Fishing Report

Where:
A Buddy's Farm Pond, Davidson County, NC

For:
Stripers. Really.

What We Caught:
Warmouth, largemouth bass and stripers. Lots of stripers.

What We Learned:
Two things. First, in a fight between a 2+ pound striper and a microlight with 4 lb test, you generally better to take the striper. Second, that nothing will scare the crap out of a four-year-old quite like an angry striper jerking a cane pole out of his hands and into the water.

Fishing Report

Where

A Buddy's Farm Pond, Davidson Co., NC

For

Bream

What We Learned

It wasn't so much what I learned as what I saw - my son really and truly catching his first fish, all by himself. And for once I had the camera pointed in the right direction. Pretty cool, even if I do say so myself?

Fishing Report

Where:
The Trout Cabin, Graham Co., NC

For:
Big, Hulking Fat Rainbows

What We Learned:

This is what a feeding frenzy looks like ...

Cheating? I dunno, kind of hard to argue with the results though ...

My Brother's Dog

This is Zoe. She is a hunting machine.

Funny Story. When my brother got her, he wasn't exactly planning on getting a dog. As I understand it, he'd just graduated from Ole Miss and was in the process of buying a house. About the same time the Old Man decided he needed a hunting dog and put a deposit down on a puppy. Only no one, including our Mom, knew about this. The Old Man has a history of having done this, and while he hasn't yet learned not to, he has at least learned that he needs to give her a heads up before the new pup arrives. So anyway, he's in process of delivering the news and, well, he loses. So he offers the dog to my brother. Well, not the dog - the non-refundable deposit. My brother still has to decide if he wants a puppy, drop everything and get down to the kennel (I think it was near Augusta, GA), pick her up, and get her back home, all withing less than 24 hours. Thankfully, he did.

She's hunted in more states than most people have been to:

• Tennessee

(This is a really cool shot our other brother took with a high speed camera.)

• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Alabama
• Mississippi
• Arkansas
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• Kansas
• Saskatchewan

Time to go home.

Hey Dad, where's home today?

Fishing Report

Where:
Ocean Crest Pier, Oak Island, NC

For:
Sea trout, supposedly, but in reality, anything that would bite!

What We Caught:
A couple of whiting, some undersized blues, a couple of flukes and a whole bunch of sand sharks. And a single trout.

What We Learned:
First and foremost, that the Fourth of July sea trout run isn't quite so "clockwork" as the locals would have you believe. But, thanks to some retired old salts on a tidal creek, we did learn how to throw a six foot casting net, something that will stay with us into the future.

A Couple of Our Favorite Pictures

Favorite Fishing Spots: Lower Sac (Redding, CA)

Where: Lower Sacramento River (Redding, CA)



Fishing report: March 25, 2009: Lower Sac by Andrew Harris

Guide service for the first day is pricey, but local knowledge can be worth it for the trip. The Sacramento River flows right through downtown Redding - amazing. I know where I'd be during my lunch break.

Day 2 photos:

Fishing Report: Rapidan River, Shenandoah National Park, VA

Where:
Rapidan River, Shenandoah National Park, VA

For:
Brook Trout

What We Caught:
Lots o Wild Brookies


What We Learned:
These are cool little fish and taking them on the lightest rod or nearest tree branch is fun. Don't forget the 7x tippet and a few extra "Mr. Rapidan" flies.



Enjoy the fishing - it is world class for Brookies. President Herbert Hoover enjoyed it so much he built camp Rapidan at the confluence of the two creeks that creates the river.