Family Fun and Park Time for Paul

We have been trying for the past couple of days to get out of the house. The weather has been nice if a bit chilly. But today we finally drug ourselves out of the house and went to Munden Point Park with the kayaks. That meant some Oakum Creek time as well. Always a plus for daddy!

We made it over there right around 11:45 or so and immediately headed out on the water. Paul again did really well around the boat dock so that made Danielle and me extremely happy. The water was down a little bit from my last trip there and it was a little bit more murky. No gin clear water this time so my hopes were higher than the last time for an increased bite. But with a weather system coming in tomorrow and a cool down over the last few days I knew it would be a puzzle to say the least.

Nothing for most of the way up the creek. We made it up the boat dock and stopped going there. Partly because Danielle caught this HUGE twenty inch Chain Pickerel:

Danielle's 20" Chain Pickerel. Notice who got his hands dirty with Mr. Toothy!

That plus Paul was getting restless....A LOT! We made the decision to head back, but I could not leave that bend in the creek. I got a couple of solid bumps that just fueled the fire to work the spot thoroughly. But time was gone so I had to head back to the dock. I stopped in a couple of spots I knew held fish, but with no luck. In one spot I was working I received a text from Danielle. She told me that she was already at the boat dock and had already taken her kayak out of the water and was waiting on me. So I high tailed it back to the boat dock and there they were waiting for me.

So all totaled Danielle had the only fish of the day. Oh well. Keeping mommy happy is more important sometimes.

Frustration of the Highest Magnitude

I made plans earlier in the week to go fishing with my buddy Rob some time this weekend. We zeroed in on today, Saturday. The hard part was deciding where to go. After much conversation, and multiple suggestions, we decided on Oakum Creek. I knew it was going to be tough, though, because of Charlie's report from the other day. Plus the fact that a weather system recently passed through and warmed up air temperatures greatly. The high today was in the mid-seventies on the first day of winter!

Anyway, we met up in the parking lot at Munden Point Park around 0900. We were on the water shortly afterwards. It was then that I realized just how difficult the day was going to be. The water level was up a little bit, the water temperature was still low, but the clarity was unreal. There was easily four feet, or more, of visibility. I have never seen it like this. No matter what lure I threw I could see it all the way back to the boat no matter what the depth it was running.

At any rate, we headed up the creek. My arsenal to work with today was three bait casting rods and my old trusty ultra light spooled with braided line. My first attempt at using braided line, too. To make a long story as short as possible here is a list of what all I threw today:

- Three different suspending jerk baits in different colors and sizes
- Three different jigs with craw trailers in different colors and sizes
- Three different spinner baits in different colors and sizes
- Two different Texas-rigged worms in different colors
- One smaller hair jig rigged in the Beetle Spin fashion

Even with all of these fancy, expensive lures in multiple colors and sizes the only thing that even produced a strike - a short one no less - was the humble Beetle Spin. I rigged it with a 1/8th ounce red jig head and a solid white curly tail grub. I do not know what the blade size was for sure, but I think it was a number two size. This lure was the ticket to any action all day. It produced five different, yet violent, short strikes. However, I missed them all. Thus the mounting frustration.  It was especially frustrating because with the water still being cold I was concentrating on the deeper channels and drop offs. But this would not work out one bit. The only thing that seemed to work throwing the lure up to a Cypress knuckle and work it towards deeper water. That is the only way I got any hits.

I finally just gave up and started heading back to the dock feeling defeated. Rob had not had any better luck either. We were both facing the dreaded skunk! It was on a straight stretch between two deeper bends that I was just paddling a few strokes and casting to more Cypress knuckles. I do not even remember exactly which one I threw to, but I tossed the Beetle Spin up towards the knuckle and started retrieving it. Out of nowhere I had a hit. I light one, but it was a hit. I honestly thought I had just bumped a submerged stick or something. But when I jerked it set the hook on this little guy:

This little twelve inch Largemouth Bass went nuts! He was quite the acrobat jumping five times! I brought him to the boat, snapped a photo, and released him. He shot off rather quickly, too!

The wind blew me down the creek a little bit so I turned around and headed back by that stretch "just in case".  That is when I caught this:

This seventeen and a half inch Chain Pickerel hit the Beetle Spin hard and then went BERSERK! I have never seen a Pickerel jump that high nor that many times! He also made some long, hard runs next to the boat. Once I took the photo he decided to release himself and launched off of the measuring board, into my lap, and then right back into the water.

Those were the only two fish I caught and I caught them in the last twenty minutes on the water. So, while the frustration level was extremely high at least I avoided a skunk.

Killing Time

I took a short trip out to “The Pipe” yesterday afternoon. I figured why not. I had a little time to kill and it was my birthday. So I grabbed a couple of rods, my tackle bag, and headed out. I figured I would only be wasting time and, as it turned out, that is exactly what I did. It was fun, though, and that is all that matters.

Quick fix

Sometimes you do what you have to to save an expensive item. Add this to the list of the millions of things you can use 550 cord for. I used a modified Uni-Knot on both ends. The Uni-knot is supposed to have five wraps. I used 3 three.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving 2013 will go down in the books as a good fishing weekend! Thanksgiving Day was rather quiet, but the food was good so I ate myself into a coma and went to sleep fat, dumb, and happy.

On Black Friday, instead of fighting the crowds (which I NEVER do), Danielle gave me a "day pass" to go fishing. Now, I knew it was going to be cold so I had to think of where to go. I decided on West Neck Creek. I'd never been there before, but from what Charlie says it is the place to go in the winter. I launched after 1000 into ICE! It was at this point that I was starting to think I was indeed a bit nuts, but the wind had broken the ice up out in the channel so I headed out there. It was cold, but not too bad. I was layered up pretty well so I didn't really feel it. I did put a beanie on shortly after being out on the water, though, along with my new neoprene gloves. Those things are AWESOME! Anyway, the traffic was REAL light on the water with only a couple of power boats and Charlie in his kayak. I ran into him as he was heading south away from the bridge. He said the fish were biting just north of the bridge on a point. I thanked him for the tip and made my way up there. However, I guess the dinner bell had rung by then, or he caught them all, because I could not even get a tap. Oh well. All totaled all I got was one ever so slight bump that I missed at another spot. I decided to head in a little while later, not out of frustration or being too cold - sort of, but because my feet were FROZEN. That's one thing I am definitely going to have to work on this winter. Keeping my feet warm!

Fast forward to yesterday, 01 December 2013. Charlie mentioned in an e-mail that he was headed out to Oakum Creek so I talked Danielle into going with me. We were to meet Charlie in the parking lot at Munden Point Park at 1000. However, a 3 year old has their own schedule so we were late. When we got there, as I suspected, Charlie had already launched. We unloaded the truck (yes I get to drive it every once in a while) & headed to the canoe/kayak dock. Our launch went very well! You never know what "Mr. Man" has on his mind around water, but Paul was eager to get on the water. Surprises never cease I suppose. So up the creek we go. Danielle had a Zoom craw Texas rigged and a beetle spin tied on. I figured keep it simple for her since she had Paul to start out. I had a jig/craw, a suspending jerk bait, a spinner bait, and a shallow running crank bait. The crank bait would never see the water, though, as the other three would do the lion's share of the work. We focused on the outside-to-middle of the bends. Especially the deeper spots. A few bends in I had something pick up my jig, swim around with it for a few seconds, then spit it out all before I realized it and could set the hook. That was he oddest thing I've ever seen! I put that down and threw the jerk bait. A couple of casts later I connected with this little guy.

This little guy fought hard considering his size.

Small but healthy for sure! He fought way above his weight class! Now it was Danielle's turn. We were coming to the dock in the corner about halfway up the creek. I had a feeling that, if there was a spot that she could connect with something, this was the place. I told her to throw her beetle spin right down the middle. Two casts in I hear her holler! I had Paul by this point so mommy could focus on fishing. Paul and I look over to see mommy's rod bent over pretty far. After a short fight she brings in (as Charlie calls it) the Fish-of-the-Day!

Danielle with her Fish-of-the-Day!

I was so proud of her! She caught it, took it off of the hook, and released it all by herself! 

We kept going further up the creek and finally ran into Charlie. He said his day had been rather slow with only a couple of smaller Pickerel on the fly rod. We bid him good luck after a short chat and pressed on. We made it all the way up the creek to the duck blinds. Now, by this point the tree gods had already taken their sacrificial lure offering in the form of Danielle's beetle spin so all she had (after calming down) was her craw. She tossed it up on a cypress knuckle and got a bump, but it was so light she did not have time to set the hook. Paul and I chased a water fowl for a bit (anything to amuse him, right?) and just soaked up the family time. So Paul went back to mommy's boat and we headed back. When I got to the spot where Danielle had her bump I tried my jig/craw. Sure enough...bump...SET!!! I didn't know what it was until it made it to the surface and I realized it was a Pickerel.

I could not believe how hard this Pickerel hit a jig.

For as little as it was that thing went berserk! It got that jig good too! The hook was through both lips! After show and tell with Paul (who wants to touch every fish we catch) I released it back to do whatever it is Pickerels do. We kept going down the creek, with no more action, until we ran into Charlie again. He said the action had continued to be slow so we bid him good day and left for the dock.

Getting out of the water was just as easy as getting in! While I loaded the kayaks in the truck Paul and mommy went to play on one of the many playgrounds at the park. Just a good day for everyone in Paul's house! Mommy and daddy caught fish (mommy's was the biggest), we had fun on the water, and Paul got to play outside! I'll take more days like that please!

The Return to Oakum Creek

Last Friday, 15 November, was a rare gift. You see my work schedule has been rather “off” as of late. I was in a school for my new position and missed our semi-annual PFA weigh-in. Then, while the command was conducting said PFA, I was on a week-long watch to “help prevent sexual assault on base”. Luckily we did not find anyone doing “grown-up things” in the bushes so we are all safe. The key point here is that when everyone finished their PFA on 08 November they had the rest of the day off, thus resulting basically in a 96-hour special liberty that the watch team I was working with did not receive. The Lieutenant I was working with made it his priority to ensure we all received that time off as compensation. I found out late in the day on Thursday, 14 November, that I had the next day off. Sweet!

So with time off coming that I was not expecting I made plans for a short fishing trip “somewhere”. What better place to go than Oakum Creek? Especially since fellow blogger Charlie has recently been doing really well there. The reports have had the water a little lower due to a persistent north wind. This has concentrated the fish into the deeper holes making them (in theory) easier to find and possibly catch. When I got there after lunch, after sleeping in way longer than I wanted to, I found the water up a little bit. This caused a little concern, but not much since I could still see marks on the cypress knuckles showing that the water was still way down overall. Off I went after an easier-than-normal launch. I started focusing my attention to the bends trying to hit the outside of the bend where it is the deepest. The weather has been rather crazy lately with temperatures dipping below freezing for a couple of days only to have it back to almost shorts weather the next day. That meant that the fish were going to be all sorts of confused.

So focusing my attention on the bends wasn’t working all that well. Part of the issue was that the cypress trees have started dropping ALL of their leaves. This causes a thick layer of “junk” on the surface of the water. Nothing was getting through that junk without being fowled up so that it wouldn’t run right under the water. I kept heading up the creek looking for clean water. I finally found it after the dock by the field in the corner. I continued throwing to the outside of the bends to no avail. I was throwing everything I had tied on. Shallow running crank bait, Zoom craw Texas rigged, Rapala floating jerk bait, a spinner bait with two willow leaf blades, and a new contraption I thought to try – popping cork with a Texas rigged weightless worm. Nothing was working. What’s going on here? Was I headed for the dreaded skunk?!

Determined to catch at least one fish I pressed on. I made it all the way to the head of the creek. I had never been this far up the creek. Therefore, I did not know that there were as many as three duck blinds in a rather picturesque spot with LOTS of cypress knuckles and stumps everywhere! Once I made it all the way up to where the grasses were, and the water was REALLY shallow, I decided to start heading back. Now, somewhere along the way I decided to ditch the larger spinner bait for a smaller one. An 1/8^th ounce spinner bait with a white skirt. I’ve thrown these on a spinning rod before with great success, but only recently have I dared to throw them on a bait casting rod. Luckily I have one with quite a bit of whip in the tip that helps cast such a light lure with no problems. At any rate once I changed to that lure things started going in a positive direction. I was casting it up next to the cypress knuckles just like you would a worm or craw, letting it sink a bit, and then retrieving it with a SLOW roll retrieve. Bump. BUMP! Things were starting to look up. So on my way back I kept this idea up. It finally paid off on a random spot that did not look particularly interesting to be honest. I tossed it up there, let it sink, and started the retrieve and bump BUMP! I missed that one! I immediately tossed it back and repeated the process. This time at the first bump I set the hook and off that fish went! I AVOIDED THE SKUNK!!! A short time later I boated a small, but healthy looking, largemouth bass! I thanked him for his time and released him back to continue his day. Now some time between catching that little guy and what happened next I lost the Colorado blade off of that lure. So I changed to another 1/8^th ounce spinner bait with a blue/black skirt and a willow leaf blade. About 5 or so minutes later I tossed it to the other side of the creek in the similar fashion. Nothing….until right as I was pulling the lure out of the water….BAM! A Chain Pickerel NAILED it! After a short fight - those things can run like crazy - I got it to the boat, got the lure out of it’s face, and released it back to do whatever it is a Chain Pickerel does.

I attempted to repeat this pattern several more times as I headed back down the creek to no avail. The junk from the cypress trees had gotten worse since I passed to nothing seemed to work as it was intended. So I called it a day and headed in. All in all it was a good, but short, day on the creek. Hopefully the surface will clear up sooner rather than later and I can revisit this creek. I must figure this place out!

Little side trips

Monday I started a school for my new job in my command's safety department. It was to last only three days, but the break from the grind was much appreciated. Since it was a "typical 'old school' Navy school" we mustered late and secured early every day. This was a good thing! Not only would it allow me the opportunity to do school work it afforded me some time to do some bank fishing.

I didn't take the kayak out because Danielle had the truck at work (I know...). That was okay because sometimes you just have to go back to where it all began. Standing on a bank and tossing a line in. Tuesday I went to NAS Oceana's lake for about an hour or so. I didn't catch anything, but the beautiful part was that I had the entire lake to myself! So I took the opportunity to try some new lures out and make sure I knew what to expect the next time I used them for real. Again, nothing caught but the time was well spent and greatly appreciated.

Wednesday I went to "The Pipe" on Mill Landing Rd. It is a little honey hole I found while fishing on Nanny Creek. A culvert pipe runs under the road from one side to the other. Depending on how the wind is blowing a current flows through the pipe. If you are on the Nanny Creek side, and there is current flowing into the creek, then the bite is usually on and big fish start chasing little fish. On the other side of the road it isn't as obviously visible if the bite is on. But I know there are some good fish over there.

If you choose to fish from the bank you can "dance the road", hopping from one side to the other. That is what I did for a couple of hours. I could see the commotion of feeding going on, but it wasn't consistent like it has been in the past. The total fish count for the day was three missed strikes, two Yellow Perch, two largemouth bass, and one huge extremely mad Chain Pickerel. I lost one spinner bait and one crank bait that the Chain Pickerel stole when it cut my line with his teeth. It was okay with me, though, due to the fact that the bill on the crank bait broke off some way, somehow in the fight. Nothing was a keeper. Well, the Pickerel was, but who keeps those? Just a good time tossin and crankin!

Finally some time on the water!

Friday, 18 October, was a glorious day! After way too long off of the water I was able to get out and get a line wet. I decided to head to Lake Rudee and launched at Owl Creek boat ramp. I checked the tide table, as well as Scout Look, to see when the optimal time was. High tide was just after 0800 and Scout Look's solunar table was saying that just after 1000 was the best time so I zeroed in on about 0900 to be casting the first shot.

After a relaxing morning with Paul I dropped him off at day care a little after 0900. That meant that I missed my target time. Still okay, but I needed to hurry. I went to Farm Fresh grocery store to pick up some shrimp to try that out on a popping cork. More about that in a bit. I headed back to the house to load up and get on the road. Luckily the ramp isn't too far from our house so I made it there in no time, got everything ready, and launched rather uneventfully.

For the first time I went behind the Virginia Beach Aquarium to try out the deeper water. There was a slight breeze blowing me into Owl Creek so I just rode that for a while fan casting. Nothing bit so I decided to try my new popping cork. That got immediate attention, but from smaller fish. So, I pulled out my ultra-light rod that I brought along for the purpose of attempting to catch bait. I guess the bait was too small because I never could get a hook set. Oh well….better luck next time I suppose.

I pulled anchor there & started paddling east down the lake headed towards the inlet. My goal was to go through Rudee Inlet, possibly out into the Atlantic a little bit, and then into Lake Wesley. Well, once I got through the inlet I quickly realized that there was no way I was going out into the big water. Swells were WAY too big. I made the right turn into Lake Wesley. What a waste of time! In Rudee I would at least see a fish jump every once in a while, but in Wesley there was nothing going on. There were a lot of boats, but no visible action. The wind was even lighter than on Rudee, too. After a few minutes I decided to head back to where I at least saw something going on. Back through the inlet and into Rudee.

Once there I headed straight for the grass island. When I got there I started throwing everything I had tied on. Swim baits, Mirr-O lures, popping cork…you name it. I saw some action on the popping cork, but I could not get a hook set. I drifted some, “beached” some along the island, but all the while I was casting. Nothing, nothing, nothing. I headed to the buoy and anchored up there. Then the fun began! I threw the popping cork and immediately got hit….HARD! I set the hook, but there was nothing there. So, re-bait the hook and start over. I threw out just a little farther and BOOM!!! This time it was a good fish! After a brief fight I got a look at this nice Speckled Trout.

Now, this is where I must insert a hard-earned lesson that I forget every time I go out fishing on my kayak. Have ALL of the gear you need READILY ACCESSIBLE!!! Once I had this fish on the end of my line, and next to the boat, I realized that I did not have the following gear set and ready:

1.    Net out and ready

2.    Fish Grip out and ready

3.    Pliers out and ready

4.    Ruler out and ready

Are you seeing a trend here?! After I got all of that stuff sorted out, with the fish still on the line thankfully, I landed this beautiful fish! It measured out at 16 ½ inches and sure was good on the table for dinner!

This is still the most beautiful fish I have ever caught!

After this one the bite was steady, sparse, but steady none the less. There was no more action on the popping cork. The only other action came on a new swim bait rig I set up a few weeks back with this being the first time I have been able to use it. It is just a simple piece of fluorocarbon line with a ¼ ounce jig-head tied to both ends. Then I tied a loop in between so that they are staggered. When you retrieve it through the water it looks like a miniature school of bait fish. Every time I was hit when I threw this rig the back swim bait was the one that was nailed. Stands to reason I suppose as the predator fish will go after the isolated/weaker fish. So the one at the back may look, to them, like that fish. Or maybe it had a dinner bell inside of it and I didn’t know it. Whichever was the case I don’t really care because I landed me two other smaller Speckled Trout. They fought way outside of their weight-class and that is all that matters.

All in all it was a good, much needed, day on the water. Here’s to hoping the time between trips isn’t as long as the last one!

Hopeful

Supposedly I have Friday off. Supposedly the weather is to hold out and be nice for a change. If that all comes to pass, and that's a big if, I'm headed out to (most likely) Lake Rudee for some light saltwater fishing! Now all I wish for is, again....if I get to go, some cooperative fish. 

Back-up plan? Bass Pro Shops I think. Either that or I'll end up cutting the grass. 

Here's to hoping Plan A works out!

It's been a while....

So here I sit at work....dreaming of fishing. I haven't been in a very long time! As a matter of fact the last time I wet a hook, other than little walking trips with Paul for about 30 minutes, was August 30th. Like I said, I've stopped a couple of times and used the "emergency rod" from the trunk. (I really need to get a better "emergency rod". That thing is a piece of junk!) But not a "real" fishing trip where I take the kayak out. Work and school have gotten in the way. Mostly school as this half of the semester will be over this weekend. THANK GOODNESS!!!

It was with great expectation that I announced this past weekend, standing in the kitchen, that "I'm going fishing next weekend!" To which Danielle just looked at me, shook her head, smiled a little smile and said, "Okay......IF we have time." Dreams crushed I tell ya! CRUSHED! But that didn't nearly crush me to the core of who I am as bad as this WEATHER!!! A tropical wave/depression/storm/hurricane thing (it, nor the weather folks, could decide what it was) made landfall on the Gulf Coast last weekend. I expected it to roll up the Atlantic coast and hit us my mid-week. And that it did. However, it looks like it wants to stay around until the beginning of NEXT WEEK!!! Doesn't it realize that I have FISHING TO DO?!?! The percentage chances are supposed to be rather low this weekend so I may TRY to squeeze a short trip in if the winds aren't too bad. I REALLY want to head out to Rudee and see if I can hit the Puppy Drum, Gray or Speckled Trout. I'd even take a confused Flounder if they are still around! You MIGHT even convince me that a Blue Fish would be okay, too! (Convincing me of that might take an "adult beverage" or three, though)

So, here's to hoping the "weather gods" fully understand how I'm feeling about all of this and cooperate with me!

My first "early morning" trip

I decided to go to Nanny Creek instead of Spitzli Creek or the Oxbow off of North Landing River. I made it out on the water around 0730. I noticed a spot driving in, where the road goes over a pipe connecting two bodies of water, where the fish were chasing bait fish pretty hard. That's where I headed for first. I was waiting on my friend, Rob, to show up so I started throwing. I started out with a swim bait, then a Rapala floating jerk bait. Nothing on those two so I switched to a shallow running crank bait. That was the ticket. I boated 7 bass before Rob even showed up! Some were small, the first one was a "keeper", and they kept getting bigger! That first one, once I hooked it, came at me like a freight train (almost) faster than I could crank the reel! The trick was for a little current to be flowing out of the pipe from the other side of the road. If water was coming out of the pipe the bite was on. If it stopped, or started flowing into the pipe, it was like a switch had been flipped.

So, once Rob showed up, for a while we stayed there killing it! Once the bite seemed to have turned off for good I decided to head out for newer waters. I tried the mouth of the creek some, the creek by the boats, all along the grass on the right side of the creek after the boats, the boat docks themselves, the channel. Nothing seemed to work at all! I went all the way up the creek to the big creek on the left. Not one single bite! So, I decided to head back down the creek to where the day started. That's where I found Rob. He had never moved and had been killing 'em all day! He had 3 on a stringer that were nice ones. He said he was heading out, but I convinced him to stay for a little while longer. We went back to our starting spot. They were still chasing bait fish so out came the crank bait. I tied on a spinner bait also just for a change of pace. I got a few more, with one of them being a "keeper" but he jumped out of my hand, while I was there. All total I caught/boated about 18 bass all day from that one spot and kept 2. Man they were good last night! :)

That was a MUCH better day than the last trip I had. I went out to Lake Rudee last weekend on Saturday. I thought I'd timed the tides right, but I screwed that one up for sure. After four hours, or so, I only had 4 bites. Just. Bites! Nothing in the boat whatsoever!

OR better than the day a few weeks ago when Danielle, Peyton, Paul, Rob, and I all headed out to Rudee. Rob was catching a lot of little flounder. I hooked into one flounder, but it came off about 6 inches under the boat! Peyton boated a small Speckled Trout. That was about it, though, all day.

Paul looked at me after about 3 hours and said he was ready to go so everyone but Rob headed out. Once we home I called Rob to see if he was off of the water. He said he was and had been all the way out to the inlet. He boated several larger fish. He caught a legal Speckled Trout, but threw it back. He also caught a few decent flounder also. So asked both Peyton and Danielle if they wanted to go. Peyton called it quits so Danielle and I headed back out to the jetty at 4th Street. We got a parking spot, made it over to the jetty lining the boat channel. I made 3 casts and got my lure snagged! Danielle said, "Just step on that rock to see if you can get it to pop loose." Since it was only 3 feet away I didn't think anything of it. The rock was mud covered, and had some oyster shells on it, but I thought if I was careful I MIGHT get the lure to pop loose. Well, I never got a chance. My foot slipped, I sat down onto my butt, but my right arm went between two rocks and sliced my wrist and palm wide open. After a trip to Virginia Beach General's ER I left with 24 stitches. By the way, the Physician's Assistant was HORRIBLE!!! I was not allowed to speak while she was in the room ONE BIT!!! How's that for a professionalism and bedside manner?!

Anyway, all is well now. back to fishing as many times as I can, and trying to keep my head above water at work and in school. Hopefully more fishing to come, though!

First boat trip

This past weekend Danielle's mother and step-father came for a quick visit. They never seem to want to stay too long. I think they think that they are imposing on us, but it is nice to have them around since they do not get to see Paul very much. They live in Alabama so our visits are always few and far between. Anyway, while we were still planning their visit I mentioned, as a joke, that my father-in-law should bring some rods so we can go fishing. Well, that set off a firestorm of activity! Here is how it all went down...

I worked a little harder than I wanted to on the Boat US Foundation Boating Safety Course for Virginia. That thing was a lot harder than I expected! Keeping that in mind I completed the course so that I could go to the MWR Outdoor Recreation Office and be able to rent a boat. I reserved the last sixteen foot jon boat they had left. So while the girls and Paul were headed to Colonial Williamsburg my father-in-law and I went to pick it up Friday early afternoon and took it out a little later after we ate lunch. We put in at the boat ramp on Mill Landing Road and went up Nanny Creek. It was blowing a little harder than we wanted to stay out in Back Bay so we headed up the creek. We found quite a bit of places that just looked “fishy”. There was a  tree that was sticking up out of the water that just looked particularly enticing. I tried a Texas-rigged craw, but came up with nothing. Then I tried a shallow running crankbait and that seemed to be the ticket. I hooked, and fought, a smaller White Perch, but if came off right at the boat. Then, a couple of casts later, I hooked into something that had a little more pull. I fought, and landed, a nice Largemouth Bass. It was a little over 2 pounds and was 16 ½ inches long.

First bass on Nanny Creek.

A nice fish I must say. Unfortunately that was the only fish of any size that was caught. My father-in-law never even got a bite and the only other fish that was hooked was a fingerling that was about twice the size of the crankbait I was throwing. Other than that we just drifted and/or motored around hoping for something. That creek looks amazing and it is a wonder that we didn’t hook into anything else.

So, with our heads hanging a little lower than we wanted, we headed in and planned a trip for the next day – Saturday – to Lake Rudee for some light salt water action. Unfortunately the winds picked up over night to a level that we were not comfortable with. So we called the trip and just stayed home spending time with the rest of the family. My in-laws left Sunday morning heading home so that was the end of the fishing, for this trip, with my father-in-law. Hopefully, in the nearer-rather-than-later future, there will be another fishing trip with him. It was a lot of fun!

Sunday morning, though, after they hit the road the decision was made that Danielle, Peyton, Paul and I would head back out to Nanny Creek to try our hand. I made quick work of getting all the rods and tackle bags ready while Danielle and Peyton got both themselves and Paul ready. They got some snacks ready while I changed my clothes and we were off to the boat ramp. I realized this trip was going to be different on the drive down the road to the ramp because it was obviously high tide as there was water over the road everywhere. It made the launch much easier, though, so we got everything and everyone in the boat and headed up the creek. Because of the higher water level the fishing was less than stellar to say the least. Couple that with copious amounts of “tree fishing” by the girls the trip turned into just a boat ride. That was fine with me because it allowed me a chance to learn even more of this new-to-me body of water. We made it as far as we could go and had to turn around at the bridge at Nanny’s Creek Road. On the way up the creek we saw a huge doe and a rather big fawn with her. We looked, they stopped and looked, and then they headed off into the woods never to be seen again. That was pretty much the highlight of the trip so we headed back to the ramp, loaded up the boat, and headed home.

I must say that after obtaining the Boat US Foundation Boating Safety card I hope to utilize it more in the future. I do love my kayak for a myriad of reasons, but the boat was a nice change of pace. It allowed all of us to go out on the water in one place and spend time together as a family. Not separated on the water “doing our own thing” in our individual kayaks. That is still a good time, but with Paul being as young as he is; our time on the water is limited to his tolerance of being confined. None the less it was a good time had by all.

Playin' catch up...

A lot has happened since my last post. My daughter, Peyton, arrive on July 2nd for a while. It has been a long time since I have seen her so this trip is much needed. She settled in okay after a horrible day of travel. Too many delays for the last leg of the trip meant that she finally arrived after Paul's bedtime. Oh well, such is life I suppose in today's air travel world.

 

Anyway, on the fourth I got a chance to go fishing with a friend of mine. Rob met me at the Lotus Garden and we spent a few hours trying our best to get anything to bite. I finally ended the day with only three White Perch that weren't even as big as my hand, but they hit my spinner bait pretty hard and that is all that matters. Rob did not catch a thing all day. Just a hot, tiring trip any way you cut it.

 

Then a couple of days later Peyton and I went out to Lake Rudee to try our hand at some light salt water action. I checked the tide table and the solunar information to see when we needed to be out there. We finally made it to the ramp about an hour later than I wanted to, but we made it none the less. After a quick pep talk and introduction to what we were looking for we paddled out to the grass island and anchored up. Peyton was on one oyster bar on one side and I was on the one on the other side. It was bright and a little warm, but there was a nice breeze blowing so it wasn't too bad.

 

We were there for only a little while before Peyton mentioned, rather nonchalantly, that she thought she had a fish on. She gave it a little tug and the rod bent over! She struck first! After a brief fight, and reeling it in too far, we were able to get her very first Red Drum (Puppy Drum) into the net. We just sat there admiring it in all of its shiny glory! I helped her get the hook out and measured it. Legal keeper size in Virginia is 18 inches. This one only measured 17 ½ inches. Missed it by that…much! We released this beautiful fish and kept on fishing. Then she started killing the Speckled Trout! She caught two of them before I even caught my first fish of the day!

 

Then we hit a drought for a bit. The first one to strike to end the drought was Peyton. She hit another Speck. Then I caught a 16 inch Flounder. My card said that it was illegal to keep. The legal length, according to my card, was 16 ½ inches. That card was dated January 2013. A friend of mine at work produced a card dated March 2013 that said 16 inches was legal to keep. Oh well. You live and learn. I released that fish and kept on fishing. Peyton caught a few more Specks and then the dinner bell stopped ringing. We waited around for a few more minutes and then called it a day.

 

It was my first time fishing with Peyton in over 15 years so all in all it was an outstanding day! I look forward to doing that a few more times before she leaves.

Father's Day 2013

Saturday was a perfect day! We all went out on a fishing trip in our kayaks to Lotus Garden/Ashville Bridge Creek. We launched around 1100 and started our meander down the creek. It was a nice, bright, sunny day with low wind and lots of birds singing. The fishing started slow, but Paul was content to just ride along with Danielle and watch the world go by. Then we got down to the oxbow. That's when things heated up.

I could see, and hear, some fish chasing schools of bait fish. So, since I had a crank bait tied on one of my rods (Danielle still gives me grief for taking "so many" with me), I started throwing. I thought I knew what was doing the chasing, but it was all confirmed once I got my first Long-nose Gar in the boat. Those things are vicious! And hard as a brick! This one was about 18" and about 3lbs I estimated. I put it back and kept on throwing. Not long after that I caught 2 more, but they came off right at the boat. I'll count that as a catch anyway. They were bigger, too. About 20-21" long. One of them even made a torpedo run right by the kayak!

Paul was getting restless so we moved on down the creek. We ran into a guy fishing from a bass boat. He said he was actually participating in a tournament and the pickings were slow going. We bid him good luck and moved on towards Danielle's goal, Blue Pete's Restaurant. That place did not disappoint, either! With a dock out back that we could tie-up to, we did just that and went inside to relax, eat, and cool off for a while. Lunch was very good as was the water and iced tea. So we stayed a while, fed the "hungry monster" in Paul's belly, and started making our way back to the truck still parked at Lotus Garden. That's when things started heating up!

On the way back I thought I would try a Texas-rigged crawfish imitation. That was the ticket! We "tree hopped" back to the truck with a stop at the oxbow and one other spot. By this time the "hungry monster" went to sleep in Paul's belly so he did as well....for a little while. Anyway, at the oxbow I hooked the biggest fish I've ever caught. This Long-nose Gar was easily over 40". It tore up my crank bait pretty badly as well! It broke off one of the hooks on the front treble hook and started straightening out one of the ones of the back treble. That thing was plain old mean, but the fight was fun. I never got it in the kayak. I tried, but I couldn't get a good grip on it and it was too big for either of our nets. The Fish Gripper I have wouldn’t have worked either because of the way it was hooked. The crank bait had its mouth clamped shut so that was out of the question. So, as I was trying to get it in the boat without slicing me up on the lure and/or its teeth, it jerked one more time and......off it came. *sigh*

Anyway, back up the creek we found this one tree where I caught 4 bass. One of them was just over 14". They all fought like they were way bigger than they actually were, but they were a lot of fun. We stayed and tried to get one for Danielle, but Paul had other plans. Those plans were for mommy to NOT catch a fish. So, he came over to my boat for the rest of the trip so mommy could concentrate on fishing and not Paul wrangling/wrestling. A couple of bends later she hooked into a good one! But it came off right at the boat. *sigh*

We looked at the clock and realized we had been on the water all day! Paul was a trooper, too! We started heading back at a slower pace. We hit up one more spot on the way out. That's when I caught my last bass of the day on the crank bait. Once I hooked him he came running right straight at the boat like a freight train! I could barely keep up. Then I switched over to my 1/8oz spinner bait and caught my first ever Yellow Perch. It was a small one, but he was fun to catch. Paul seemed to like it, too. I finally got my Pungo Triple!

Then....it happened! Danielle FINALLY hooked AND LANDED her first bass in her kayak! She caught it on another 1/8oz white Strike King spinner bait. The look on her face after she got the hook out and held up that bass was priceless! I'm so proud of her!

Danielle worked SO HARD for this fish!

The rest of the day was spent heading back to the launch site listening to the bullfrogs. They were really loud! All in all a really good day! I hope to do that again sooner rather than later.

Nothin.....

I took my son Paul out fishing today so mommy could finish up some work to end this never ending school year. We went to Lotus Pond for a couple of hours. We saw quite a few & heard a lot of commotion back in the grass. But they just weren't biting anything. Oh well. Better luck next time I suppose. The water was really high, though. Maybe that had the fish all confused. Who knows.

 *sigh*

One more try....

This isn't my first attempt at writing and maintaining a blog. I had one before, but through a comedy of errors it fell by the wayside. This one most likely will also so don't get your hopes up.

Anyway, as I stated in my "introduction" I am a father that is trying to make it through life without too many huge mistakes. I have already made enough of them in my lifetime and I don't want to repeat them. But, I most likely will. I guess you just never learn.

Things have changed for me in recent years. I have the greatest gift a loving wife could ever give to a husband. I have Paul, our 2 and a half year old terror. I also have my unbelievably strong daughter, Peyton, who lives with her mother in Washington State. I don't get to see her as much as I would like to, but that's the way life works sometimes I guess.

I get the privilege and honor of sharing my life with Danielle, the strongest woman I know this side of my mother. We spend too much time chasing after and attempting to clean up the aftermath of our little bundle of tornado. He just really does not realize just how much of a bulldozer he is. Nor does he realize how smart he is. There are times when we look at each other and know, deep down inside, that we are totally and completely screwed! He's way smarter than we are!

When we're not chasing him around I like to fish....a lot! Not near as much as I would truly like to, but I am the luckiest man on earth in that Danielle likes to go with me! We take Paul out with us as well so it becomes a giant family affair. Those trips are way too short because Paul just can't sit still that long. Oh well....that will come in due time.

We're both USA Cycling officials and really enjoy giving back to the sport we love. The time away from family is the only negative, but the time with our friends is well spent. It is good to catch up with them from time to time.

I attend Regent University and am pursuing a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in Pre-Law. My hope and goal is to finish this degree, my second, before I retire. Then go on to, hopefully, get my Juris Doctorate degree and become an attorney.

Other than that there's not too much else to talk about. We go to work, we come home, we do our best to corral the monster, as I like to call him, and we crash every night. You know...the American Dream!