Up at Dawn

Austin and I got up before the Sun to beat the crowds and get the best bite on a Memorial day weekend.  The air was a little cool for this time of year; in the upper forties, but it warmed up quite a bit throughout the day and the water temperature was near normal so the bite was good.  We caught 46 fish between the two of us and were off the river as most people were just getting started.  The high point of the trip was a near 25 inch musky I caught throwing a white G-Tail on the upper Greenbrier side of the of our Bellpoint to Southside float.  It's the first musky I'd caught in a couple years.  Unfortunately we dropped it back in the river before we could get a picture but it was still a blast to catch and a real boost to the ego.

Carposaurus!

Austin, Jamie, Greg and I along with one of Austin's co-workers set out for an early morning float trip on the New just below the dam.  Between the 5 of us we caught 56 fish.  Most were a mixed bag of smallmouth and red-eyes; however one was whopper of a carp.  I was throwing an in-line spinner below the first bridge on the opposite bank from the state police station in an effort to catch a big smallie, or perhaps a muskie, when something started swimming off with my lure.  It wasn't a real hard hit.  In fact I thought I was snagged on a log at first.  As it became more clear that it was a big fish I set the hook hard and then it was on.  I immediately knew it wasn't a bass by the way it fought.  Swimming deep and peeling drag I thought I had a musky or possibly big catfish.  I was a little under equipped with a medium light rod and 8lb. test line.  It was mildly amusing as the fish pulled me and my kayak around a deep pool in the river.  It looked as if I was propelling myself along with a trolling motor.  After several minutes I was able to land the 13 pound fish; a carp.  Not the biggest of this species, but plenty big enough to give me all I could handle.  It was definitely
the highlight of the trip and a memory I'll hang onto for a while.

Birthday Shanklin's Trip

For my 36th birthday I decided to take the day off work, hitch up the john boat and head up to Shanklin's for a day trip.  I caught 9 to 10 nice size bass on a pretty laid back trip.  I recently installed a prop and skeg guard, which actually paid for itself on this trip as a hit a couple of rocks that normally would have damaged the lower unit.  One of the neatest things about this trip was that I took my boss' aerial drone with me to capture some interesting pictures of the area.

Early Spring Farm Pond Fishing

Austin and I took the girls up to Lake and Amy's farm pond to fish for bluegills.  Bella is getting real good at casting and landing fish now, although setting the hook is something she is still working on.  We had a real good time and landed a few largemouth bass in addition to the many bluegills.

Dragon Slayer!

 Jamie Goins recently acquired a Jackson Coosa from John Cooper and has been floating with Austin and me lately.  We decided to put in for our usually New River float to the first take out.  The weather was nice and mild.  A typical early fall day . The fishing was slow, as it has been a lot lately. The whole float yielded around 20 fish between us; however, the event that made the whole day was a monster musky Austin caught.  It was right at 40 inches and around 17lbs.  It's the biggest Musky I've seen in person.  It was amazing that he landed it.  Fishing for bass we were using 1/8th ounce jig heads baited with 3 inch G-Tails, 8 to 10 pound test line, and no steel leader.  It jumped one big time and after tiring it out Austin was able to land it.  Another awesome site came a little later as we observed bald eagle circle high above stalking its prey.  Making several passes it descended and easily snatched a bass from the water in its talons.  All and all it was a great day.

Bella's Bluegill

 Bella is really starting to get the hang of fishing on her own.  I took her up to Lake's pond a few times this summer and she has gotten to where she can cast on her own and even bait her own hook!  I took the fly rod once and she insisted on trying.  With some assistance she actually caught a bluegill on it.  She's really starting to enjoy the different aspects of it and likes to go any chance she can get; however, still being a little kid her attention span begins to wane when the fish stop biting.  I look forward to taking her again.

Morning New River Float

Austin and I floated the New to the first takeout.  The fishing was pretty slow and the weather was overcast and rainy.  I think all and all we ended up with about 16 between us, but I did manage to land this stud.

Fly Fishing for Pond Fish

Austin and I took a crack at Lake's pond to try and break things up a little.  We decided to make it a fly fishing trek.  The fish were pretty active as we landed around 25 between us.  They responded well to top water foam bugs and poppers. It was a mixed bag of mostly bluegills a few largemouth and one crappie.

Banner Day on the Greenbrier!

For my brother's birthday I went on a float trip with him, Austin and Greg on the Greenbrier.  We absolutely slammed the fish, well all except Brian who doesn't fish.  He actually fell asleep in his kayak in the middle of the river at one point.  Oh well, he always has a good time floating.  I ended up catching 51 made up of a mix between smallmouth and redeye.  Austin caught 31 and Greg caught 23.  There were several nice sized fish and I ended up with a whopper that was right at 20 inches and somewhere between 4 and 5 pounds.  All and all, a great day.

Memorial Day New River Float

Austin, Greg and I decided to float the New on Memorial day.  We started early and got out early before the crowds showed up.  Fishing started out a little slow and then picked up as we went.  We caught over 20 fish each, but the real excitement
was a 28 inch musky Greg landed.

Return to Moncove

I made my second trip to Moncove Lake.  Austin and I decided to fish here this day because everything else in the tri-county area was flooded out due to some heavy rain we got earlier in the week. It was very cold for this time of year and the wind made it difficult to fish.  We caught about 15 between us and I managed to catch my second perch ever.  Kind of made me think of Craig (RIP) as he was fond of catching perch from Moncove and taking them home for dinner.

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.