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!