolina Outdoor Press Association. Besides me, Mike Watts, Terry Madewell, and Joey Frazier were aboard. We were there not just to fish, but also to take photos and collect content for stories. This one is mine.
Now, an interesting thing happens when you put a bunch of writers and photographers on a fishing boat. It’s something I learned watching one of the best. When a rod gets fishy, you will see people easing away or behind another angler so the closest one grabs the rod. The reason is that if you are the one reeling in the fish, that makes you the subject rather than the photographer. The one with the camera is the one getting the photo and making money.
When a bunch of media members jockey to avoid the rods and grab their cameras, the resulting photos can be entertaining, especially to the guide.
It becomes a joke on a trip like this and if everyone is avoiding the rods, no one gets to take photos and the fish get away. So, we eventually set up a rotation of sorts and took turns. Up until that happens, it leaves the guide in a quandary as to why we came aboard to avoid catching fish.
After we had been out for a while, catching stripers and the occasional perch, taking photos, and ribbing our subjects to make them smile for the camera, it was my turn on the rods. Rather than stand back, I stepped up to the task and stood ready. It was the first time I had noticed much about our rig.
The electric motor on the back of the boat splashed constantly.
At the back of the boat, Captain Wolfe had an electric motor tilted up on the surface splashing away as the prop slapped the water. I suppose it sounds like schooling fish on the surface, but I’ve never had the intelligence to think like a fish. I just figured it worked.
Mike and I had brought along fly rods in case we got into schooling stripers or at least a concentration thick enough to justify casting. Our rods were set up with sinking lines and large streamers, Clousers and bunny-fur creations that were about four inches long.
A happy sight on the sonar.
As we watched the graph and waited, Captain Wolfe noticed the fish had started to hang closer to the bottom. He commented that he liked seeing them nearer the surface as they seemed to be in feeding mode when that happened. That was when he turned on the thumper.
His thumper sounded like someone knocking on the bottom of the boat with a pool cue, something I have seen other guides do. I’ve watched them use wooden boat paddles and other contraptions, but this one was automatic.
Joey and I are fans of old movies and he looked at me commenting, “It sounds like we’re on the African Queen.”
Now, if you’re also an old-movie buff, you know the sound. It’s a rhythmic thump like a diesel engine idling. And this thumping was said to bring the stripers around for a closer look. It also lets you stare off with a stoic expression and pretend you’re Humphrey Bogart, just in case that helps.
Sure enough, the fish on the graph seemed to be heading our way. And another rod went down.
Maybe all that noise attracts the fish rather than scares them away.
This splashing of the electric motor and thumping from an automated device left me thinking about the fishing trips when I was growing up. I thought about all those day trips in my younger years when I would get fidgety, and nights on a calm lake when any sound echoed across the water. And Dad would look over at me and say, “Shhh. . . you’ll scare the fish.”
In response, I would instantly freeze in my seat and watch my rod, wondering if I had scared off one just about to bite. Maybe, just maybe, all those years ago I was attracting fish with my small feet thumping the bottom of our boat instead of scaring them away.
On a lake I fly fish, a dock sits on the lower end and people come there to feed the bluegill. The youngsters get excited and run around, jump up and down, and squeal with delight as they throw out bread and watch the bluegill eat it. When I go out on the dock, I can stand on one end, tap my toes on the boards, and bluegill will swim out ready for their free meal. The kids have trained them to associate footsteps with a handout.
So, as I listened to the splashing and thumping, doing my best Humphrey Bogart impression as I stared off the stern of the African Queen, a rod went down. So much for scaring the fish.
You can book trips with Captain Jason Wolfe for stripers or catfish on Lake Wateree at https://wolfesguideservicellc.com/
Jim Mize makes enough noise fishing to be his own thumper. You can purchase Jim’s new book, The Jon Boat Years, at https://uscpress.com/The-Jon-Boat-Years or buy autographed copies at www.acreektricklesthroughit.com.
