My Best Fishin' Bud

I've taken my 3 yr old son bank fishing twice since he turned 3 back in April. The "bait" for this trip was for him to demonstrate limited fear of water and swimming ability with a life jacket on. He passed that test a few weeks ago at the neighbor's pool so it was time to give it a go in the canoe.

After tossing down some cinnamon rolls this morning we were off. First, a quick stop for some petrol for the beast. Then we hit the highway and headed south ... it was a little chilly this morning.  The shot from the highway with his big grin is my favorite of this trip.



Pushed off around 10 am and little man did very well staying put in his seat and not standing up. Worms under a bobber near a few laydowns did the trick for him. Here are a few of the bluegill we caught.






I caught a few crappie on a bettlespin and then hooked up with my best fish of the day on the same bettlespin on the UL. Great fight! This is Holden's signature photography (finger blur)



Next I caught a small bullhead on that same bettlespin.


After some lunch, Holden was satisfied taking photos and playing with his paddle, so papa got out the baitcaster and I landed a few more bass. I got him to hold one of the bigger fish and release it. He said "it bit my finger".




One last stop at the crappie hole and it was time to call it quits. We tried to find a few crayfish in the rocky shallows, but had no luck. Great day with my son out on a beautiful Piedmont river.

Trusty Goat

Last year we ran into this goat, or maybe it's his brother, but none-the-less I was surprised to see it. How do goats get on islands in the middle of the river? Got me!

Now, as far as the fishing, it wasn't the best day I've had. However, Dave and I had a great float. He caught a few small bass on flies that he tied as well as his first striper!  I got a small striper and several good largemouth.











Great times on the water with an old friend. Look forward to fishing with you again Dave!

Monster Catch-Up Post

I've been fishing ... a lot! Here are a few highlights over late June and most of July to catch up.

We'll start with a visit to a small Piedmont flow east of Durham in search of a Roanoke bass with my bud Mack.




No Roanokes caught, just a few small largemouth and a "mountain" of sunfish, mostly on Mack's mini spook. Next up a quick after work trip to a favorite local flow in search of a few big largemouth. With only a few hours in an unfamilar section, I didn't catch many, but caught one on a new swimjig with a big hammer swimbait trailer.




I then caught a mixed bag at another (different) small Piedmont flow and kept a few crappie for the fam.







My bud Jeff and I got out on yet another (different) Piedmont flow with low/clear/hot conditions. We caught a few fish on spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Jeff caught both of these right under my nose!





After a week at the beach with the family and no fishing, Steve invited me to a Piedmont creek I'd never fished for some bass and crappie action. We landed a few good bass and no crappie. Very interesting place and hope to try it again!





Headed back to that favorite small Piedmont flow and caught another mixed bag with a nice mess of crappie for the freezer/fryer including my personal best crappie.





Fhewww! Are we there yet??? Next up a small Piedmont flow east of Charlotte that I've never fished, but have been eyeballin' on the internet for years. A rather big disappointment with very shallow and sandy bottom mixed with rocks. I caught many sunnies and a few small bass, like this guy.




Last on this post was an attempt on the same river as Jeff and I fished earlier in this post, but this time the rain of the prior day was rushing through the section we selected about the time we dropped off the car at the takeout. Unfortunately, I didn't step back and punt, and instead launched into a muddy, high mess. I caught the only two fish of the day, including this guy on a Zoom frog back in a small feeder creek.




Well, that takes me up to last weekend where a good friend from my childhood drove up for some floating, fishing, and fun on one of the most fertile and scenic rivers in the Piedmont.