Saturday, January 16, 2016

Jan 16- Pumpkinseeds and Bass

Here is an old picture of Little Sid when we were still roommates... Those were good times!
Before the NFL Games kicked off, I found myself all alone (me and Emma) and all my chores were done.... Jennifer was off doing "woman things" so I said, what the hell, I'm going to do some "man things".... To me that means Fishing. Here lately, that means tossing a popping bug or perhaps a San Juan Worm to our Beaufort City Limits stunted Bluegill populations...... So that's what I did. As usual, the goal was a Beaufort Freshwater Grand Slam. As y'all know by now, this consists of the very common Bluegill, the always sporty but sometimes hard to find Largemouth Bass, and the very shy but beautiful Pumpkinseed..... Most of the year, the Pumpkinseed is the key to "The SLAM". They can be very hard to find sometimes..... NO, that's not right... The Ponds are very small, therefore the Pumpkinseed are not hard to find, in reality, I guess it can just be a little more difficult to get a Pumpkinseed to bite sometimes.... In Fishing and Fish Literature, the Pumpkinseed is usually described as Shy or a very Non-Aggressive Species. A few years ago, I made my very own Scientific Assessment of the Tenacity and Aggression of the Pumpkinseed Species. In my self-created Environment, I studied Pumpkinseed, Bluegill, and White Perch extensively for over three years.... In my experience, my observations were somewhat surprising and would change the way Fish Science views the Pumpkinseed Species.... (As if ANYONE really cared what went down in my 38 gallon Aquarium) Ha Ha Ha Ha...... I sounded imporatnt for a minute there!  Truthfully though, I can not speak for the entirety of the Pumpkinseed Species Worldwide..... But in my controlled environment , my Pumpkinseed proved to be very very nocturnal.. Shy during the daylight hours, he would go absolutely berserk at night and was far and away the most aggressive fish in my Aquarium. He did all his damage at night..... All this would be good to know if the Pumkinseed grew to 5 to 8 pounds and was a great eating fish and a very valuable "market species"..... As it is, who cares if the once thought shy Pumpkinseed is actually a bad ass tail-nipper of the Pond.... with his 6oz size, a pack of Pumpkinseed  could surely reek havoc all the other stunted Bluegills and Bass of the Beaufort Ponds.... Back to the Fishing... The water was high in all locations after yesterdays rainfall.... The normally shy Pumpkinseed were pretty active. I got several to eat my fly. I also found a few small Largemouth Bass to bite.... Strangely absent today was the normally common Bluegill. I suspect that a few of my missed bites today was very small Bluegill. I do not encounter very many little tiny Pumpkinseed in my Beaufort Freshwater Fly Fishing.... All the Pumpkinseed I catch are small, but none of them are tiny. By comparison, I catch many many Bluegill that are no bigger than a Silver Doll. My old pet Bluegill, Little Sid was one of these "tiny Bluegills". By the way, Little Sid was well over a pound when I released him. I figured that I would've caught him by now. But I haven't. It's been a couple of years. I'm starting to lose hope.... Every cast in that I make in that Pond, Little sid is my thoughts.... I bet he is a damn Stud if he's still alive. Maybe one day I will find him! Total Catch for the Day: 8 Pumpkinseed and 2 Largemouth Bass

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Capt's Prayers

Will my Prayer's be answered? I'm not asking for much........ Just the Winning $900million Powerball Number. A solution to my "now chronic" knee pain, my pay check from last week, a mount of my 35" long 16 lb Brown Trout, and a really nice platter of sushi and sashimi....

Is that too much to ask?

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Jan 7- 1000 Trips

I forgot this little tidbit of info...... On October 21, 2015 Jim and Trish chartered me for a great day of fishing.... The Albacore Fishing was superb. We released 17 Albacore on light spinning tackle and we casted to some shifty, bruiser sized Bluefish too..... We saw a young Humpback Whale off Shackleford Banks and we saw an incredible Nature Show down off Atlantic Beach.... Millions upon Millions of baitfish. What we call "red bait" were being herded and assaulted from above and below..... Terns, Gulls, Pelicans, Comerants.,....... Bottlenosed Dolphin. Fish. You name it. It was great day. Great Fishing and a Great Show. Jim and Trish were outstanding clients in every way.

After a day like that, it was a great time to reflect..... On 15 years of being a Fishing Guide. On 30+ years of HARD CORE Saltwater Fishing..... I knew I was close to a personal landmark and when I got home I checked my old records...... I was excited and meant to make a BLOG Entry but..... Then the Fly Wheel Cracked. The Magnets Fractured. The Top Water Boat was OUT OF COMMISSION.... I still haven't gotten it fixed because a litany of personal problems.... I went to NY and winter was coming AND I thought winter was upon us..... In hindsight, I should've got her fixed already.....

As for the Landmark...... The trip on October 21st with Jim and Trish was my


1000th Fishing Trip with being Clients since I began in the year 2000!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Jan 5- Insomnia and The Virginia Creeper Trail

For those that may be worried about me.... I'd like to report that my Insomnia is doing just fine!

Its 117am and I get up at 530am for a Day of Ferry Boating.... Nothing to do but lay here and scan the Internet.... College Athletic Scandal reading has me down so I have moved on to searching for Personal Adventures.     The Virginia Creeper Trail has my interst piqued.  (Is that a word)

I can't wait to bike it and fly fish it, my challenge will be bringing Emma along.  She goes where Jennifer and I go. Like American Express...... I can't leave home without my Overgrown Yellow Stenchpot. I love that damn Dog.

Anyone who has visited the Creeper Trail, I look forward to your comments!

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Jan 3- 50 Year Old Fly Rod (At Least)

A Pumpkinseed..... Always the Prettiest Fish of the Day

Emma moments before making the decision to go Swimming!

This little Bluegill was the first fish on the Ted Williams Rod

This little Bluegill was interesting
Years ago, my Momma bought me an old Ted Williams Signature Sears Roebuck 3 1/2 weight Fly Rod. It is made from freaking Bamboo! She bought it at a Yard Sale and paid a Dollar for it. It came with its original vinyl zippered case. I knew it was old. I knew it was cool. I fished but didn't fly fish so I set it aside and never gave it another thought. I had no idea then, or now, what this Fly Rod is worth. Nowadays I am doing a little fly fishing and I spend lots of time fantasizing about far away places and big fish on my fly rods! That's where my interest is right now. In reality, around here, if I want to "fly fish", unfortunately it means casting small popping bugs to Beaufort's mostly stunted population of Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Pumpkinseed. I long for Salmon, Trout, Walleye, and Pike..... So I figured, if I must catch puny runts in Beaufort...... I might as well do it with an ancient Bamboo Sears Rod. So I bought a cheap 3 wt reel from Cabelas and off to the Mung Holes #1 and #2 I went..... interruptions were frequent..... Emma is a pain in the ass to "Pond Fish" with... She thinks I can pretty much fish no matter what she does. She's right. The Fishing isn't affected, just the catching. A 90 lb Yellow Lab splashing around in 4 feet of water pretty much puts an end to any potential top water action around the shoreline. Thanks Emma. I did manage quite a few Bluegills and one Pumpkinseed before the big Yellow splashdown. No Bass. That sucked. I love the Beaufort Freshwater Grand Slam. The old 3 1/2 weight Fly Rod wouldve made Ted Williams proud. Fished just like it did when brand new, I'd guess..... . When I got home, I wiped it down and I put it up. One day I might pull it out again. I will look it up and try to date it and try to see what its worth. That will be interesting. As will my trip to an Orthopedic Surgeon tommorrow. Still llimping around. Bad knees. Total Catch for the Day: 8 Bluegill and 1 Pumpkinseed