Off Road Angler

I love it when Gomer Pyle says suprise, suprise, suprise on his old TV shows. It reminds e how good and fun life in Christ can be.

You know I’ve shared how I’ve struggled to figure out and catch bass in the lake behind our house recently. It’s been really hit and miss since December. Well one day while trying a variety of bait a crappie was cxaught on a crankbait. Huh, I said to myself I did not even know there was any crappie here. I mean the lake is pretty good sized and I figured there were other fish like catfish, crappie, bluegill, etc. but just never heard anyone talking about catching them here.

well to make a long story short, I called my buddy Leonard who loves to catch AND eat crappie and he and a friend came over the nextr Friday afternoon. We went out in our back yard where there was a small cut where water flows into the lake and caught about 100 crappie in two hours with little jigs!

WHAT A SUPRISE!

You know God is full of good suprises too. Sometimes we are too focused on other things to see or find them but they are there if we’ll just slow down and rest in Him and the blessings He sends.

Well I’ve been in Florida now three years (two in Fort lauderdale and one in Orlando) and I have yet to figure out when the dang bass here spawn.

This is when the males come up shallow make beds and “whoo” the female bass to join them. It is a very key marker for where the fish are located, what type of lures need to be used and what type of techniques are best to catch them. There are pre-spawn patterns, spawn patterns and post spawn patterns. There are spring, summer, fall and winter patterns based upon when the fish mate too. Knowing all this is extremely intregal to catch bass.

The problem I’m having is figuring out what stage the fish are in currently. Usually in Texas they mate in April and May like clockwork as the water tempreture warns to 70-75 degrees. Here I’m told they start spawning as early as December down south and February here in Central Florida but with the crazy weather the past few years things are fluctuating and who knows.

Personally we’ve been fluctuating too. Joni and Friends closed the Florida area ministry office on 2/22 leaving leanne and I without jobs and even worse without clear direction on God’s plan for us. It’s kind of like not having that marker in the sand helping you know where you are in life spring, summer, fall or winter due to changes in the weather.

Fortunately God is with us and promises to both be there and guide us through our transition. He has a GOOD plan for us and so many GOOD promises to keep us going as we seek Him and what He has next for us.

You know the weather and fishing patterns will stabilize and get back to normal just as our lives will as we stay centered in Christ. So like with fishing you gotta just keep casting and in life keep following the Lord until the sun shines again.

Hey even in unsure times God can rain down some gem of blessings……..like this picture of a recent catch when I was not sure what I was doing.