Pella 6/7:Bass at Last!

I went to Pella, as I often do to fly fish for itty bitty perch.  (I wanted to go to Dragonfly Pond, but my arthritic old legs won't carry me that far, so went to Webster). This time, I wanted to catch a bass.  I keep seeing them cruising by in front of me.  I had asked for advice on bass fly-fishing, and was well-equipped from the suggestions I had gotten (thanks, folks!)  I used a so-called "weedless worm," which wasn't; nothing.  A floating grasshopper; nada.  A feathered frog thingy; zilch.  A surface popper; nyet.  I said, "Heck with this, I'll go back to perch."  On impulse, I tied on a #10 red Pistol Pete, thinking it might attract bigger perch.  Even so, a couple of four-inchers managed to get their silly selves hooked.  Then, as I was reeling in, came a tug; I twitched the rod tip to set the hook, and pulled on in with little or no resistance, thinking, "Yet another four-incher."  Then we saw each other.
  I saw a long grey shadow in the water.  The fish saw me, and took off like a scalded cat.  Dragged twenty yards out before it stopped.  The next ten minutes were the most fun you can have with your clothes on.  Finally, I managed to land a big-mouth bass, 17 inches in length (I carry a measure; unfortunately, not a scale, but it felt like three or four pounds.)  Big, beautiful fish.  I laid it back in the water and thanked it for the fun.  Needless to say, I tried the Pistol Pete for another hour, with no more results.  But at last, I have caught my first Colorado bass!