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A fish tale
Early July morning but still a crispness in the air. My brother, John, is in the bow running the trolling motor; I'm in the back of the
boat. Searching for bass, we move into this much overlooked cove.
It's typical scene, a sloping bank with fallen logs extending
perpendicular into the water. The turtles are on the log and
squirrels are playing tag on the bank. John points out this one
particular squirrel making its way down a tree, out onto a log lying
in the water. Its goal is a Black Walnut at the very end and almost
in the water. It seems to be moving quickly so as to reach the nut
before another squirrel sees it. As it reaches the nut, a disturbance from below the water level occurs. A huge Largemouth Bass breaks the calm lake surface, sucks in the squirrel then vanishes back into the depths.
John and I paused, waiting to see what would happen next. We
never did see that squirrel again. However, about 3 minutes later,
that same Bass surfaced. It placed the nut at the end of the log in
almost the exact position as it lay before. Looking at us it held a
fin to its lips and, with what almost looked like a wink,
uttered "ssshh."
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