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.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Movin' on Up ... the Deep River

I've been looking at upgrading my paddle for the solo canoe.  I picked up a "new-to-me" paddle last weekend and I had to test it out.  I bought a very lightly used Bending Branches Slice Glass 280 cm double bladed paddle.  It's very long and intended for use with solo canoes or wide/tall kayaks.  It's a great paddle and I highly recommend it for use with a OT Guide 119, Kaynoe, or other solo canoe.

I wanted to fish an area where I could paddle around a bit.  I started fishing the Deep River a few years ago.  In fact, it was one of the first rivers in the Triangle I explored after moving back to NC.  I had never fished above Carbonton, NC until today.  I got a recommendation from my friend Mack to try out an area just above hwy 64 near Ramseur, NC. 

Conditions
Ambient - 75 F, sunny
Water - 63 F, slightly stained (~3 ft visibility)
USGS Flow ~200 cfs @ Ramseur

I put in at a small mill pond and shortly after landed this small bass on a chartruese spinnerbait.  I thought it may be a great day after this start, but I quickly realized this area of the Deep River sees a lot of pressure due to very easy access.  The scenery is great with rocky cliffs, falling water, and lots of water fowl.  I lost a good fish just below the rapids shown below on a texas rigged Zoom lizard, which is one of my go-to lures.



I moved downstream for a short float and managed one more bass on a Heddon Torpedo.  This area of the river has a nice park running down river left with remnants of old textile mills.  The river is relatively shallow and full of rocks.  In the summer this would be a great place to rock hop and enjoy the cool water.




Although I caught a few, this wasn't my favorite place to fish.  However, with such a nice park, this would be a great place to take my family for a picnic, fishing, swings, playground, and feeding ducks. 

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