Got out early this morning in an effort to reset my body clock. Insomnia is a terrible thing.
Arrived at my local pond around 6:30 and rigged up a 3" curly tail grub on what was either a 1.5 or 2g jig head. The rod was a 5'6" St. Croix Triumph Ultra-Lite. The reel a Shimano Stradic CI4+ 1000 spooled with 6# Spider Wire Ultracast Invisi-Braid and a leader of 2# Trout S.O.S. copolymer.
On the second cast the grub gets hit on the fall about 50' off the point I was fishing. Though 6-8' down and out of sight, the heft of the fish was immediately apparent. I let it bend the rod and then smoothly apply a little extra pressure to set the hook. With 2# test, I find barbs to be counter productive, requiring too much force to penetrate enough to work, so it was crimped on this hook. Moments later a big largemouth comes to the surface and takes flight, sending waves across the otherwise dead still pond. The goal is to always keep some bend in the rod to prevent it from throwing the hook, only reel down after lifting and let the Stradic's smooth drag do its job. After a little while the bass tires and I'm glad I've got my net. I miss on the first swipe but the second time's a charm and the beautiful largemouth is secured. Didn't measure its length but weight came in at 3.51#.
Maybe insomnia isn't all bad.