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The moment. It's the reason we flip on the game, whisk a sauce, line up a golf shot or go to the lake.
Whether we are rooting for a go-ahead score, cooking a delicious dinner, admiring a well-struck putt or experiencing the moment when a big fish takes our bait, we all have our own version of "the moment" when success is at hand.
On the lake, my moments this year have been amazing -- too numerous to count, but all special enough that when I put my mind to it, I can recall the thrill of discovery when many moments happened.
There was the recent day when I towed the Bass Cat to Chester, W.Va., to launch on my friendly ol' Ohio River. It had been several months since my previous visit and I was excited to check out the numerous spots where I had experienced fast action with smallmouth bass.
A few hours of relatively tough fishing passed quickly, and soon it was time to head back to the boat ramp. En route, I passed one of my can't miss hot spots, a place where I'd experienced many moments.
I throttled back and glided in toward the spot where a seawall bent in a 90-degree angle. It created a current seam where experience had taught me that smallies loved to lurk in ambush of bewildered shiners and shad. I maneuvered to get the right angle for a cast to place my small jig where it might wash down with the current.
After two attempts, I made the perfect pitch and "the moment" happened. The jig stopped drifting and changed direction ever so slightly. Experience and instinct directed my brain to tighten my grip on the rod and jerk the jig. The time lapse was perhaps one-half of a second, but the thrill of the moment -- the connection with a hard-fighting bass -- was the pay-off for four hours of effort.
Anglers know moments will come, but not without a cost. For us, the cost is many casts and hours of effort. Often, the moment is that much-sought sensation of a big fish slurping in our lure and the transmission of that sensation up the line, through the rod and our fingertips, and ultimately to our brain.
To some, me included, that moment is second only to the next moment when the hookset finds a solid hold on the fish we seek to catch.
Sometimes, the moment is a different kind of success.
This summer I discovered a well-spring on the bottom of one of my favorite local lakes. The sonar on my boat helped me locate a hole in the lake bottom that had a rim of rocks. As I passed over the hole, I saw the depth change dramatically and observed a thick cloud of baitfish suspended over the rim. I believe it is a spring, flooded long ago when the reservoir was impounded.
What made my discovery worthwhile, of course, is far more valuable than a geographical phenomenon. It turned out to be a favorite honey hole for largemouth bass and schools of slab crappies.
Those moments and so many more are the hallmarks of the season of 2026. Like the sports fan, home chef, hobby golfer and all of our other special interests, memorable moments bring us back to the action time and time again.
Jack Wollitz writes weekly for readers of the Trib and Vindy. Contact him at jackbbaass@gmail.com.