Fresh Minded

I grew up on a golf course in Virginia…….. We all know that golf courses are typically loaded with largemouth bass!  My brother and I would walk to the end of the neighborhood, sprint through the old grumpy couples perfectly green lawn,  and hang into some monster bucketmouths just about every day.

I have been getting my fishing fix lately with some winter time bass fishing.  We have a lot of nice little ponds here on the Outer Banks that hold plenty of fish to get you through the winter.   It’s hard to beat watching your line jump and start to swim off into the depths, and rocking his jaws like there is no tomorrow.

Personal best

At 7:30 last night my buddy and I packed up the truck and departed the snow covered Outer Banks.  The destination was the ol faithful Elizabeth River with some speckled trout pullage in mind.  It is pretty challenging to catch something close to home these days, and who can pass up the speckled trout fishery just a short hop over the border.  Armed with a couple kayaks, a bunch of hand warmers, and our favorite hard plastic baits, we set off onto the river.

The conditions seemed to be ideal. The water was high and still coming in, the wind was calm, and the steam coming off the water was a tell tale sign that the warm water of the discharge was making its way out to the main river.   We headed to some of the key spots.

After coming up empty at all the go to areas, it was time to head up to the warm water to get the skunk out.   I always think of the hot water discharge as a place to wind on a couple 20 inchers and break the ice.   It didn’t take long to get the first fish in the kayak.

After slinging up fish after fish……. she finally hit, after a couple runs and some strong head shakes, there she was.   I caught the biggest trout of my life in the discharge.  After spending countless hours trying to dial in the big ones on the main river, I catch it in the damn nursery.  I learned a valuable lesson when I held up that fish and saw her true size and beauty.  Once you think you have it all figured out, you realize you don’t know anything.

Now I hate to touch on this, but I will.  Many people like to bash the Elizabeth River and more specifically the “hot ditch.” (I still don’t quiet understand how anyone who enjoys fishing has anything negative to say about an amazing trout fishery in the dead of winter.)  To me, fishing is all about getting outdoors and catching fish with good friends.   I never let anyone’s opinion make me lose sight of why I truly love fishing.  The moment I stopped giving a shit about what other people thought of me was a really great feeling.  Get out there, enjoy the outdoors, and do it for the reasons you did when you were 5 years old!

New Years Eve 2013

I spent the last day of 2013 doing what I love…… fishing!   I set my alarm for 0430 and headed up early with a couple rods, a handful of my favorite lures, and my Hobie Outback kayak to get me around.  When I dumped my kayak in at the crack of light there was no wind, no boats, and a little snow coming down.  That is what winter trout fishing is all about!  The morning bite was on fire, I lost count of quality fish.  That bite lasted about 2 hours.   The clouds broke way to blue skies and sunshine, and all the fair weather fisherman showed up.   The bite did a complete 180 and I couldn’t find a fish for 2 or 3 hours.   I grinded it out hoping it would turn back on later in the afternoon.  It never really turned on, but I did start to pick up a few more here and there including a pretty nice one coming in a 28.5″…… Hoping you all have an awesome new year, and give me a shout if you would like to book your trip for 2014!

Trout burn out

I have trout fished really hard over the past few months, and I am actually a little burnt out on em.  I needed a change of scenery – so Matt and I packed up and made a right on the by-pass at 0600.  An hour and a half later we arrived on the Roanoke River near Plymouth.  We cruised around in the boat for a little while searching for an area to start fishing.  While driving around we came across a deer swimming across the sound – that was a first for me.  We arrived at a nice little bend in the river with 25ft of water and the depth finder lighting up.   Made a few casts and it was non stop action from then on.  We caught a mess of stripers, but they were on the small side.  The biggest one came in at 18″.   We had a great time exploring a new area and to get some pullage was just a bonus.

Captains Meeting

My buddy and fellow charter captain Marc Kerns and I headed up to the Elizabeth River today for some trout fishing.   When we arrived at the ramp it was 27 degrees outside.  We had a layer of ice on the deck of the boat to contend with.  It was chilly , but we thawed out once the sun came up. We fished from about 0630 until 0100.  The bite was pretty darn slow…. We probably caught a total of 10-12 fish – but made two of them count.  I got a nice 25 incher, and Marc puts a 29 incher in to the boat!  His personal best trout, and a solid one at that (8.5 – 9lbs).  The great captain that he is – he let this big beauty go.  Nice work Marc