With football season already sputtering, we could all use a break from our lamentations. I will kick it off with my report from Sunday-Monday. Please post your reports, ask questions, or chirps regarding fishing (saltwater or freshwater) here through December.
With the bad taste from the game in my mouth and a 22 MPH NE wind predicted in Nags Head for Monday, I decided to try my hand at breaking my cold streak on big red drum. It kicked off yesterday. New bait regulations do not allow harvest of mullet for the tackle shops on the weekends in North Carolina, so I got up early Sunday and headed to Buckroe Pier in Hampton to catch spot. I fished from 7AM-noon and caught 20 large yellow belly spot, averaging 7-9 inches long. While that may sound good, I was defintely the amateur hour on the pier. I was using bloodworm fishbites, which are normally fine, but people using bloodworms, nightcrawlers, or lugworms were outcatching me sometimg 5 to 1. Very crowded, so note that it is quite the high intensity environment even though it is fishing for spot.
I wrapped at noon and headed south to my hotel in Nags Head. Even though the blow had started, it was more of a north wind than north east, so I completed the film review and went to bed early.
Monday morning, I arrived at Jennettes Pier at 6:00AM EDT. One other person, noted Florida bonefish guide Pat Bracher, was set up. Winds were NE at 22-25 knots and the start of incoming tide. My heart sunk a little bit not seeing a crowd. But, Pat hooked up with a fish almost immediately (on a mullet chunk.) I threw in, but didn't get a hit for the first hour and a half. Meanwhile, the other early arrivers (3-4 more folks) all had two fish on the deck by the time I got my first pick up. I switched to spot chunks instead of heads, as all the bites came on mullet chunks and that was as close as I could get to their baits. I also couldn't cast as far (I have been dealing with debilitating back spasms and, despite a brace, the soreness made casting difficult.) On the first chunk bait, I got a slack bite that I didn't pull tight on. The bait came back mashed up, which mean skate or a drum. Second cast I got another slack bite. Same thing. Third cast, boom... I got an smaller yearling/over lot drum. Now we were cooking with grease.
Next cast, also with a chunk, I got a 40 incher. Next cast I used a head that I had cut when I cut the chunk. I got the biggest drum of my life. Keep in mind, we are in a full on blitz at this point with 2-3 fish hooked up at a time, and about 10 anglers fishing. On my Century, which is easier to cast but doesn't have the backbone of the CTS rods most of the anglers use, it was really tough to get this one in, and once I landed it, my back was screaming. I needed help from a good samaratin tourist to lift the fish up for the photo. I didn't get a measurement, but if it was a pound under 50, I will kiss your hiney.
I then took a break of about 30 minutes until the burning in my right ribcage eased up. I lob casted another head, put the rod down, and walked back to get out of the way of another caster. By the time I got to the green line, my rod clicker was going off again. This time I got a measurement (44 inches) and my back was done. I put my rod in the cart holder and just watched the chaos for another hour, but this time the spasms didn't chill out. I walked off the pier at lunchtime, with three citation drum and four fish on 12 casts, and I was back in Richmond by dinner time. All the fish were on incoming tide, using fresh spot head or chunks. 20lb Gardner Surecast line with a 50lb ande shock leader and a 60lb 2 inch bite leader on a fishfinder rig. It took 10 oz pyramids to hold.
For pictures: https://x.com/french60wasp/status/1965183202328490241
The big one was the one where the gentleman is letting go of the tail after he helped me pick it up.
Comments
So how did you cook it?
Red Drum has a slot limit of 18-27" in NC so you have to release the drums French caught.
What a bummer!
I've discovered that I don't really care for fishing but I enjoy cooking things that other people catch.
While the drum were released... the spots I was catching at Buckroe are good to eat. Sadly, I am not a good cook so I used them as bait, but I bet others will share the best way to cook them. I am assuming folks butterfly and then fry them. Too small to filet. But, I may be wrong.
The only way I have seen Spot prepared is breaded and panfried whole. Never had it personally but have been told it is quite tasty.
And congrats...those are some monster Reds!
Yes, pan-fried spot is tasty, especially breaded in cornmeal or something else with a little texture to it. I suppose you could so something with it on a wood plank too, but I've never tried it myself.
When I was young, most fishermen didn't filet many fish in our mostly freshwater fishing. The spot and croaker and roundhead we caught, we gutted, scaled and cut off the heads and fried them whole. I remember when I worked at the pickle plant in Norfolk (we made Fannings bread and butter pickles and I'll never eat another one nor can I stand the smell of a fresh cut cucumber, but I do digress) and a popular lunch item there when the spot were running was a whole fried spot between two pieces of white bread. Yep, no lie. It was a cultural phenomenon, and one I had no intention of trying.
Nowadays, at least in the last 50+ years, I filet everything I'm not smoking. If the filet is going to be bigger than a potato chip, I'm fileting it or throwing it back. Of course, I'm still gonna fry the fish, but bones aren't welcome here at the fish house. Now bigger fish with bigger filets do offer much more option in the baking and broiling realm, but for small panfish you don't want to filet, either leave the bones and eat the fins and tail like we used to after rolling in cornmeal and frying in bacon grease or Crisco, or use some common sense crispy recipe. Spot and croaker, like perch and sunfish, are delicious table fare however you choose to partake. Then...there's walleye.
Big reds, especially at citation size, aren't considered good to eat. Personally, I won't keep them over 22" to eat, and even then will soak them in buttermilk overnight before cooking. I do like them a lot, but this year haven't caught one bigger than 16", and only two of them.
Either way, citation fish are the ones you want in the system for breeding purposes, so releasing them is strongly encouraged by almost all concerned anyway.
Definitely not a bummer, if you could keep them, there would be none left. The "old drum" are just that, old and can live to be as old as humans. A fifty pound fish is 40-50 years old. They should be cherished and luckily have the protections, except in Louisiana and Virginia for the asshole menhaden fishermen, but I digress. They don't taste good at a large size, either.
Damn! Sweet work!
Very Nice!
Nice work!!! Those are some hogs!
Seems like you had limited success early on and then made the right adjustments for success after halftime. And you really left it all on the pier. Refreshing to see.
Sadly, wore the back out and didn't get to play in the next round (there was another good bite this morning.)
Well done French, I actually prefer fresh menhaden to mullet. But seems like most folks prefer mullet.
For the piers, normally mullet chunks or menhaden chunks get picked pretty badly by crabs and blues. It wasn't an issue yesterday, but most days a menhaden chunk won't last long enough to let the drum find them.
Yesterday, if it was fresh, a drum ate it. There were only two sharks hooked and a handful of bite offs. One that was broken off close to the pier was a spinner, and the other was a blacktip. One taylor blue got his big boy pants on and ate a 8/0 as well. Luckily, I was not befallen with such bad fortune.
Chunk fishing instead of using heads can be crazy. A few years ago there were massive sea mullet that ate chunks fished on 8/0 circles. It was crazy.
Got out for some smallmouth wading this weekend. Caught a 19.5" as the biggest and another around 18". Probably around 10-12 smallies in 3 hours. Slower bite sunday and a lot smaller fish.
Love it. Pretty work. I never figured out the smallies. Is fall when the grampas bite happens, or is that a summer thing? I can remember catching them in the summer and using them as bait, but never getting the drift right.
Smallmouth are the shit.
March on the James and New tossing big plugs and streamer flies, as well as jigs. This is when many of the big mamas are caught.
April and May on the upper New throwing streamers and poppers to imitate shad coming upriver out of Claytor. Smitty has that dialed in.
Late summer and fall on most rivers tossing big poppers (fly), dead drifting them, to look like dead cicadas falling out of trees. Fly game, in my opinion, is best for that. The big fish slurp them down.
The poppers
I've also been told by several guys to fish chatterbaits for them on the James in February on warm days. My neighbor does this and has been very successful.
I'm slowly figuring it out. Need to get more confident in power fishing. Only have confidence in Ned Rig and Ifish worm rig. Ned rig you can pick and pop the slower water around the riffles. You can let it drift and bounce around the bottom. I think pre-spawn and post spawn can pretty good in spring.
The biggest smallmouth I ever caught was on a jig 'n pig. The biggest in my boat during my time guiding was on a Mizmo Teaser Tube with a custom jig head, Also the second biggest, third and so on for the last several springs. A few on Lucky Craft Pointers, a couple on spinnerbaits, but the most on those little tubes. Several muskies as well. We primarily fished them in high, stained but clearing water, fishing exclusively in eddies where most of the fish had retreated to avoid fighting the current.
That little tube in the spring, and those dead drifted bugs in cicada dying time were my picks for big smallies on the New. The tube thing came from Ken Penrod in PA via mutual clients, heads from Johnny Cunningham in Duncannon PA. He runs the campground at the confluence of the Juniata with the Susky.
The bugs I made myself. Not imitative, per se, but evocative of a dead cicada. The dead drift was the key, and some of the fish that come out of nowhere and no water can blow your mind.
My one legged trailer should soon be out of my driveway. A local do it all guy says he has figured a way to get the trailer to run to the ramp 2 miles away to launch my boat. Welding and jury rigging will be involved. I bought my neighbor's old trailer after he got a new one, so I'll load it on that, the guy will take the old trailer away, and maybe I can get back on the local waters to catch nothing like everybody else this year around here.
I was surprised when I saw his trailer sans boat. I knew he'd gotten a new axle last year, with nice new wheels and a feature I'd never seen. Some kind of tortion thingee on the wheels instead of springs. Springs around here rust in a month, regardless of how much you rinse them. Seems like a sensible idea.
...can any of these drums, block?
(Just askin' for a friend...)
👏,
b.street
LOL. They sure as hell pull hard for a solid 10 minutes, I'm sure they could be useful on the gridiron.
Not sure about blocking, but damn, you don't stop their first run easily. They'd make a hell of a fullback, but one hell of a running back, for sure.
i dunno; can a torpedo block?
I dunno, but we do have French to ask and I'm sure he could break it down for us.
They can hurt an already damaged back
they probably have to keep their fins moving on contact
golf clap-------->b.street
Any suggestions for Bass fishing spots in RVA? Just started getting in to it with the wife and kids about a month ago. We've mostly been hitting U of R. Tried a few other spots ( Tuckahoe Creek Park and Pocahontas State Park) but didn't like them as much.
I wish I knew some, but when it comes up, boat fishing at Chickahominy, Lake Anna, Briery Creek, or Gaston/Buggs Island come up. The ponds around the city, as best as I can tell, are dead water. I have never even seen a fish come out of the nearest park to me (Three Lakes)
Got out this morning and hit the rivers of the Mobjack Bay just to say I'd been fishing. Caught a ride with my neighbor Paul. After a bunch of trips with no fish, or one fish, things were slightly better this morning. Beautiful morning, gorgeous sunrise, nobody at all on the water but us. Bait everywhere, herons and egrets were plentiful as well. Water temp was 74, definitely better than the 90 of the last month or so. Our usual spots were overrun with small bluefish and I couldn't keep a fluke on long for those pesky toothy bastards, and I managed to hook a couple and lost 8 flukes on the morning to them. We caught several young of the year speckled trout, that hasn't been happening for him, and he fishes a lot. I did manage a 15" speck and a big lizard fish. Paul also caught a small lizard, but topped the day off with a 23" red on a Baby Bass Super Fluke on a jig head. He fishes at least 3 and usually 4 days every week and it's the first red he's caught since May. More action than he'd had on one day in months, and a good morning for me to go with him. Other than the red, it would be considered a pretty poor day's fishing any other year I've been here, but this year, it was pretty good, I guess.
Most any day fishing is better than a day in the office.
I generally agree, but when I was guiding, stroking two 10' oars against the current of the New, I had a bit less of an appreciation for the sentiment. Granted though, my office was better than most. But my boss was still an asshole.
Had a day with a straight upstream wind, didn't matter which way the river turned the wind just turned with it. I put in at Peppers Ferry did my normal push out off the bank and get the raft organized, normal saftey/fishing brief next thing I knew I was going up the rapid above the landing. I had to row every minute of that trip and double time once we got to the slow water above White Thorn. Its one of the shortest distance floats I did and took me nearly all day to get there.
Oh how I've felt your pain. That stretch was a long day for me, with a fair amount of dead water, but if the wind turns against you, you need a motor. I got caught that way once in a canoe. I had a little Tanaka motor, but didn't take extra gas. We ran out there that last bend above White Thorn and it took us an hour an a half to paddle out from there. Even the stout and strong as a bull Chuck Kraft couldn't battle the headwind in his Maravia raft one day. He'd have to pull into shore and rest up. The one time we took the time to switch, we lost 50 yards. Brutal. I also had my troubles, but the arsenal float was always my least favorite run on the New. Yeah, some nice fish there, and once you're through the arsenal falls you don't have to fish around others until you get to the last couple of miles the White Thorn bass boats hammer constantly. Met Sergio Render there at the take out one day, by the way. Big fisherman.
Promise this is the last of this from me. Today, got my boat off my one legged trailer and onto my new old trailer. New trailer has no springs, so that's cool. The guy who got my trailer rigged to get to the boat ramp is a mechanical wizard. He took the wheel home and welded a steel piece to the spindle, then here he cut off the axle, sleeved it with steel, then sleeved that steel with another insert to create a stable running axle for the two mile trip to the ramp. Really cool watching a true mechanic suss it all out, and in the end, I got the last trailer I'll need and the boat off a bad trailer for $700.
All the troubles in the world with a trailer, but still haven't had a bearing go bad. Like I've said before, now I can get out on the water again and not catch anything like everybody else this year.
Sharing a second report as I continue to be on the shelf with back spasms
1) OBX Fall Pier Tournament was hosted by Oceans East this weekend. 100 anglers, but not ideal drum conditions. One fish was caught by Stefan Turko (the same guy who got the bluefin tuna from the kayak off the beach this past spring) to win the tournament. Drum are being landed off Jennettes today.
2) I have heard from 3 people that the trout are biting in the creeks near the mouth of the York River. However, based on VTFish's reports, they are not biting on the north side of the peninsula in Mobjack. My contact in Yorktown said that he is seeing schools of puppy drum, but they have not been eating despite throwing the bag at them.
I have been getting reports of small trout biting, a plus for sure, and the very occasional "good" day of 4 or 5 trout with a decent one in the mix. Drum continue to be large, but largely not around, with a 1 drum in the mid-slot day being about all you can even hope for.
Go to the chiropracter, Mr. French, and get back at 'em.
Rode my motorcycle out to Nags Head the previous Sunday, 14 Sep. about halfway across the Wright Bridge a cross breeze sprang up. Enough to easily push the bike around, at around 3:30 pm..
Got stronger and by 5pm we had gale force winds and serious rain started Sunday night. Gale winds stayed until Tuesday and enough rain to flood Rt 12 in spots.
First decent weather was Thursday.
I'm glad the fishing tournament was schedule for the next weekend.
Snotty weather is what they want. It got too pretty and the NE didn't have enough kick to dirty it back up.
First spring break with my now wife, we decided to head to Hatteras for a week's camping. Big storm came through and the road was becoming flooded seriously enough to halt traffic and shut the road down. We were the last vehicle allowed through. We were in a Ford Custom sedan, 4WD vehicles being pretty rare in those days. We'd drive until the road would rise enough to come out of the water where we'd stop, let the water out of the car, walk the dog and grab another beer before going on at maybe 10-15 mph due to the lack of traction in the water which poured into the floorboards. We passed a couple of stranded jeeps along the way, and basically stayed on the road bed by lining up between the power poles and what road signs there were. Once there, however, we couldn't go back up the coast because the road remained closed for several days after we had to get back to VT. The trip back to Chesapeake where my parents lived was brutal. Ferry to Ocracoke, then the Swan Island ferry and a brutal trip home was the result. It was '73 and we were newly in love, so it ended up being a good trip with no crowds, but the trip through the flooded road still resonates as I see episodic closures down there. Yeah, the car took a major hit and my bag of, well, herbal "medicine" I'd stashed under the seat was unusable, but the trip was epic and we got high on love (yeah, gag me with a spoon, right?).
Great story. Memories never forgotten.
I have many from the OBX as well. My brother and I were VA Beach surfers in the late 70s. VA Beach would be 1 ft, we'd drive to Nags Head it would be 2-3 ft, and then further down Rte 12 and its be 3-4 ft+ in Rodanthe or Buxton/Frisco (if it was a S or SE swell).
Once we could drive we bought a beat up station wagon and drove to the OBX surfing almost every weekend - summer, winter, fall, spring, didn't matter - through our last high school years. We camped most times (Cape Point or Frisco Woods), sometimes it was just a day trip. We surfed A LOT!
Then when we went to college in the early 80s we would go down all summer long and do a 2 week camp trip just before we headed off to college.
We surfed some pretty serious hurricane swells over those years. Hurricane David and Frederick in the late 70s brought 15-20 ft to the Buxton groins. We were on it. I remember camping one of those trips and was surfing the groins one night at 2 ft, fun and then all of a sudden, a set of 10 waves at 4 ft+ catches everyone inside. Then a lull of about 10 minutes and then a repeat cleanup set. Were all looking at each other - wait, something is up! By dark its 5-6 ft corduroy to the horizon. The next 5 days were epic ground swell, with well overhead every day. Surfed our brains out that trip. Back then the lighthouse was in its original location and open to climbing the stairs to the top. I did that the second day and took a few pictures with my Nikon F. Impressive seeing Parallel 5-6 ft lines from horizon to horizon stacked as far east as you could see. Memories!
Caught some great fish from the beach on many of those trips and had them for dinner same day. Usually we had black drum, flounder, and blues. Super fresh and tasty.
Saw some crazy fish while surfing also. The OBX is where I once paddled next to a sawfish - craziest, ugliest fish I ever saw, He was pretty close and that beak looked dangerous. I paddled away from him quickly. Saw plenty of sharks in the lineup as well. During that long duration swell I mentioned above, I remember that 1st night as the swell arrived seeing a LARGE dorsal fin outside the lineup cruising North past the groins. With the sun to the West, he lit up so we could all see him. That dorsal fine was 18" out of the water. He cruised on and didn't mess with anyone (there were many surfers in the water).
I got into body surfing in the mid 70's. We used to go out to Assateague Island State Park when there were storms out. Drove down from Northern Md.
I met a girl on our senior trip to Ocean City because I was body surfing on my back, feet forward.
Yep, that's a bit of what I did growing up in Great Bridge. We'd surf in Sandbridge for convenience, but usually wanted to be in Hatteras if we could get the time. Frisco was my childhood campground with our family, and still one of the best places I remember from those times except one magical night on the beach beside the Billy Mitchell Airport there in Frisco. We hauled our gear and boards over to the beach, hid our camp from the occasional ranger, and surfed the full moon. Unbelievable phosphorescence in the wakes of the boards, and we were the only ones within miles. A bit of enhancement from the entertaining world of the day made things even more stunning, but what a night.
Also saw shark fin in three feet of shore curl at dusk one time down there. At least 18" of fin in impossibly shallow water and spooky as hell. Then one early morning on the Frisco pier, all alone at maybe 2:30 catching trout on every cast, my wife and I saw an incredible hammerhead shark swim along the length of the pier. We're talking head in one light, tail in the last one with a head I can't even estimate. Now that was truly spooky.
Memories for sure, including the time I was run out of the Frisco campground by the ranger telling me that he couldn't help me when his duty ended that evening. Why I asked, would I need your help? Turns out I'd made the mistake of bringing a Black fellow I worked with at Hogshire's Tent and Awning in Norfolk along on the camping/fishing trip. Ahhh, the good ole days. We got the hell out of there and hightailed back to the 757, but I'll never forget that stain on my Frisco memories.
That HAD to be insane. I imagine if you saw a trail cruising around that night that wasn't from you or your buds, you'd of been walking on water! We used to see this at times in the Ctrl FL ICW in our boat wakes. we'd stop and jump in the water - we'd float and when you waved your arms around in the water it was like alighted "snow angel". Great visuals!
One of our then secret spots to surf was at the end of Robin Lane, the 1st road South of the airport. Surfed several great swells there.
That's some BS, no one should have treated you guys that way. Too bad.
Long time ago, but my relationship with the guy I worked with was never the same. I was as naive as a pup about the dark side of racists and their ilk, I wasn't raised that way, and received a lasting lesson about it.
Fished this morning in the wind. Got a 16" spec for the pan and we also caught a couple of decent gray trout. Lots of bites, some small blues, but a lot of small specs. I mean a lot. 8-10", and even smaller, were hitting on every dock and all morning long. Amazing the few remaining trout from last winter's kill were able to produce such a strong year class, if our results are any indication. No reds, no rockfish, no croaker, one spot, one grunt and a couple of lizards that held the tail of our flukes before dropping off at the boat.
In case anyone is wondering, my boat is still not running, from when it was last not running exactly one month ago. I fucked around the engine for a third or fourth time on Sunday, looking for fuel leaks, air leaks and who knows what else that could be stopping it from getting fuel. Decided to check the idle air control valve at a friends suggestion. The IAC seemed to be literally running hot, meaning the little motor inside this sensor is probably fried. Per the internet, IACs rarely go bad, but when they do, they also cause the ECU in the engine to go bad. Ugh.
New Yamaha brand IAC..... $418 before shipping and taxes. Also, ugh.
I found a Chinese knockoff for $32 on ebay that I'll try to determine if it is part of the solution before going further into debt for the Yamaha one. If this doesn't fix the issue, I'll probably haul it to a mechanic.
I have only fished 40 days this year, including guiding. That is the least amount of fishing days in 15 plus years for me, by far. I may sound like an asshole for those that get to fish less, but I'm going stir crazy.
I'll get around to posting my summer outings with pics soon. I did have a few banner days, which were great. If anyone gets a shot at fishing Cape Lookout, the bull drum fishing has been potentially the best its ever been from what I'm hearing. There are lots of albies around too.
I definitely feel your pain. Have had issues before that led to long stints with mechanics. One of the stranger ones was a small 9.9 motor that just wouldn't run. It was all I had at the time, so I was screwed without it. Finally, after 6 weeks with this guy, Shug, who was considered a knowledgeable and capable mechanic, I had had enough. I called Shug and told him I was coming the next day to pick up the motor to take elsewhere. The next morning, he called me back and told me to wait until afternoon to get it. When I arrived, my motor was purring like a kitten in a tub in his shop. He proudly took me in to see it and told me that the solution came to him in a dream the night before and it was fixed and ready to go. Seems that the exhaust port had become clogged, unusual in a small motor that usually ran all out, but he'd never seen it in a small engine before. He cut the bill in half and told me he never wanted to see that motor again. Ran great for me until I sold it.
Fishing here is still pretty poor, but the speckled trout recruitment was very good this year so we expect good trout fishing next season. We got 30 one day last week, with a 19 in the mix. No drum, though. None. It was a good year for me to have a busted trailer, keeping me off the water for more than a month. Thankfully, I do have a neighbor who's kept me out every couple of weeks, but the fishing's so poor, I'm just not feeling much loss.
Footage from the drum blitz that started on September 9 and ran for almost a week and a half. Still sick to my stomach that I only got to fish one day of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4O-x_Ka7sg
I was worn out after 5 minutes of the video. More power to you young'uns.
Hey folks, had to go a ways to reach this thread, but don't have much to report this year. Our fishing here around the Middle Peninsula and the Mobjack Bay has just flat out sucked. 0-4 fish days are more routine than unusual, and keepers are hard to come by of any species. Old timers around here agree with the assessment that this is the worst season they remember, with dock owners unable to catch fish they normally catch at their homes, and boaters giving up and already pulling out for the year.
My bass fishing buddy said even the bass have deserted him, smallies and bigmouths there near Richmond.
I'll wrap up with the observation that the fishing thread has about run its course here on TKP, but it's been a fun ride while it was active. I'll leave you with a factoid. My trout friend, Hokie Paul, tagged a redfish in the Piankatank in May at 16.5" in length. It was caught in the 'Tank this month and in the 142 days it was out, it had grown to 24".
It's cool to have those tags returned, and Paul tags a ton of fish. Good growth, also, but not much in the way of competition this summer, as reds were few and far between.
"Long leader" fly fishing is a term I've heard thrown around on the Bay a lot the past several years. Apparently it's controversial among us flyguy snobs. Found this video on the two brothers that do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktf21j29gJ0
Interesting technique. It's basically Euro Nymphing saltwater style, with twitches. I couldn't care less if people argue whether it's fly fishing or not. What grabs my attention is the number of fish they are catching by merely lightly twitching / bouncing a fly on the bottom. Makes me think there are more fish that will eat in areas that I've deemed empty because they are not going to actively chase a quickly twitched jig / lure / fly.
For my style of fishing on the Bay and blind casting holes, drop offs, structure in NC, I am quickly twitching back the jig or fly. Perhaps I need to use a heavier fly or jig and let it get to the bottom and barely move it.
This past week fishing in NC we had some success on trout, puppy drum and flounder by slowly working a jig and Mirrolure Lil Jon on the bottom, when the fish wouldn't actively eat a regular MR18. I think this style of fly fishing could be done with a light action spin rod and some hair jigs tied on quarter ounce jig heads. I can tie one hell of a good looking hair jig in any color combination. I can even add marabou and that thing will really look alive. My buddy in NC also swears that trout will eat a hair jig resting on the bottom when nothing else will work. He says the bucktail moves just enough to get them to bite. I tried one when we had very slow fishing, even put pro cure on it (GASP!), to no avail. But with four of us on the boat and a 7 degree water temp drop that morning, the fishing that day sucked regardless.
Anyways, just thought it was an interesting technique and may help some of the Hokie Fisherfolk modify tactics on fly or spin to get a few more nibbles. I know I'm going to try a long leader and heavy fly of my own version without the power pro.
Good post. I've often used flies on spinning tackle when trout fishing, but haven't done any saltwater fishing with flies. We are having no problem catching fish if they're there, but repeatedly coming up empty when all else are doing the same just tells us they ain't there.
For those in the know, Crazy Lady showed her posterior yet again to my neighbor as he fished her dock, forevermore known to us as Crazy Lady dock. Even threatened to call his wife on him, for goodness' sake. Tip o' the hat to you, flyguy. It seems to be an apt description. Check your email for neighbor's report.
Reminds me of some of the recent tactic changes in freshwater. Going back several years there are some monster smallmouth being caught in the dead of winter locally, particularly at South Holston, by the "float and fly" technique. This was essentially taking a 1/16 oz hair jig or fly and deadsticking it 10-20 feet below a bobber for suspended fish. The key was to find their depth and keep the lure in the appropriate strike zone as long as possible, letting the wind and subtle wave action do the work. There are some monsters caught in the dead of winter this way when all other anglers swore nothing was hitting in 40 degree water.
While that was primarily targeted to suspended fish, it's similar to the downsizing of baits for working the bottom such as ned rigs and drop shots that have become very popular. There's something about a subtle twitch while keeping the bait mostly stationary that can really trigger bites. It can be a difficult technique to master, especially if you're a power fisherman, but I've seen it load the boat when nothing else worked.
Float and a fly is an oft used technique in some western rivers. Biggest trout I've ever landed was on such a rig on the Green River.
Cold water fishing on the New evolved for me from jig 'n pig to big tubes to Mizmo Teaser tubes, fished in eddies with as slow a retrieve as you could stand to make. You might not catch many in super cold water, but you might get the biggun as well. Not fishing for suspending fish like in a lake, it does track a progression toward smaller baits in winter.
Just spent Sunday-today in the OBX. Sea mullet bite was good, with giants on sand fleas. But drum wasn't great. Saw one caught Sunday, and two yesterday. I didn't get a bite on the big rod. Tuesday was a complete blow out.
Just arrived in Ocean City to kick off tautog season.
How big were the giant sea mullet (aka, whiting)?
Good luck with the Taotog!
My biggest was 14.5 inches. Folks next to me weighed in five over 2 pounds. They were toads.
OCMD report-
Once again, stated high and low tides didn't turn until 3+ hours after posted times, which makes fishing tough. People using big swim baits caught five striped bass, with one 30 inch keeper, during daylight on outgoing tide, casting out and letting the tide drift the swimbait back to the bridge. I threw a 3oz Hogy swim bait and didn't get a hit.
Tautog fishing was slow, but better quality fish than last year. I got 17 in two days, but three kept (16, 16.5, and 18 inches.) Average fish was around 14 inches. I am going back Friday-Sunday and then probably shutting down fishing for the year.
Hate to junk up the almost all Franklin with a fishing post, but here's a short one for the two or three of you who may care about the haps in the Chesapeake.
On Oct 3, while fishing with my neighbor Hokie Paul, we tagged a 15.5" speckled trout in the North River off of the Mobjack Bay on a day we caught 30 specks, the most productive day I've had all year despite 28 of those fish being short and what seemed to be young of the year. 16 days later, the fish was caught and killed just offshore of Camp LeJeune in NC. Fish always amaze me, but that seems like a hell of a quick trip south.
Otherwise, the fishing around here still sucks and if the stripers do school up for us, we might salvage a bit of fishing yet, but I won't count on it. Hope your fall's been better, but if not, at least we have Franklin!
That is one hell of a distance for speckled trout!
Yep. About 250 miles or so. That speck was bookin' it. Must not have gotten the news about Franklin, right?
Still hungover from whatever happened last saturday night and I can see comments again so guess whos back and ready to not accomplish a single task at work this week!
And for my fishing report from the Mobjack, its been rough/non existent. Got so bored I fed the local young trout shrimp tails in the green light one night since nothing was biting. Having kids has reduced time on the water but the youngins are showing serious interest in one day tagging along but for now the glorified boat rides and casting lessons will do for me.
Good to hear from you 'nator. I've thought of you every time I go by your folk's house on the East. You've missed nothing this season in the local waters. Last year was pretty good and the trout should rebound well next year, so you should be getting fish around your dock worth messing with. My best to your family.
Back at ya I havent been down as much as I would like this summer. I've gotten alot of phone calls from my elder aggravated and asking for better spots to try to find fish as most trips were pretty fruitless still finding drum but the trout have been few and far between. I actually added another light to the dock testing one thats a regular spotlight mounted low to the water vs the green light to see if one outdoes the other. Crabs were bountiful this year which was a nice plus and the oyster haul has been good as always.
Managed one good trip out of oregon inlet for trout and drum in the summer but outside of that saltwater was a miss I had a cobia trip collapse due to work but hoping next summer will be better in getting out a bit more. Passed on a trip on the james last wednesday to go nap in the deer stand and I think I made the right call on that.
Next time I see anthony rosano play down there I'll look ya up since he likes to play down that way a bit.
I'd love to know where they caught the drum. They were functionally absent this summer from all the local haunts. Oh one here and maybe one there, but they didn't show for us.
We found them more often than decent keeper trout but they were never consistent in location some days up in the mouths of creeks but mainly out in the mobjack randomly picking them up drifting corks along flats was our most consistent trick. Did not see them like last year way up in creeks in the grass at all this year and not sure why on that was odd. Never saw the schools on the flats either like last year so honeslty not sure.
Atleast the spot showed out well enough to get a fish fry or two in but that was the highlight as you mentioned below the rockfish have been no existent on our trips not even the youngins.
Ramps here in the Mid-Pen are literally empty. No stripers have shown. No birds, no bait, no boats, no fish. I have heard charter boats out of Reedville are fishing north and catching some in the 20s, but a ton of charters are dropping out and my buddy, who's gone for a lot of years, has decided it wasn't worth the time and money to troll up barely keepable fish and only one apiece at that. I will likely fill the tank and tarp the boat next week and hope for better days.
Plan here is to hang a couple more years then move to the Shenandoah Valley. Bridgewater, between Staunton and Harrisonburg. Final move for a couple of old folks, and I'll miss the red fishing here for sure, but maybe some walleye on the Shenandoah? Anyway, anybody wanting to buy a boat or some heavier fishing rods and reels cheap, let me know. I'm officially done with anything here other than light tackle in-shore fishing. French gets first pick, 3rd Gen second.
Nice to finish up this miserable year, and I'm excited enough about the Franklin era to blow off the horrible fishing. I do save a bunch of ire toward Omega Protein and their unconscionable rape of the menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay. They should be docked for at least 5 years to allow for the recovery of the menhaden and striper and recently noted, the osprey population that has suffered from their greed at the public trough.
Anybody know anybody with any pull in the Va. Legislature? If change is to come, it will have to come from there.
Future welcome to the neighborhood. I live east of Bridgewater. Been here 25 years so you can hit me up for any info.
We could meet at Bukees....or not. Yeah, I'll holler atcha when our plans are firm. Thanks for the offer.
If I might ask a fishing adjacent question...
I need to get a trailer repaired to bring a boat back to Roanoke for rehab. The boat is located in the Northern Neck of Virginia (Lancaster County), and I have the parts for repair (hubs, wheels, tires) but need to find someone who can install them. With my knees and back I can't manage it on my own right now.
The studs and lug nuts are so rusted, one of them came off in my hand when I grabbed it. I would rather not drive too far with it before this, so I am looking in the area of Tappahannock --> Reedville --> Urbanna.
This is a boat I have lusted after for years, and my buddy finally sold it to me. It is a NorthCoast 18, center console with a t-top. NC18
Thanks folks.
Tough situation. Sounds like a total axle/wheel replacement will probably be required to safely get it back to the hills. Maybe not the axle, but I'd be leery enough to want to be sure. It is possible to find local "jacklegs" that have worked with old trailers and salt water enough to know what to do and could maybe do it all where it sits. Best bet, head for the local boat dealership, not sure who that'd be over in Lancaster, and ask about local mechanics that would help you. Failing that, I'll reach out to my neighbor who had a similar repair done on his trailer at his house. Whether his guy would go over the water or not, I don't know, and he may even be from over there. It's not that far from Mathews. I'll shoot him an email now. Best of luck and let us know how it goes.
Wasn't able to find anyone but was able to accomplish it myself. Spindles were fine, but took longer than it should have. I expect it will be a few days before I stop groaning.
Biggest problem was I dragged the thing back to Roanoke on the windiest day of the year (it seems). Going over afton mountain I thought it was going to flip. A vdot road sign said 75+ gusts had been registered..
Sorry I the fellow I mentioned didn't work out. Sounds like you did a good job of it, though you paid for it in other ways. I used to live on the Nelson side of Afton Mt. most of the way down the side of the mt. and it was a beast of a wind tunnel and a hairy ride over to Waynesboro and back. I actually went fishing up the Carrotoman this week. We got screwed by the weather, stiff winds and the temps stayed low, busted ice for a bit but the water was so cold we gave up early.
Used to live right over the hill from there. Pick a roll of TP from the Holiday Inn, push out the center and stand in the top parking lot, and the wind tunnel effect would unroll the whole thing from the inside into one long stream and cary it off to TP who knows who somewhere.
I'm hoping that the spindles are ok, the hubs have bearing buddies and my friend says he lubed them at least yearly. I was able to track down the trailer manufacturer with the serial number got the correct replacement hubs.
I'll let you know what I hear from my neighbor. If the stud fell off in your hand, I'd worry about the spindles, but hopefully you can get someone to help. Like you, I'm too old to do stuff like that anymore, and can afford not to.
As the TKP boat trailer expert, unless the previous owner had a major issue with the wheel bearings while towing, the spindles should be fine. The lugs are merely going through the hub and enough rust over the years will eat those up. I've broken off a few.
I just changed a hub on my axle and it took 15 minutes. Would have taken 10, except the hub was stuck on and I had to pound it off. You said your back won't let you work on it, are you up for paying someone to do it?
I am definitely up to paying someone to do it. I agree it should be a quick job... jack it up, remove the castle nut(s) and pull the entire wheel and hub(s) off. Install the new parts.
The new hubs I have have bearings and are pre-lubed. I have new wheel/tire and lug nuts.
Flyguy is most definitely the resident expert in trailer stuff. I'm just happy mine fell apart in my driveway and not on the highway. G'luck!
Just cleared my junk mail and the instant before I hit the button I saw Ted and something that told me that you'd emailed me. I'm sorry about that and if you'd try again, I promise I'll be more on the ball. If I can recover it, I'll respond.
new email just sent. thanks
Gotcha. Just finished the uva duke game we recorded last night. Ha! Will get back to you soon.
Feel free to shoot me an email, knotthereelworld (at) gmail . I may have someone. I'd do it for you for the right price but I don't really drive out there like I used to.
I do have a name and phone number if you can't find someone else. He comes to you and does general boat repair and engine stuff, but I know he also does some trailer work. I don't know where he lives, but it's at least semi-local to Mathews, so not that far from Lancaster. I can be reached at newriverangler at that hotmail thingee. I know little about him, but like about anyone these days, he ain't cheap.
So the offseason blues have hit, managed to dredge up a 6 and 7 pound largemouth for the father in law last sunday deadsticking creature baits around a spring fed pond but those were the only bites in 6 hours.
Pushing a canoe with a kid, dog, and the wife is getting more and more fun and I'm beginning to do my research into a raft for floating the james/new/shenandoah. I would love some input to worthwhile brands and brands to avoid as I know little on the floating rafts as I've always been a hard plastic guy. Not trying to break the bank but we float most weekends the rivers arent flooded so it will get some use.
Also spending alot of time rebuilding trolling motors for clubs and currently finding myself annoyed with people who destroy the motors with no care in the world. Between gaskets leaking and shear pins being snapped I'm thankful minn kota makes rebuilding the lower units easy enough.
How much do you charge for a trolling motor rebuild / fix?
SmittyVT uses an NRS and I've rowed it several times. Nice rig and I'd take that down just about any river in the state.
Full disclosure I only rebuild lower parts not the controls or circuit board junk, we use loads of endura 55s on our fishing club boats so I have rebuilt the lower armatures and replaced bearings/props until I'm blue in the face. If the controls/upper unit wont work or get me voltage to the brushes I punt and scrap it for parts its not worth the hassle and none of our stuff is under warranty. I buy all our motors off facebook and yard sales since its a club and people just trash it anyway. If its just a lower unit I could maybe work on it but it may be a little before I get around got another kid due soon so my time is stretched.
I've always seen the NRS and used their stuff so its where my search is going to begin and likely end but was curious if there were others out there worth the dough.
I chose Maravia on the advice of respected guides, spent more for size and quality. I had a frame custom made for me out of 2" irrigation pipes so as to not have joints to catch the lines. I also had a river anchor custom made by one of my clients who owned a couple of scrapyards in Ohio, using a pulley and cleating system I could control from my rowing seat in the middle.
But, I was going into business and I can guarantee my clients loved my boat. It had a ton of room for all our gear, and floated fully loaded in about 3 inches or so. I certainly wouldn't recommend this amount of expenditure for a family float, unless you lucked into a sweet used one, and you likely wouldn't find anything like what I had.
More NRS rafts out there than Maravia, at least on this coast, but choose carefully since a lot of them are near their lifespan when folks sell them.
And best of luck with the new kid on the way! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
The few I have been on were well setup and thats where I got the thought plus canoes are a pain and easy to flip in moving water. I didnt think about going the homemade frame route thats dangerous for me but I've worked in fabricating enough to think thats a route I can pursue with some welding help. I definitely liked the plywood front and back but that would require a wide boat to not make it unbalanced. Appreciate the brand to keep an eye out for, im in no rush but need to do something likely next year or fall at the earliest but I like to do serious digging on anything expensive before purchasing. What kind of lifespan would you say is reasonable to get out of one? Just want to know what point to have to know to old to be worth it if that makes sense.
I'm batting down the hatches and assembling more kid furniture than ever before but it will make the new year exciting! Managed to get the youngin a 4 pound largemouth this weekend so shes pumped and we are all excited to see her pick up the hobby! Merry christmas to yours as well!
10-4. My minn kota is probably dead but wasn't sure if you'd be interested in giving it a whirl to try and get going again. It last ran last season before it decided to jump off my boat and go for a swim.
Any chance its under warranty? For what its worth the only issues I have had with the saltwater one we have the guy at Mills marina in Seaford has helped me for free over the phone diagnose so could be worth a conversation to see. If it took a bath likely the circuit board needs to be replaced even though those should be conformally coated to protect from elements being in a boat motor but who knows. circuit boards have been the downfall of most repairable items as they have pushed them to smaller and smaller componentry to make them harder to repair to a point where repair no longer makes sense. Old man rant over.
I quit trying to repair the head units unless its an obvious wire comes loose or something easy anything with a blown component can be such a pain its cheaper to get the board replaced and go on with it that way.
I'm going fishing for reds and specks tomorrow and hopefully Monday in middle of nowhere NC. First time fishing in two months. Much needed. Will report back.
Also, there are some big albies being caught at the Cape. All of the guides have wrapped up their season but there is one local who keeps going out, and this guy is not very good, and he's landing some toads. I may go down post Christmas to the Cape and look around for a few days.
Hope you have better luck in NC than I did up here last week. I went out with my Hokie trout neighbor to the upper reaches of the Carrottoman where he'd gotten fish in past years this time of year. What we encountered, other than the thick clouds and stiff wind (weatherman said sunny and 8-10) was ice covered water at 41 degrees.
Needless to say, we took a 2 hour boat ride and covered 22 chilly miles and we didn't get a bite.
I've had some really good days there. The upper ends of the Corrotoman are good for very slowly working mirrolures. I can't recall the exact temp cut off, but I think its in the mid 40s that they stop biting there.
Going to Lake Norman to the in-laws over Christmas. Hoping I can cast out far enough towards the middle to grab something off the bottom.
I've never caught fish there but one summer trip there years ago I took out some friends all day on my boat. Dropped them off on the north end of the lake at their car at dusk. My phone died and my GPS crapped out and I got lost in the dark, trying to find my way to the ramp at the south end. Ended up having to stop at random houses and ask people for directions, via the water, to get back to the ramp my truck was at. I had no clue where I was. It took several hours to find the ramp. My friends obviously had returned to their house, where I was staying, and didn't bother to check on me. I got to their place in the middle of the night and they were surprised I got lost. "Wow it sure did take awhile. We didn't think to check on you given your history of doing weird shit like sleeping on your boat. Figured you were fine!"
Headed down to Swan Quarter yesterday morning. Left Rickmond at 6:06 a.m., an hour later than planned but I've been an insomniac lately and needed the 3rd hour of sleep I scratched out the night before. Arrived at Swan Quarter at exactly 9:36, a.m. just like the GPS said. My buddy Ryan Tucker was already at the ramp. He lives in Greenville and is the veteran I've taken out for the Cape Lookout Albie Fest for boots on boats day. He's fished the area several times and figured he could help me dissect it. I've been there once before, having made the 16 mile boat run from Cedar Island last November when I only caught dink trout and a nice Flounder. My goal was to find schools of winter redfish in the tanin water, which is clear in the winter. Numerous folks have told me the winter fishing there is en fuego, and I've seen plenty of videos online of giant schools pushing across sand bottoms next to the bank. First thing I did was locate some sand on the map and head that direction. We ended up having a slow day, me landing the only fish, a 28" sight cast drum on fly. It was a much needed fish for me, only the third Red caught this year and first on fly. I was poling us down a sand bar and spotted a school of about 10. Ryan couldn't see them, but I made a hero shot , while fumbling the push pole, from the poling platform and stuck the fish on my 7 weight. That one fish was enough for the whole trip. It had 8 spots and lots of lice. Celebratory Model Zero Especiales ensued. Ryan explained that most of the fishing down there is merely pounding the banks. Everything is a sod bank there. Reds and trout will cruise them and sometimes hang in shallow coves. We ended up seeing 6 rat reds in some tiny coves, but not much else, despite fishing an incredible looking pond and the fishiest sand flat in the area. Needless to say it was worth the day and I learned a lot about the layout and fishing the area. There is nothing in Swan Quarter except for a church, ferry launch to Ocracoke, one mile long road of a hundred shrimp boats in every (mostly dead) condition, and one building formerly a gas station. I followed Ryan to Washington, which is a cool town and we got dinner before I crashed at the local Motel Shithole, went to Mars on a pot gummy and dreamed of schools of Redfish, Christmas trees and a Delta Zeta who I somehow let slip through my fingers.
This morning I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed having actually slept and drove the hour back to Swan Quarter, this time fishing solo. I motored back straight back to the same sand flat and while the wind was blowing in the reverse direction (east vs west), it allowed for a perfect drift in conjunction with my poling down the bar. But not before I noticed my latest boat problem! The steering seals were dispensing steering fluid at a rate similar to the first pee in Lane after holding in all of my pregame beers through the first quarter. Ignoring this potentially problematic situation, I said fuck it and started looking for Reds. Three quarters of the way down the 300 yard long float I spotted another school of ten or so fish. Holding the push pole, steadying the boat in the right position and making a fly cast from 8 eight off of the water is a fucking trapeze style circus act and a fish swirled on my fly and spit it back out while I fumbled the hook set, trying to do 17 things at once. My immediate follow up cast was perfect, as it always is, and another fish turned and ate the fly while I noticed the push pole was wrapped in fly line, which also extended down around my ankle and back up between my legs to the reel. Again, I missed the strip set, but managed to not fall off the platform trying to get my shit together as the fish ate and spit the fly. I reconfigured myself and continued to pole down the bar, re-locating the school a few minutes later. This time it all came together and I landed another drum on fly, 26" this time. Day was made. I ended up fishing this exact same flat for the next 3 hours. With each pass, I saw a school of 10-20 fish and yet again, blew two more shots on fly due to the fact that it's extremely difficult to cast while also poling oneself. The final turn I reached for my fly rod, only to notice the fly had called it quits and gone missing from my tippet, so I picked up my spin rod with 1/8 bucktail jig head that I had custom tied. Another perfectly placed cast, instant eat and I didn't fucking miss that hook set. This fish turned out to be a 27 inch "Buck Naked Bass" or redfish with no spots, which are pretty darn rare and only the 2nd I've ever caught. Before calling it a day I pushed up into a little cove not expecting much, only to blow out another dozen upper 20 inch reds. I didn't stand a chance at getting a cast to them. They spooked instantly.
I'd call it a very successful two day winter trip and would encourage others to go check this area out. And I'm not one to share secrets openly online, but this area is pretty desolate and could be gold mine for anyone that wants to put in the work to get there. I know it fishes well year round but apparently winter is best. Just sucks the days are so short. Rose Bay, Pungo and Pamlico rivers are other areas Ryan raved about and are a little closer to civilization. It seems like the tactic is to slowly use a trolling motor to fish the sod banks / edges and cover a lot of water. I'm glad I switched it up and tried to do it my way, sight fishing, but probably would have had more success with the blind casting method. The water was clear and with some light provided ample visibility. We did see some nice flounder too.
I'll potentially be back before heading to the Rockies for a month or two. Pics on my Instagram below. Thank you for coming to my Red Talk. I'm happy as a clam I got a few of 'em.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DSlximpDXX2/?img_index=1
Heck of a report and glad you found some fish! When we were in Emerald Isle 2 summers ago, we found a "ramp" just big enough to launch my little skiff in Atlantic Beach. As we were taking out on the last day a guy was at the dock doing some bottom fishing and told me to go to swanquarter. He raved about the huge schools of bull drum. Even showed me the exact point to fish on a map. I thanked him but knew there was no way I was heading over there since it was our last day. It's been on my radar ever since so thank you for exploring the area and sharing what you learned.
Any idea why they're keyed on sand flats vs. mud/grass?
I've heard plenty of the schools of bulls there at SQ, and I have no doubt. They are all over Pamlico Sound. I'd expect it to be humps, drop offs and points. August and September is the time of the year to bait fish on the bottom for the bulls.
I know the slot reds and smaller fish are on mud flats, particularly in the winter. The mud flats will warm up the best and the last little cove that had the school in that I spooked is proof of that. But they were hard to see. I targeted the sand because of the ability for me to more easily see the fish on the bottom, plus I'd seen a few videos of them pushing across sand flats. You're welcome to join if you can swing it as I try to figure this fishery out.
Dude! Must admire the efforts and you did a good job with the retelling. I do think you have a book in your future, should you choose to pursue it. Maybe something with the title "Adventures and Misadventures in the Reel World"?
Thank you. Graduated with a journalism degree and one of my big regrets is barely doing any writing in the 20 years since. I've been told I've got a knack for it. Ironically, I date a high level journalist who gets paid the big bucks to write and occasionally be on TV.
I write stories in my head often but just don't put the pen to paper. I should just fucking do it. My two book titles that I've settled on are "Tales from the Bed of my Pickup Truck" and "This Shit Only Happens to Me"
Good titles. Get crackin'!!!
I was bitten by a desire to write some of my outdoor adventures into article worthy publication. My one and only attempt was rudely dismissed by a well known publication who asked a good friend and fishing buddy of mine to write an article for their next edition. He shunted it to me because he was too busy fighting a powerline war. I thought I did ok, but unfortunately, nobody that mattered agreed.
Thought I'd quit, until one Christmas a friend gave a copy of his annual Christmas story. Truth is, it was so syrupy sweet, I decided to bang out a late night drunken stream of consciousness dark tale of the holiday. A tradition was born that finally came to a year I actually took a bit of time to craft another bleak tale of the underbelly of our society. It was pretty damn good, but I didn't need to say so myself. None other than a literary professor at our beloved institution pronounced it very good, while praising my voice. He taught a writing class and said that my story would have been one of the top two in all the classes he taught. It went to my head, of course, and I dreamed of sitting around the old farmhouse all day, feeding the woodstove, feeding the birds, sipping coffee and smoking herb and spending a couple of hours writing to finance my obligations.
HA! What a fucking joke that was. As anyone who tries will attest, writing is damn hard work, requiring discipline and a ton of self motivation to even slip into the game. Most of us have a good story or two to tell, but then what?
Still and all, I do wish I'd had a journal or something to jot down ideas for recollections of my days on the water and afield, if for nothing else than personal reminiscence.
Love the story, sounds like a nice expedition.
Thanks Mike, may be a good spot for us to go look for them!
My father was involved in the wildlife refuge acquisitions in that area in the 1960's
That is awesome. I appreciate his work doing it!
Some youtube videos on fishing SQ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjMt5IwAxIQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8sMmSVUFfY
2nd video is SICK!
Here is another video by the local fly guide down in Swan Quarter:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DTGjr4Akcj7/
He's fishing out of a Hewes Redfisher and poling sand bottoms sight casting to schools. Doesn't get any better than that. For anyone thinking of going down there, a John boat will work just fine. Look for sand bottoms on the apps / maps and slowly work your way down the bank looking for fish.
Here I stand working at the tying bench, staring my Redfisher out the back door with new steering seals needed. I'm also checking the Colorado snow report as I should be headed west on Sunday for my annual two month winter sojourn, but will likely push it back to the end of the month. It's finally snowing in Utah and WY, but it's BAD in CO. I'll likely push it back to the end of January to drive out and stay out through the end of March, rather than my usual mid Jan to mid March trip. This will allow me to hopefully get back down to Swan Quarter at least once in the next few weeks.