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.