Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Summer slowdown

Summer is slowing down. It’s dark when I get out of bed at 5:30 each morning, and the black locust trees have their first brown leaves.

We spent the weekend on the river. First was a long paddle upriver for a bit of fishing. Drew is really starting to enjoy fishing, and I have to admit that he’s really got the hang of casting and reeling in fish. It seems to be all he talks about. Nick isn’t quite as enamored of it yet, but neither was Drew at 2.

Sunday we went for a long walk despite the threat of rain. Or should I say a long push- since they wanted to just sit in the double stroller and be pushed the whole way. “Faster daddy, faster.” Yeah, that was fun last year when their combined weight was 15 lbs less…

This was a trip down memory lane, since we don’t walk down Alberton Road much since we’ve moved. I was surprised that Drew remembered where Lunch Rock was. He ran right down, and of course went right into the water looking for crayfish bugs and snails. “Look, a fish!” We had the river to ourselves. Why is everyone afraid of rain? When it’s warm outside, walking in all but the heaviest rain is fun. The boys certainly don’t mind.

Monday, August 13, 2007

River Smallmouth Bass

Saturday was a watershed fishing day for my oldest son Drew. I took the boys on our usual weekend paddle with our neighbors. Since we had all morning to kill, I grabbed all our fishing gear including the 3" watermelon Stick-O's I picked up from BPS on my way home Friday. I had seen how well the home made version of these worked while fishing by myself last Thursday.

We didn't spend much time casting until we had paddled a mile or so upstream, which got us away from 90% of the fishing activity near the parking area. We set up on a deep and rocky run on the shady side of the Patapsco, and I tied a size 4 Gamakatsu circle hook to my sons line, then nose hooked a 3" Stik-O. I told him what Jeff had told me- cast it and leave it alone.

Drew sent the lure towards the shore, and then he and I watched the line. We did not wait long... The line started running sideways, and I told Drew he had a fish. He started reeling, and the circle hook worked it's magic as the line came tight. FISH ON!



We did this over and over and over for the next two hours. Drew did it all, the casting, the leaving-alone, and the reeling in. All I did was release the fish and put on a new Stik-O. Nearly every cast that landed near our honey hole resulted in either a bite or a landed fish. The fish were mostly 7-10" smallies, with a few big redbreast sunfish mixed in.



The tiny hand in this shot is Drew's little brother Nick, who sat between us casting his hookless bobber while Drew fished. I think he had as good a time just watching as Drew did catching the fish.

Our neighbor Renee celebrated her "27th" birthday on Saturday, and caught her first fish ever. After she and her husband Jonathan and son Mat watched us catch a bunch of fish, they paddled over and I hooked them up with our magic 3" worms. They did the trick.

Drew was beside himself, and he cried when I told him we had to stop fishing and go home. It was all he talked about for the rest of the weekend, and he is begging and begging to go back.



Drew is hooked, and we can't wait to get back out there tonight.