Late Year Trout Trip

Austin and I hit the Bluestone River for a end of the year trout trip.  The water was pretty low and it was fairly cold but we managed to catch several fish.  There were several other fishermen so we tried to be mindful and give them a wide berth.  At one point we were actually approached by an obnoxious overweight individual that seemed to think he owned the river.  We politely informed him that it was a public river on a public park, to which he had no retort.  Despite his grumblings we headed far upstream to try and give him space and actually caught some fish in a part of the river we usually don't fish.

Shanklin's Camping Trip

Hit Shankin's Ferry for an overnight camping trip with John.  It was a productive trip as we caught many bass and John caught a pretty nice mudcat.  We had great weather and as a bonus we were able to setup a TV at camp to catch some college football when we got done fishing.

Spring Time Bass

Spring is here and the fish are starting to bite.  It has been a little difficult to fish the river lately due to high water that we've had for the past couple of weeks.  I built a kayak cart over the winter, which allows me to utilize the kayak on solo fishing trips.  This gives me access to flooded spots that are inaccessible when wading.  I have be on a couple of trips and have caught several bass on green and brown tube jigs.  Due to high water I have been limited to fishing around islands and locating isolated holes of slack water where bass have been hanging out, but my methods have been fruitful and I look forward to a long spring, summer, and fall of float fishing.

Spring is Finally Here!

It is still going to take a while for the water temperatures to match the air, but finally it seems like Spring is finally here.  After a Winter that didn't want to let go (we got a freak snow storm only two days before) temperatures are finllay feeling more like Spring.  Austin and I did some hole hopping up at Shanklin's Ferry.  I was able to pull a decent little smalllie out from under a ledge on a pumpkin seed tube jig.  I hooked up with another but the fish shook the hook loose.  Austin had some good hookups, but had one break him off and a couple more get away.  It won't be long before it really starts to heat up!

Cold Water Bass

Cabin fever is at its height and Spring is just around the corner.  There is still some rements of snow as we have been in the middle of a cold spell.  Austin and I took a trip in his Crawdad watercraft to a certain fishing hole to help cure the effects of Cabin fever.  We fished for a few hours and actually did pretty well even though tempertaures were in the 40's and falling.  I finally broke in my new St. Croix Rod I have been trying to catch a fish on since last Fall by catching two Largemouths off of a Jig and Pig.  Austing caught anouther four or five on Jig and Pigs and Tube Jigs.  A good start to the year.

First Fish of the New Year

Austin and I had been planning another trip into the Bluestone for a while, but bad weather and prior obligations had postponed this trip for several weeks.  Water conditions were optimal and we were able to land some good fish.  As in years past, the numbers caught per trip continually decreases as the trout get wise to the fishing pressure on them, float down into the lake, or begin to die off.  This trip was no exception as we only managed to catch 10 between us; however, every fish was a lunker.  Most were in the 3 to 4 pound range, but one I managed to catch tipped the scales at 6 pounds.  That's easily the biggest trout I've ever caught outweighing the 5 pounder I caught a few years ago.  All and all a great way to start the new year.