From Worse, to Bad

Left Lynchburg at around 2am Saturday to meetup with James (Muzkrat) for some Labor Day weekend fishing.  On my way up, I marveled at how smooth a trip it had been so far and what great time I was making.  Coming through the 'wonderful' town of Hopewell, I hit one of those 55 down to 45 zones and next thing I know I have blinking lights behind me.  Cop tells me I was speeding in the 45 zone.  If that wasn't bad enough, he writes me another ticket for illegal tint.  It's never been an issue the entire time I've had the car and been stopped, but I guess he needed something to do at 4am.

So that was the "worse" part of the trip....now onto the "bad".  James and I launch while it's still dark out, get bait easily, head down to Presquille and boat three fish between 16-20# within the first 30 minutes.  I'm thinking it's gonna be a good day....WRONG.  We spent the next 18 hours, yes I said that, 18 hours to catch two more 5# fish!  It was still a little early in the season to do daytime trips yet, and the non-stop back and forth recreational boat traffic didn't help matters.  Then boy did it get cold that night, so we headed in at about 2 AM Sunday.

Can't say it was all bad though.  I got to go fishing, and that's always a good thing.



Final tally for the day:

Josh:  18#, 16#, 5#

James:  20#, 5#

ECTT Tournament - 2nd Place!

Me and Lizard decided to team up and enter our first big tournament.  It was the Extreme Catfish Tournament Trail on July 10th, launching at 7:00 PM out of Hopewell ramp with a 7:00 AM weigh-in the following morning.  There were a total of 18 boats entered, and we came in a very respectable 2nd place in a field containing some guides and very experienced James River anglers!

We edged out a couple of the teams who placed just below us.  The 1st Place winner Jason (JCat) blew everybody else out of the water.  He was last to weigh in, and when he asked for two separate tubs to bring his fish to the scales with, and when he returned with those tubs containing fish so big their tails were hanging over the edge, we knew 1st place wasn't in the cards for us that night!  Jason was the first angler to break 100# on a two fish weigh-in on the ECCT trail. 

It was a struggle from the get-go to keep our fish vibrant in the livewell.  We didn't have it setup to auto-run, so we were icing and exchanging water throughout the night in an effort to keep our fish healthy and the water temps down.  Thankfully, our fish were able to swim off after weigh-in.  Next time we'll be better prepared.

Standings (Top 3):

Jason Kintner / Matthew Hedrick - 62.1#, 54.5#.....116.6 Total Weight

Jeff Parks / Joshua Pritchett - 37.3#, 26.3#..... 63.6 Total Weight

Jeff Fink Sr / Jeff Fink Jr - 43.9#, 19#.....62.9 Total Weight

Woof, Woof!!!

I fished aboard the Seaduction again with Mike and crew.  I wish I had a better report, but I gotta report the DOG trips with the good ones.  We literally caught over 100 Dog Sharks that day.  I did catch a citation blueline tilefish, but we only had two total for the boat.  This was one of the few times I'd gone offshore and not come back with a full fish box.

We fished from 60' to over 1000' (thank God for the electric reel!), different bottom types, wrecks, etc...  The pic below pretty much sums up our day.

Quad Dogs!

I still had a great time.  Being offshore is just as gratifying to me as being on the river catfishing.  So I'm grateful for the opportunity to be out there to enjoy the beauty of the ocean and get some fishing in too!

The Three Amigos Do It Again!

Met up with JayBee and Ralph at o'dark thirty AM Saturday.  We had enough golden horseshoes between the three of us to overcome ParaguayGuy setting up a banana bread stand 50 yards away from us.  The bite was fast and furious in the morning.  Jeff boated a monster that would have been both me and Ralph's new PB.

Jeff's 67.8# PIG!:

Look at the head on this thing!:

Ralph also boated a monster that went 58# - 45":

Luck of the draw, my 37.5#:

The bite unfortunately shut down mid-day, and didn't pick back up until just before dark.  We dropped Ralph off around noon, and Jeff and I boated a couple more 30's to end the night:

37#:

Jeff and I also fished Sunday for a few hours in the cold rain. We didn't catch anything and got at best one dink nibble at each spot. I'm sure there were some monsters feeding somewhere on the river, we just didn't find them. I ended up killing my phone and camera which were sitting in my "waterproof" pants.

Nonetheless, I had a great time with some damn good fishermen! Much thanks to Jeff for his hospitality! It was a great time all around, and catching nice fish was icing on the cake!

Final tally for the day:
Jeff - 67.8#, 34#, 29#, 15#
Ralph - 58#-45", 18#
Josh - 37.5#, 37#, 28#, 28#

Ice be Damned!

Got a call from the M.I.A. Ralph (B8itup) to join him and his buddy Greg on a trip to the river.  To hell with the cold and wind, we wanted to do some fishing!  Aside from busting ice on the river and generally freezing our tails off, we had a damn good day.  We notched 10 citation fish, including three in the 50's.  We also hooked up on a couple doubles.

Ralph's 56#:

Greg's P.B. 56#!:

Ralph's 49#:

Double Hookup: 52.5# for myself, 44.8# for Greg:

Another Double: 44.5# for Ralph, 34.7# for Greg:

The bite completely died at noon.  The morning bite was probably the best 3 hours fishing I've ever been a part of.  A companion boat notched 11 citations with the biggest 60#.  Saw no other boats all day.  Contrary to what you might think about a day as cold as this one, all the fish came off a shallow mud flat in less than 10' of water.  Just something to think about.

Final tally for the day:  491#
Ralph - 56#, 49#, 44.5#, 5#
Greg - 56#, 44.8#, 34.7#, 30.5#, 15#, 15#, 4#
Josh - 52#, 39.5#, 30.2#, 15#

A Day of Catching

I came down Thursday to HO with Jeff and his crew.  I met up with them bright and early Thursday at DB ramp.  We set out for bait and managed just a handful of cutters at NT Pit.  A nice local gentleman cast netted a bunch of medium sized shad, perfect for fishing whole, and offered a bunch to us.  So we were set for the day.

First three spots we could barely beg a bite.  A few hours in we were still fishless.  The next spot was a different story.  Not long after dropping anchor, Jeff had a pole go down, and before I could get up to assist, a pole near me slammed down so I took it.  They got Jeff's fish in the boat and it went 32#. Excellent start to the day.  Mine was being stubborn and pulling lots of drag and running all over the place, but we finally got the 60# brute into the boat.

60# - 44" and 31.4# double:

Not long after that, another pole goes down and Jerry boats a nice 29#.   Ron the bass guy, Mr. "Run and Gun", is now on deck. Things just started to settle down again when a pole slams down and Ron boats a new PB blue cat of 58#!  I should add that the bass fisherman in Ron was on us to keep switching spots early in the day, but after he caught this fish I don't think we had enough money on the boat that could have convinced him to change spots!:

58# - 44":

Well Jeff is back on deck and another fish hits, and just like before, we have another double going. This one not as sweet as the first, but still a load of fun.

21# and 18# double:

Jerry finished up his day with a 19#.  We dropped Jerry and Ron off at the ramp, and me and Jeff headed back out for a few more hours. Before the cold finally ran us off, I got a 13# and 33#, and Jeff had a 20# and 44#:

43.7#:

32.5#:

We got weather reports that Roanoke (and likely Lynchburg) were gonna be slammed with snow Friday.  So we unfortunately cut our trip short so we could get back to our homes before the weather hit.  A day like we just had makes the decision alot easier to make!  Big thanks to Jeff for inviting me to go fishing on his boat!

Final tally for the day:  347#
Josh - 60#, 33#, 21#, 13#
Jeff - 44#, 32#, 20#, 18#
Ron - 58#
Jerry - 29#, 19#

Listen up, Knuckleheads!

If you're an avid fisherman, you are likely a few pounds overweight, not in the best physical shape, and/or stubborn as hell.  You're ripe for a quick death if you fall into the water without a PFD and a plan for survival.  I've gotten lazy about wearing my PFD, but no more.  I'm not gonna preach about the dangers of falling into the water in the winter, just do a quick Google search and you'll get all the info you need on what it does to the body and how little time you actually have to save yourself.

Many of us think we could easily swim the 50 feet to shore if we ever fell in.  To test this theory, go to your local swimming pool and see if you can swim ONE lap.  You couch potato fisherman are in for a big surprise.  Now imagine that water was 50 degrees, the current was ripping, and you had your layered winter clothing and boots weighing you down.  Still think it's gonna be easy?

Do you think you can lift yourself out of the water because your boat has low gunnels or a swim ladder big enough to fit a poodle on?  Honestly ask yourself, can I really lift myself out after being submerged in freezing cold water that has affected my ability to think clearly and the ability of my muscles to function? 

I don't want to see any of you guys doing that eternal fishing thing with the man upstairs just yet. So do us all a favor and wear your PFD, if not all the time, at least during the winter season.  Please do a quick Google search and read up on survival tips should you fall overboard as well as tips on preparing for a winter fishing trip. Thanks!

* Here's a great tip I read...if you fall in and can't get back into your boat, straddle your lower unit, and if your boat is so equipped, use the tilt button to raise you and your motor out of the water.  Can also be done if attempting to rescue someone but you can't lift them out of the water.
 
* A vast majority of recovered bodies (most not wearing a PFD, btw), have unzippered flys.  Hmmmm....wonder what they were doing when they fell in?  Hanging it over the side puts us in a compromised position and it doesn't take much to send you overboard.  Unless you have a fishing partner with you on the boat or have a rail you are holding onto with one hand, bring a pee cup or simpy piss on the deck of your boat and drain it through the scuppers.  No fish is worth your life, and no piss is worth your life either.