Angler: Nicole
Species: Smallmouth Bass
Location: Muskoka, Ontario, Canada
Date: August 2025
Category Tag: First Fish in the System
The first morning was slow. The fishing wasn’t fast. The water was calm. There was no guarantee anything would happen. She had no idea she would catch anything at all. But when she saw what was there — when she saw what fishing could feel like — something changed. She knew he was heading out again early the next morning. College students don’t usually volunteer for early mornings. But she asked, “Can I come too?” The rod went off. She grabbed it. And when that first bass came up, her face said everything. It wasn’t a giant. It didn’t have to be. It was hers. The next morning she caught around twenty bass on her own. Not because she expected it. Not because she knew it would be fast. But because she had seen what was possible. Afterward, she said she could see why he loved fishing so much. She said she was hooked for life. And when the fish was released, you could see she meant it.
The Fish Gods were good to the angler that day.