Mr. and Mrs. Kraus Blog

By no means am I a good fisherman. I have been going fly fishing when I get the time, and I have a long way to go before I know what I’m doing. But I am having a blast! I go down to the lake in Fellowship Park next to my church before sunset because that seems to be the time when the fish start biting. When the bugs start swarming, the birds start making a unified squawking noise, and the sun starts to set, is when the fish start biting.

I have gone fishing twice in the past few days. Mrs. Kraus and I went out with Captain Jeff on Sunday evening. We caught lots of brim, and one small bass. The bass was a lot of fun to catch because it jumped about five times. Mrs. K was fishing with a standard rod and reel and she got a huge bite from a large bass. She shouted, “Oh my gosh!” as an impressive bass jumped out of the water and through the air. It was so big, and fought so hard that it ruined her reel! (Crappy Big Lots reel). Unfortunately, it got away.

I went out alone today after work. I caught 2 fish! One small bass, and one brim. The bass was great fun because, surprise surprise, it jumped. I don’t know why I love that so much, but I really do. It’s especially great with fly fishing because sometimes they jump out of the water to get the fly off the water’s surface. I was proud of myself today because I made some tough casts to get the fly in the right spot to catch those fish. It was crazy windy today, so it gave me a sense of accomplishment. Oh, I really shouldn’t brag though because no tree was safe. I definitely caught more trees and plants than I did fish today.

My evening ended right before dark when I had cast past some weeds and started to pop my fly every few seconds. After 2 pops, WHAM! A huge bass jumped out of the water and tore my fly right off the line. It wasn’t even on the line for a second. It just tore it right off. That initially ticked me off, but what followed was very thrilling. The bass continued to jump out of the water, three times! And it was HUGE. I wouldn’t say it was as large as Lorrie’s fish a couple weeks ago, but definitely impressive. I think it was ticked off because the hook was probably lodged in the side of it’s mouth. That’s the only reason I could figure it would keep jumping. Maybe next time it will let me catch it so I can snap a picture and take that hook out of it’s lip!

The wife and I are thinking about going out to the lake tomorrow after work to kick off Memorial Day Weekend. We will be making a trip to Bass Pro Shop soon too to get her a new reel. I also need to buy some more flies, because those trees I keep catching like to swallow them! At least the fish usually give them back.

Chad Kraus Captain Jeff, fishing, Florida, Mrs. Kraus

Recently I became interested in a new sport: fly fishing. I was reading a book by John Eldredge called “The Way of the Wild Heart” and he told a story about fly fishing. That’s all it took to peak my curiosity. I started reading about it online and eventually sent an email to a guy my age who had attended my bible study group a few months back, Captain Jeff, a professional fisherman. Jeff was excited about my interest in the sport and offered to teach me the basics. Last Saturday afternoon we met at a park with a good fishing lake. He taught me how to cast, and I must say it was very cool. It’s like cracking a whip back and forth and then trying to nail a target with it. I really enjoyed it and we even caught some fish.

One of the fish we caught was a large mouth bass. I really like how they fight and jump out of the water as you pull them in. My brother and I used to catch one every now and then out at the lake during the summer. I remember my cousin Andrew catching a pretty nice small mouth as well. We always fished with a typical rod, reel, hook and sinker. Our bait was the good old earth worms we hunted for with flash lights the night before.

Now with the fly rod, it had a very different feel. It almost felt more like hunting. Scan the lake for activity; a fish jumping or popping, a group of frantic minoes, or some movement by some weeds. Then you try to put your fly right in the perfect spot. Once you do that you pull a little line in and stop. Wait a second. Then pull some in and stop. I was amazed how natural it looked, like a water bug dancing on the top of the water. And then… WHAM! A large mouth bass hammers it, but misses. Whoa! That was great! And then, WHAM! Another one from the other side. This second fish isn’t so lucky, as it is hooked and caught. Of course Jeff released it back to the lake, but I kind of had to appreciate that.

After that experience, I thought about it a few days and decided to get myself a pole. Jeff offered to help me pick one out. So yesterday we went to the Bass Pro Shop and I got myself a nice Temple Fork combo: pole, reel and fly line. I am really excited to go back to the lake this weekend and see how it goes. Here’s hoping to the start of a new lifelong hobby, and perhaps the start of a new friendship. Hopefully I’ll have some pictures of fish to post on here soon.

Chad Kraus Captain Jeff, fishing