Took a Kid Fishing - Pt. II

I took Drew fishing again.  He's the kid I took the previous year and caught a 33.5# blue.  I had gone nearly 20 trips in a row catching at least one citation fish, and had never gotten skunked on the James before.  If there was ever a trip I'd want a citation more than anything, it would be this one.  But it wasn't in the cards. 

Looking back, we probably should have focused upriver all day.  We started at Deep Bottom and worked our way downriver, eventually ending up below the Benjamin Harrison.  When we did get upriver, it was nearing time to take Drew home, and that's just when the bite started to pick up.  A couple friends who we chatted with upriver ended up having a fantastic night after we left.

On the bright side, Drew still had a blast.  I let him drive the boat most of the time, so he probably had just as much fun as he would have had he caught a monster.  Hopefully I can redeem myself the next time I take him fishing.

Way to Go....Pops!

Took my future Father-In-Law fishing.  He accompanied me on many trips when I was first learning the river, and we basically paid our dues together.  He hadn't come fishing with me in a while since I switched to catfishing almost exclusively in cold weather.  He hadn't caught a citation yet, and with all the time I put in the previous winter, I was itching to put that knowledge to use and put him on a nice fish.

We got bait pretty easy that morning, then headed out to the main river.  We stopped adjacent to a grass flat and he boated a 22#.  We then moved on to a number of spots the rest of the day out on the main river in a little deeper water and didn't catch a single fish.  The day was winding down and I was eager to put him on some more fish, so we headed back to first spot of the day.  We should have never left it!

We started getting bites almost immediately.  He got a double 22.5# and 23.5#.  Another pole went down and I decided to fight my first fish for the day, and a nice one it was, but it spit the hook.  A while later, the moment finally came.  Pole goes down and up comes his first citation blue cat!

What a Fish!  36.7# - 41.5":

Double 23.5# and 22.5#:

What an exciting time at the last hole!  It eventually started to get dark so we made our way back to the ramp.  As we were loading up, we got to watch a teenage girl catch a 15# blue.  I don't think anyone in her family had ever seen a fish that big, so they were really stoked!  We said our congratulations to her.  Just a couple minutes after that, a little jon boat pulls up with three guys on it.  They're hootin' and hollerin' about a big fish they just caught, and one guy jumps off the boat and goes running by us saying he needs to go home and get his camera.  He was flying b/c I didn't even have time to tell him I would have gladly taken a picture for them and sent it to them.  They weighed it at the dock and it went just over 30#.  So looks like the day was full of P.B.'s for alot of people!  It doesn't get any better than that.........



Let it Rain!

I fished the James Friday and Saturday.  Started Friday off with a length citation 27#er, and spent nearly the rest of the day hole-hopping without a fish.  I decided to make a run downriver and I'm glad I did.  I had a 48#er slam my rod down to end the day!

48.1# - 44":

27# - 38":

I went downriver Saturday and started the day off with a 32#.  None of the usual winter spots were producing and it was nearing 5pm so I figured I'd try one last spot.  From the get go, it was on!  47# and 25# double, 36#, 35# all within an hour.  I was hoping to fish Sunday to see if I patterned them correctly, but two days of fishing in that non-stop cold drizzle was enough for me.

47# - 44":



36.4# - 40.5":

 35# - 39":

31.7# - 39":

Bait never took more than 10 minutes each day, and thankfully not many catfish to sort through.  Check out a few of the goodies I caught in one set of my net:

Of course, they were released and not used as bait ;-)

Something about the river has a calming effect, even in the rain:

Final tally for the trip:

Friday:  48.1#-44", 27#-38",

Saturday:  47#-44", 36.4#-40.5", 35#-39", 31.7#-39", 25#, 25#, 15#, 12#

The Early Bird Got the Worm

I got on the water around midnight and my two citations came before 7 am.  Once the weather warmed up, the bite turned off and all I got was sunburned.  I got bait first in DB, and it was so-so.  I kept the gill net with me and set it downriver later in the day and bait was very plentiful.  I swear there was a boat every 50 yards on the river.  It was crazy out there.  I decided to quit fishing early afternoon due to the heat, the crowds, and the wind picking up.  There was a line of boats waiting to launch and load at Deep Bottom, reminded me of Dutch Gap on a holiday weekend.  Everybody and their cousin was out fishing.  Even some of the out of the way spots had party boats in there hanging out and playing music and carrying on, destroying any peace and quiet. 

43.4# - 42":

36.6# - 40.5":



My first Bowfin, it went 6.3#:

Gill net goodie....an early season Hickory Shad.  I heard a school of fish splashing just prior to me setting my net.  I'm betting it was Hickories and this little guy got separated from the pack:

I never waved at so many people yesterday and not had my wave returned.  To all you fair weather fishermen with no manners, I hope you got skunked and sunburned!

Final tally for the day:  43.4#-42", 36.6#-40.5", 25#, 20#, 20#, 5#, 6.3# Bowfin

Prognosis Negative

Finally took the boat into the shop to get the tilt/trim unit worked on.  It turns out the motor was fried.  It never held water and froze like I had suspected.  The good folks at Adams and Durvin Marine placed a call to Yamaha and got the repair done under warranty, so zero cost for me!  It was almost $800 worth of work.  Good to finally have this taken care of and ready to hit the water!