The 4 Rules of Secret Fishing Holes

When Bill Harris set out to take his kid fishing he went to the local sporting good store to purchase a license for himself. While he was there chatting with the clerk, he was told that there were no fish in the pond he was planning to go, but the clerk was more than happy to share his secret fishing hole with Bill.

“I know of a fishing hole where there are a lot of fish,” he said. “I caught ten bass in an hour with live minnows last week, and I caught a catfish that was so big I couldn’t get it out of the water.”

However, Bill wasn’t fooled by this fishermen trickery because he knows the rules of the secret fishing hole.

Rule #1: You can’t get there from here.
“It’s at that old YMCA camp on 183,” he said. “People think it’s closed because of the construction, but what you have to do is go past it north on 183, then turn around and come back south. Then you drive across the construction and there’s a road off to the side that winds around the lake.”

Rule #2: The fish require a special bait or lure.
“I wouldn’t buy those worms,” he said. “I used live minnows. You’ll just need a minnow bucket and a pump.”

Rule #3: It’s dangerous.
“There’s a railing off to the side of the back road, and that’s where you want to fish,” he said.

“Good spot?” I asked.

“Can’t fall in that way,” he say. “It’s pretty snakey this time of year.”

Rule #4: There’s an urban legend in residence.
“I fought that catfish for ten minutes,” he said, “and I got him up to the railing, but I couldn’t lift him over–it would have snapped my rod in two. I’d like to go back there with bigger tackle and take another crack at him. He was twenty pounds, easy.”

I think that describes the secret fishing hole perfectly: you can’t get to them, you can’t use the bait you already have, and you might die, but there’s been a verified sighting of the largest fish in the history of the world. And I’d like to hook a twenty-pound fish, because we have spincast reels and they would spontaneously combust. Eli 4.2 would feel like Captain Ahab.

Knowing these rules Bill set out to go fishing the next day, rod and worms in hand, he headed to the pond he originally intended on fishing. Unfortunatly, the clerk was right about one thing. There were no fish.

For a good list of things you’ll need to have and know before you take the kids freshwater fishing check out Fishing Basics at Fishresource.com.