About Me

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Raleigh, NC
Born in Richmond, Virginia, grew up in Kernersville, North Carolina, and now reside in Raleigh. I attribute most of my fishing prowess to my father, who took me fishing often as a child. We would regularly do float trips on the James River in Virginia, which is where I learned to love canoeing and river fishing. Unfortunately, my father has passed, but he lives on through my passion for chasing fish from my canoes. I intend to pass this love for fishing and the outdoors onto my children and can't wait to share these experiences with them. I currently have 4 canoes: Customized Old Town Guide 119, Customized Mohawk 16 Royalex, Coleman Scanoe, and 12' Indian River Solo.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy 4th in MD

4th of July 2013 ... I've been working in FL for weeks at a time and the family is going to MD to visit my mother-in-law for the holiday.  The 4th is free fishing day in MD, no license required.  I usually take my canoe and smallie gear to float a flow in the upper Potomac basin. 

I was unable to get my canoe up to MD as I was forced to fly into Baltimore directly from FL.  Instead, I asked my wife to toss a few pieces of gear into the car in hopes I could do some wading.  I'd heard that Catoctin creek was a decent fishery, but I mostly read about trout fishing in the upper sections.  I decided to try the lower part of the creek, near the confluence with the Potomac, in hopes of finding a good smallmouth population. 

My decision paid off in spades.  I waded ~1 mile of river and landed 20 smallmouth on several lures: super fluke jr, rebel craw, and rapala x-rap. 

The creek was wide and shallow, easy to wade.  The banks were gradual and fairly free of overhanding trees, making this what I presume to be a fly fisherman's dream.  Well, I didn't see any other fly fisherman, or any fisherman for that matter.  As I reflected on the trip, I thought this type of flow could make me step into the fly fishing realm. 

I started the day hot, first cast was an ~8" smallmouth in a large slow eddy pool working my super fluke jr on the surface.  I walked upstream pitching to any areas I thought may harbor a predator and was rewarded routinely. 

A few highlights included this fish, which I saw cruising in ~12" of water about 40' away.  I pitched my rebel craw out 10' in front of the fish and starting it working it slow.  As soon as the fish passed some nearby rocks and spotted the lure, it immediately pounced and inhaled the lure ... fish on!


On my way back down river, I stopped to fish a small eddy pool next to swift water where the entire flow passed a big rock on the bank.  I'm thinking this is a great place for ambush, but it didn't produce on my way upstream.  I tossed my rapala x-rap x08 in olive green into the pool and it was bit before I could set the bail to retrieve.  Again, fish on!  This is my best smallmouth of 2013.


I had no idea a flow this small would be so productive and entertaining.  I'm sure I'll enjoy many more trips to the in-laws, and maybe one day it'll be with a fly rod.