Preface - Imagine a small farm pond near the village of Milford Mills in Chester County, Pennsylvania around 1973. This is just prior to the valley being flooded to form what is now Marsh Creek State Park There were a few farms in the direct path of the planned waters. These farms had small ponds that were inundated as well. A Largemouth Bass is hatched in one of those ponds. As it's environment changes, the fish's life is depicted here. So with the stage being set I now become the fish! ...
Life was pretty calm in our secluded one acre pond located just down back of the barn. Most of the time I stayed in the shallow water around the weeds and overhanging bushes. I had plenty of small bugs to eat that first summer and reached about 3 inches in length. Instinct told me to beware of the larger fish, frogs and snakes that would occasionally visit the hiding places I was familiar with.
I was puzzled by a sharp drop in the water temperature one day but soon adjusted to it. My need and desire to eat was not as great and I stayed in one place much longer now. The daylight seemed to shorten as well and the shallows became much colder. The other creatures had also disappeared and I realized that something had changed. I retreated to deeper water to think about it. The temperature in the depths was a little warmer and I found an old log to hide in. When hunger arose I was able to find small aquatic insects to hold me over.
The thick ice cover made it dark for what seemed like three months and I could also feel the need for a better supply of oxygen. Not long after that I noticed that the light was beginning to return and the water had been re-oxygenated. As the ice cover deteriorated something told me it was now warmer in the shallows. I slowly moved away from the security of the log and investigated.
To my surprise, my mom was back near where I was born. I watched her alot but always from a distance and in hiding. I learned many things this way.
The shallows were still my main stomping grounds but one day I was able to travel much further than ever before. It was like I was in a larger pond! By the middle of summer the old nest site and other familiar objects were in much deeper water and I was unable to swim around the whole pond in one day. There was sure a lot to eat now and that is what I did. I ate everything in site!
In just two years the little pond that I once knew was now so large that I was familiar with only a small portion of it. I was larger and stronger now and investigated my expanding environment on a daily basis. Although there were many different places to go I soon established my own territory which was to be my main place for the rest of time.
My first contact with life outside of the water came one day when I was waiting in ambush for a school of minnows that I knew were moving around near a weed bed. Although usually in numbers this one came by alone and almost what seemed to be, out of nowhere. I darted in for the kill from behind my clump of weeds.
In less that a second I know that something was wrong. I was unable to return to my hiding place and the minnow seemed to be pulling me around. I fought hard but was soon lifted up and out of the water in some sort of bag. Strange beings touched me. The minnow was taken from my mouth as I began to lose all sense of life. I felt the vibrations of a new sound that were something like this. "Sorry Son, that one is not in season and will have to be returned to the water. Ok Dad, but it sure is a nice one. Maybe we will catch him again in season."
I blindly headed downward, shocked and confused. I sat motionless for an hour. Time stopped around me and I knew not to move for awhile. I was startled by movement to my left side. It was just a passing perch and it kinda brought me out of my trance. I began to recognize my surroundings and moved to a more familiar site. In time I had put together the puzzle which led to my near death. A large floating object had drifted over me just before the minnow came. I had ended up in that floating object! How I got away is not clear but I knew it was nothing I did because I had run out of energy. I would now, at all costs, avoid that situation again.
The next couple of years proved to be a total learning experience for me. The spring and summer days almost always brought large numbers of those floating objects along with an array of single rubber and metal objects which resembled, to some degree, the shapes of things that I normally eat. I was smarter than most other fish and never looked twice. I became a nocturnal hunter and stayed deep during the daylight hours.
Winter was a time of rest but occasionally I did search out food. The winter of my 7th year was when I learned a valuable lesson which taught me to become even more selective in my meals. I had heard or felt the sounds before but never directly overhead as I did then. They were much like thunder or rocks banging together.
I'm getting larger now and really like my home. Sometimes I swim for quite a distance and see other fish my size but rarely a larger one. I feel like a king. Small sunfish are easy to catch and other prey are no match as well. I never have to hide from frogs, snakes or other fish. Even the couple of big muskies that prowl this area know I'm more that a mouthful and they leave me alone. Once in awhile I cruise up in the shallows and can see other life forms on the banks above the water line. If they see me they get pretty excited and jump around. I then retreat to deeper waters and away from them.
My main home is a perfect spot. Average depth of fifteen feet and many trees that appeared from nowhere a few years ago almost overnight. I have lots of hiding places that I use as ambush points and there is deeper water close by for periods of rest. I'm one of the largest bass around and I do feel like I own this "bar" ...
(Coming out of caricature here for a moment to add that in November of 1982 myself and some friends secured permission and proceeded to drop and sink many cedar trees in Marsh Creek Lake. Some anglers know of the area referred to as "the bar" in this story and it was one of our main target areas for the trees. Rick had recently purchased a Lowrance 1510C paper graph depth finder and we surveyed our handy work like this)
It's getting cold again, I will be 12 years old this spring so I guess it is time to rest.
Well this winter is almost half over. I think I will go up on the flat to get a bite since I'm kinda hungry. Meandering slowly around I hear the humans pounding on the ice again. I know to be careful. I think I will sit here for a bit and see whet develops.
(While the big bass rests a conversation is taking place nearby) "The ice looks safe Dennis, lets try to get out on the "bar". The fishing has been so slow in the coves and I think the fish may be out there. I can only stay till 10 am so I'm just going to jig, no tip-ups today". "Wow, the ice sure is slick today and really clear too. Ok, Rick, we are just about where we dropped the trees two years ago. I'll drill some holes here and try it." ok, back to the fish again ....
This looks like a good place to sit in ambush till something comes along. All I have to do is not eat anything that doesn't come in bunches. Those ice fisherman are not to close anyway so maybe I'll get lucky and get a quick meal and get out of here. I just know this is my lucky day. Last week I saw a school of small sunnies up here and if they come by now it will be a fast feast.
Sitting motionless now I detect movement in front of me. Be still now, wait till they get right in front of you... I don't want to expand much energy right now. Wow, look at 'em all, there must be fifty of them! They are only 5 feet away now. I never saw so many in one easy bunch. This is going to be a feast.
I attack now and inhale three or four right away. They scatter but school up again and make a run for it. It will be worth chasing them so I smash into them again. Two more go down my gullet. Now they scatter, breaking off into smaller groups. The chase is on! I pursue a group of ten. Approaching them I gain speed and come in from an angle, I miss! Again I lunge at them and injure one as another fills my mouth. I now catch the flash of the injured one out of the corner of my eye. Like lighting I swirl and engulf him. What have I done!!!! I exhale hard but feel the hook grab my lip.
The chase has led me far away from my ambush point. I must fight now. I'm strong, I'm King, I will not be taken! I see the hole above me and the red suit my enemy is wearing. He is no match for me! I dive hard and gain on him, the hook slips a little and I feel I will win my freedom in a second. Maybe if I go up a little and run again that will do it. I let him bring me up a little and hear the voices again... "It's a big Bass! Don't touch the line Dennis, just get the gaff ready"
The hole is getting close now...Dive! The restraint is stronger now, I can't get down. I make a circle. There is much activity above me. Much too close for comfort. I'm dragged toward the hole. I know if I come out now I'm done and won't be returned as before! My fight is diminished, I shake my head in a last effort to free the hook which is barely hanging on. If I just wasn't so tired I could do it easily. I'm right under the nole now and I feel a large hook enter my gill opening. I'm out! I've been had. It is over! The silver Swedish pimple is removed easily and I'm being held up as the cold finishes my life.
"Nice one Rick! ... Must be about 6 or 7 pounds"
Time: about 9:30 am
Date: 27 January 1985
Place Marsh Creek State Park
Fish: Largemouth Bass
Weight: 7 lbs 10 3/4 oz
Congratulations Rick !
Note: The trees have long ago deteriorated and you will not see any trace of them if you are using sonar in that area.
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