The first Sunday in February marked a new beginning for the Harpers. We hadn’t been to church since pretty much the beginning of duck season, which was wayyy too long. Our church family welcomed us with open arms and loved hearing stories about our travels over the past year. However, they were happier to hear we were home… for good this time.
After church, we went to Grant’s Nana’s house for a calorie rich meal that was guaranteed to induce a food coma. I made sure to not over-indulge because we had special plans afterwards… we were going bass fishing with Grant’s dad, Paul. The bass boat was already prepped and sitting in the front yard hooked up to Paul’s truck so we could make a quick exit after eating.
Shortly after noon, Grant, Paul and I were headed off toward the lake. Grant and I were beyond ready to be back out on the water whether or not we caught fish. It had been almost two years since we last went bass fishing and that’s just not acceptable. At the launch ramp, Paul quickly gathered his rods and lifejackets while Grant prepared the boat. I snapped a few pictures because I love to document these moments and always the chance to play with my new camera. (Canon 5D Mark IV)
Paul is probably one of the most organized people I know and he is serious about his bass fishing and hunting. Knowing these qualities, we got him a DiamondBack cover last year and he LOVES It. Best kids ever, am I right?
Grant backed the boat in with ease and we were off! Paul fishes BFL tournaments and has a couple honey holes to take us. After a quick (terrifying) ride across the lake going 70mph we had arrived. It took me a couple casts to get back into the groove of throwing a bait caster, but don’t worry, I still got it! With only a few birds nests lol
Paul, of course, lands the first fish in the boat, but I am not far behind! Man, I didn’t realize how much I had missed that feeling. Paul and I caught a couple more fish bouncing our crank baits off the jagged rocks along the shores edge.
We started giving Grant a hard time because he was in the back of the boat not having any luck. Well, we spoke too soon, because he showed us both up by landing a stud 4 pounder!
I really appreciate how Paul likes to take these opportunities to teach me a thing or two about bass. With each fish we caught he showed me a few of the identifiers. 1) Jaw to eyeball ratio. 2) Dorsal fin depth. 3) Patch on tongue. Here is a diagram that breaks the differences down between largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, which we call Kentucky’s.
Anytime you can learn something outdoors, it’s a success. We fished until sunset and then made our way back to the ramp. We were absolutely thrilled to have caught about 10 bass altogether. We had to hurry home because my family was getting together to watch Super Bow LIV!
That’s what I call a perfect Sunday full of faith, food, family, football and BASS!
Homegrown Harper 