Ok, so this fourth was a wet rainy day that required us to don our rain gear on numerous occasions. At times the rain came down so hard that we had to bail out the boat. Click the photos to see them full size and you will see how hard the rain was coming down while we were fishing.
Does pouring rain sound like a bad time to go fishing? Let me tell you that my brother, nephew and I thought the day was fantastic.
This time we went to Stumpfield Marsh in Henniker, NH. It started out fine, with no rain, even though it was cloudy. We got on the water and were catching fish immediately. We caught a few Pickerel, Bass, Crappie and of course the ever present Kibbie. There were a few other boats on the water, but when the downpours started, every one of them disappeared, leaving us three alone on the lake. Luckily the rain was not cold and the temperature of the day was in the eighties so we didn’t let a “little” rain spoil a great day of fishing.
During the morning, the rain was off an on, so we kept putting our rain gear on and taking it off, but rain or no, we continually caught fish.
Here is why I entitled this post with this title. Everyone knows that on the fourth of July there is fireworks with explosions. Well, we had explosions while fishing this day. The explosions of fish bursting through the surface of the water. I’ll explain. All around the shore of Stumpfield marsh is a weed line. An area ranging from just a few feet to as much as twenty feet from shore that is covered with weed and lily pads. Seeing the weeds, my brother decided to use a lure called a Moss Mouse.
A Moss Mouse is a surface bait that is specially designed to go where normal lures cant. It is a weedless bait that just loves weeds and lily pads. My brother would cast the mouse right up against shore and then begin a very slow retrieve. He would lift his rod tip just a few inches to make the mouse crawl across the weeds and then he would wiggle the rod tip back and fourth to make the mouse vibrate. The resulting explosion of a fish breaking through the weeds to try and get the mouse was a most exhilarating and pulse increasing sight you could hope for. Imagine watching the mouse crawling towards you when without warning there is a great splash as weeds are pushed aside.
We didn’t catch many fish on the Moss Mouse because your instinct when you see the fish bursting through the weeds after your bait is to set the hook . The problem, as with most top water baits is that if you set the hook too soon then you will miss the fish. You actually have to wait a second or two after you see the explosion before you set the hook just to make sure the fish actually grabbed the bait. The excitement of watching the fireworks of the fish suddenly appearing and then having to wait a second to set the hook goes against your instinct but with a little practice you will soon be landing some nice fish.
If you don’t have Moss Mouse in your tackle box then I urge you to go get one and when you come across some weeds to use it. As always, bring a camera and good company and you will be sure to have a great day of fishing.
remember my motto… “good company + good fishing = great memories”.
Tight Lines, the Amateur Angler
The Amateur Angler 
Interesting bait! Moss mouse
LikeLike