After I ripped this fish out from Mill Pond in front of the working sawmill the gathering crowd was stupified. The village was full of early Americana on July 4th. I stopped on the bridge at Mill Pond that begins the sawmill sluice and from my messenger bag ready my lucky telescopic rod Texas rigged with a Swim Senko. First cast under the bridge and nothing. I retrieve quickly. Second cast under a tree and the driver of an approaching horse drawn wagon, loaded full of patrons, tells me to be careful with the fishing rod because the horses don't like sticks whipped in front of them, understandably, and everyone looks over at me as if no one has fished the village for the last 100 years, which probably isn't too far from the truth. Suddenly I feel a tapping and need to set the hook but cannot. When fishing the weightless Texas rig I believe in hard early hooksets to avoid gut hooking. Worrying about the horses, I allow the fish to take line. Once clear I rear back and set the hook. Fortunately the fish wasn't deep hooked and is released without harm after a quick picture taken by one of the tourists from Minnesota that came over to witness the spectacle.
