Delayed Harvest Troutfest

Nathaniel, Asher and I had a big time catching trout in the North Carolina mountains last week. With photos being our main objective, we went for easy pickings, hitting Delayed Harvest waters on the Nantahala and Tuckasegee rivers and Big Snowbird Creek. All had gotten an initial spring stocking, so the trout were plenty plentiful, with a few large fish in the mix.

We experienced weather ranging from ice in line guides and snow falling to sunshine and high 50s, and generally enjoyed just exploring the areas. Adding intrigue, the three stream stretches we fished are all quite different from one another in character.

North Carolina's DH waters are open only to catch-and-release fishing with single-hook artificial lures from Oct. 1 until the first Saturday in June. For folks who enjoy fishing with artificial lures and don't mind putting them back, waters managed this way in several Southern states offer great trout-catching opportunities. Fly-fishermen make the most use of these waters, but spin-fishing is completely fine, as long as each lure in your possession is equipped with only a single hook, and no soft plastics have any scent or flavor.

My boys and I do our trout fishing mostly with hard baits, especially Rebel Crawfish and Tracdown Minnows, sometimes mixing in some small jigs or spoons when the fish want something different. Rebel Crawfish were easily our top producers last week. The most productive specific Rebel Craw model was a Deep Teeny Wee Craw, although Asher got on the big fish really well with a Middle Wee Crawfish one day.

One thing worth noting about DH waters. Because they are so productive, they are also extremely popular. If you decide to visit, do so on a weekday, if possible, and arrive early. By midday during the spring, accessible spots tend to fill up and the fish get much more wary.

Spring Springing

Flowers pictured on a fishing blog mean exactly what you might guess: I haven't been fishing enough. The blooms that are getting ever more plentiful and varied in my yard also remind me that spring is coming on quickly and that fish of various kinds should be moving shallower and feeding readily.

I do plan to fish more soon. Nathaniel, Asher and I are headed for higher hills later this week to chase some North Carolina trout in Delayed Harvest waters. The DH streams, which are open only to catch-and-release fishing with single-hook artificial lures this time of year, always get a fresh stocking the first week of March, so there should be plenty of trout to try to fool. We'll likely hit a few different streams while we're in the area.

We also plan to do a little bit of stream fishing in the riverine upper ends of mountain lakes, just to see if anything is running the rivers. We probably won't spend a huge amount of time doing that, but maybe we can find a f couple of walleyes or white bass up the rivers. Of course, if some fish do cooperate, we might just stick around to more.

I'll let you know what we find!

Sharing Santee Cooper Country

My first Santee Cooper Country adventure was nearly three decades ago with a college buddy, and I remember well my first Santee fish, a bass I caught from near the boat ramp at Santee State Park. That's another story for another time, but it was the start of a major fishing chapter, and one that thankfully continues to be written!

I wouldn't try to guess the number of days I've spent on Lake Marion and Moultrie, which together make up the 170,000-acre Santee Cooper system, but it has been a bunch. I've fished from swampy upper end of Lake Marion to the deep water near the spillway at Lake Moultrie and have spent days catching slab crappie from brushpiles, wrestling flatheads out of submerged timber, drifting for heavyweight blues, pulling bass from cypress knees, slip bobber fishing for giant bluegills and shellcrackers, chasing striper schools and more.

I've also gotten to share Santee Cooper's wonders with my son, Nathaniel (now 19) and a few other friends, and this week I get to do likewise with my 13-year-old son, Asher. We leave dark and early tomorrow for Black's Camp, which is the basecamp where I have spent the most time at Santee Cooper over the years and is one of my favorite destinations anywhere because of the fishing, the food, the fish camp atmosphere and especially the people.

The event officially starts tomorrow at dinnertime, but Asher and I will leave way early so we can have part of the day free to explore fabulous backwater areas in kayaks before kickoff. On Wednesday and Thursday we'll fish with guides, and both weather and the recent bite will dictate species targeted and approaches. I attended the same event a couple of years ago, and schooling stripers and blue catfish served up fabulous action. On Friday morning, we'll venture out in the kayaks one more time before starting toward home.

Of course, between time on the water, we'll enjoy great meals with many fishing industry friends and simply enjoy getting to spend time in Santee Cooper Country.

Ozarks in Autumn, Round 2

Having taken the same basic trip at the same time with the same group (two of my boys, a friend and me) two years in a row, I supposed it could have been dubbed our second annual Autumn Ozarks Adventure. Whatever the name, we made the trip a week or so ago, and much like last year, enjoyed some excellent fishing and had a bunch of fun.

We spent most of this year's fishing time working the Buffalo and White rivers, hitting both rivers in several spots. My 12-year-old son Asher also got to spend a delightful day catching trout from Dry Run Creek, which is a wonderful youth- and handicapped-only, catch-and-release trout stream. The other two explored a bit on the Norfork River during part of that day, but didn't find much to their liking. I just followed Asher and stayed busy taking photos.

The Buffalo was mighty low and a bit slow. We did catch some fish, though, and the Buffalo is such a beautiful river that wading along its edges or floating it is always delightful. We started fairly far up the river and hopped from access to access, walking river banks and wading. The White yielded plenty of trout, including a few truly fabulous flurries.

This year's trip also include stops at a handful of disc golf courses, including one in Mississippi that we visited along the way and four in Arkansas.

We split our nights between camping and cabins and enjoyed both in different ways. Best meal, by my take any way, featured cheap steaks cooked over coals beside the White River.

Nantahala Play Day

It had been far too long since Nathanial, Asher and I had spent a full day together trout fishing, so our recent day of work and play on North Carolina's Nantahala River was extra fun. We left home dark and early, got to the river just about the time daylight was finding the gorge, and spent the day hopping from spot to spot to catch fish and take photos. Photos were the work objective, so we each kept a camera handy all the time.

We caught a bunch, and all three of us got a slam of rainbows, browns and brook trout during the day. Beyond the catching, it was just a fun day spent together by the river.

The catch-and-release season on North Carolina's delayed-harvest streams just opened a couple of weeks ago. What that means is that these stream sections are well stocked and the trout haven't gotten too educated. Fooling fish isn't an amazing accomplishment, but it's a barrel of fun. We like the Nantahala a lot because it's a beautiful stretch of river with a lot of variety in types of water, and it's just big enough that at any given pull-off, it is practical for two or three people to spread out a bit or even to fish side-by-side. It's also nice because a road parallels the river, so you can fish an area for a while and then move to another pull-off.

We're far from alone in liking the Nantahala, and it can get kind of crowded. However, the many pull-offs and the configuration of the river make it pretty easy to find a spot where you aren't fishing in a crowd. Arriving early also helps. We had the river to ourselves when we arrived, and we got to hit a few spots first. Fishing on a weekday helps a little. Maybe the best thing that can happen for the sake of less company is to have horrible weather (not the case last week), and in truth, wet, nasty days sometimes offer the best fishing action.

Guadalupe Bass

Although I certainly caught larger fish on the recent Texas trip with Nathaniel, I'd have to say that my single favorite catch from the trip was a Guadalupe bass that hit a Rebel Wee-Crawfish. The catch came from the namesake Guadalupe River in a stretch that cuts through Guadalupe River State Park.

The setting was part of the reason. High bluffs bound a clear tumbling stream that almost looks like it should be in the Ozarks, except for the very Texasish looking vegetation. We only fished one short section and for a couple of hours, but I could have easily spent a day walking along the edges or wading these waters.

The big thing that made this one No. 1 in my mind, though, was simply that the Guadalupe is a unique Texas black bass species that is the Texas state fish, and I had never caught or even seen one before. Catching one was a definite trip goal, and one I'm glad to have achieved.

Interestingly, in just a little more than a month I'll be in Florida and will spend a day trying to catch Suwanee bass, which, like the Guadalupe, would be a first-time catch for me.

Texas Calling

Today's a packing day for Nathaniel and me because tomorrow, right after Asher's Little League tryouts, we point the Expedition toward Texas and begin the long drive. We'll spend a week or so in the Lone Star State, fishing for everything from speckled trout to rainbow trout. (Yep. They have those in Texas.) Rough path is slated, but we'll fill in most details as we go.

I've enjoyed some really good fishing in Texas, including time on acclaimed lakes like Falcon, Amistad and Fork and wading out of Port Mansfield. It's been a few years since I've been there, though, and next week plans don't include any places I've fished before, so I'm really looking forward to getting back down there and to discovering new stuff.

Better get to packing, I suppose!

#CatchFishAnywhere

Let it Rain

Rain was hitting the tent when we woke up this morning. It' raining outside our hotel room tonight. In between, well, it mostly rained. While I won't deny the rain putting somewhat of a damper on the day's plans, it sure didn't keep us from fishing. In truth, Nathaniel, Asher and I had fun fishing the White River in a steady downpour. We had the river basically to ourselves, and we even managed to catch a few trout.

Fishing in the rain also made us appreciate the Gaston's restaurant more than ever. I had a Gaston's Burger, which is huge and comes with avocado and seriously good bacon. No doubt I also really enjoyed my coffee today.

Plan had been to camp tonight, but with heavy storms projected and even a tornado warning, we decided that driving toward the Buffalo River (where we will fish tomorrow) and getting a hotel room would be prudent. That also gave us the chance to dry out some gear and reorganize the back of the truck a little better.

I'm really look forward to exploring the Buffalo River tomorrow. Then, it'll be about time to point it back toward Georgia.

Final Preparation: Rebel Trout Trek

It's getting real now. I started this morning getting four new tires for the Fiesta, making certain it was fully travel ready, and have spent most of today packing, taking care of things around home, charging batteries, clearing SD cards, and doing other things to prepare for travel.

I can't believe six months have passed since the crazy idea about a cross-country, father/son trout trek started spinning in my head. Now it's truly upon me. The car is partly packed, and we plan to pull out of the driveway in less than 30 hours. Soon Asher and I will be driving toward Arkansas. By this time on Monday, he'll be wrapping up his first-ever afternoon at Dry Run Creek.

Dry Run crowds concern me a bit. Nathaniel and I were always able to visit during spring or fall, when school was in session, and I saw on Facebook tonight that a giant brown caught recently at Dry Run earned national acclaim. It's not a big creek, so having more than a few angles there could really limit opportunities. We'll  take what we get, though, and I'm excited for Asher just to see the stream and it's offerings.

Tomorrow we'll ready Asher a Dry Run box with all single-hook, barbless lures, and will finish packing the car. I'll also wrap up whatever work still needs to be done. Then hopefully we'll get to sleep at a pretty good hour. And speaking of sleep, I'd better go find some of that now!

#RebelTroutTrek

Anticipating Deadwood Return

Most fishing stops along the Rebel Trout Trek, which begins in four and a half weeks, will be new destinations to Asher and me. Actually, all will be new to Asher. I've watched Asher's older brother Nathaniel fish Dry Run Creek in Arkansas several times. I've also visited Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks and California's Eastern Sierra region, but have not fished in of those places. Most destinations on our fishing loop will be places where I've never traveled at all.

Deadwood, SD, where  we'll begin our western fishing, is the exception. I've actually visited Deadwood and fished Black Hills waters twice previously, once through the ice during mid-winter and again last summer. Both have been among my favorite fishing trips, so I couldn't resist including a Deadwoood stop when I was planning the trip. The Black Hills are ruggedly beautiful, and I've only found excellent fishing in my admittedly limited exposure.

Even though I've fished out of Deadwood twice, most of the actual waters we'll fish will be new to me. Plan is to begin with Whitewood Creek (pictured above), where I fished on last year's visit, as soon as we get to town. However, the next day we'll plan to explore the tailwater of Lake Pactola, a special-regulations area that has intrigued me since I first leaned about it but that I have not fished, and do some other "discovery" together. The next day, before we continue west toward Yellowstone, we'll explore the dramatic landscapes of Spearfish Canyon and the creek that tumbles though it. That was actually supposed to be part of last year's plan, but with so much good stuff to see, we ran out of time.

I'm extra intrigued by the canyon portion of Whitewood Creek because apparently it can produces a good 'hopper bite for brown trout through mid-summer. One of the patterns I'm most excited about for the whole trip is fishing Rebel Bighoppers, Crickhoppers and Micro Crickhoppers in some of the waters where Western flyfishermen do best with 'hopper flies.

Fishing aside, I'm simply looking forward to returning to Deadwood and introducing Asher to the Wild West. If I think the town of Deadwood is cool and fun, which I do, I'm pretty confident a 10-year-old boy will too!

Remember, I'll be blogging daily and sharing photos and videos on Rebellures.com and the Rebel Lures Facebook page throughout our trip, which begins July 21. #RebelTroutTrek

Birthday Fishing x 3

I awoke a little later than normal this morning, and Nathaniel's truck was already gone. He had left just before daylight to meet a friend for a morning of fishing at a lake just up the road. Nathaniel turned 17 today, and birthdays and fishing tend together around here. He and his friend each caught one bass.

It was a little odd having Nathaniel already gone for his first round of birthday fishing, but I got in on round two. Traditionally, assuming everyone is in town, we'll do at least a lap around the ponds nearest home on a birthday, and Nathaniel, Asher and I did that this afternoon. The bite wasn't crazy good by any means, but the boys each caught a bass and I caught a few bluegills.

About half an hour after we got home from that outing, the same friend Nathaniel fished with this morning picked him up for round three, at another pond. He's still gone and I've heard no word, so I don't yet know what they caught. I know he's be happy to be fishing for the third time on his birthday, though.

Looking Up

Nathaniel and I began yesterday afrernoon's pond outing with typical spring stuff, including squarebill crankbaits and weightless soft-plastic baits. The pond looked beautiful and we saw fish cruising, but they didn't seem eager to bite.

 

About 1/3 around the pond I  tied a Rebel Crickhopper onto my ultralight and fired it toward the bank. The response was immediate, and while the first hits were from bluegills that didn't get hooked, it showed me that the fish might be interested in surface offerings. 

 

Halfway around the pond we beached the boat and walked down to the middle pond to fish it from the bank (something we often do). I managed two bass and missed another on a frog while the fish completely ignored a YUM Dinger.

 

When we got back to the upper pond, Nathaniel tied on a Zara Puppy, and I stuck with the surface hopper on my little rod, and we managed to catch three bass and a bluegill before we finished the lap.

 

Seems the fish were looking up and had no interest in offerings presented beneath the surface.

Pond Bass Playing Hard to Get

The bass in our favorite ponds around home showed themselves early this spring, sunning in shallow water and seeming like they were ready to move up and get active. That was a few weeks ago, and we've had quite a bit of spring-like weather since that time. The fish have largely remained hidden and tough to catch, though.

Nathaniel, Asher and I hit two of the ponds for a couple of hours today and only managed three small bass. We tried a variety of approaches -- stuff that normally works this time of year -- mostly to no avail. All three fish we did catch took shallow crankbaits. I caught two on a Rebel Bluegill. Nathaniel caught one on an XCalibur Square Lip. Beyond not catching many, we're not really seeing them. We only saw one bass that we did not catch today, and that has been more the norm than the exception since that one sunny early-spring day when fish were cruising shallow all over the place in the same two ponds.

It's not all bad. Trying to figure them out is part of the fun, and the boys and I always enjoy just going out to the ponds and riding around in the johnboat and/or walking the banks. It's just a bit baffling.

Ice Rod, Open-Water Bluegill

Did using an ice rod provide any real advantage? No. If the boat was still so my tiny jig went straight down I could pick up the bait a bit better on my Humminbird than with a longer rod, but I can't claim that helped me coax any fish into hitting. The truth is that it was pure novelty. We had an ice storm, so when Nathaniel and I headed went to the pond for a bit of fishing, I thought it would be fun to fish for bluegills with an ice rod. And it was.

The bite was tough. We made one lap around the pond casting for bass (with regular length rods) and got no strikes. Then we switched to vertical presentations of ice jigs tipped with worms, with only me opting to use an ice-fishing rod. For a while we didn't think we'd catch anything. We weren't marking much and were getting no bites. Eventually, Nathaniel and I each managed a single bite, and fortunately we both succeeded in converting bites into landed fish. I notched my first open-water fish on an ice rod, and we both enjoyed a bit of fishing with snowy banks.

Now we're ready for it to go away, though!

Chattooga Trout Slam

My first trout outing of the new year yielded my first trout slam of the year, with one or more brook, brown and rainbow trout all having cooperated. All came on a Kenneth Bug, which is what I call any hair jig tied primarily with fur from our dog Kenneth.

Nathaniel, Brian Latimer and I fished the Chattooga River, which forms the border between Georgia and South Carolina. The rainbow and brook trout were Georgia fish, which means that the first four fish added this year's species list (bluegill, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, brook trout) all came from Georgia. I have the brown trout listed as South Carolina, as of now, but the jury remains out about how it should be counted. I was standing in South Carolina, close to the bank, but I cast across the river into Georgia and the fish hit right away.

It was a fun and productive outing, and I'm glad we were able to slip out. Next fishing for me will be next week on the ice in Pennsylvania. I drive north on Monday and expect to be on the ice first thing Tuesday morning. Seems likely that my species list will grow a bit more next week.

Asher's Fine Season Start

Yesterday I shared that the boys had gone off to the pond in pursuit of bass and that I was eagerly awaiting a report. The blog was barely posted when I got a text from Nathaniel with a picture of the fine bass Asher had landed. Asher's fish, which Nathaniel estimated to have weighed about 3 pounds, easily bested anything Nathaniel or I have caught so far this year, and it was Asher's largest fish of any kind to date.

Asher actually caught two bass yesterday. Both hit a Bandit Shallow Flatmaxx over a flat, a little bit off the bank. Nathaniel hooked one fish on a shaky head, but it got off. The day was dark and fairly mild for early January.

Nathaniel, Asher and I all have matching 2015 species lists: largemouth bass and bluegill and all from the same pond. I hope to add a trout or two to that list before the week is over. Before the month is over I'll almost certainly expand it a little between planned trips to fish the Pennsylvania ice and to fish for trout in Missouri.

Boys Went Bass Hunting

After a pretty cold snap for Georgia, today has been damp but surprisingly mild, and the trend appears to be toward warming for a few days. I've thought since early this morning that it would be a good day to be fishing, but upcoming travel plans and stuff due suggested that I should stay here and write fish stories.

I'll have to settle for fishing vicariously through Nathaniel and Asher. They announced an hour or so ago that they were headed to the pond for a while, and soon after they were pulling out in Nathaniel's truck. We do a lot of vertical fishing for bluegills this time of year and typically do pretty well with that approach. However, Nathaniel said that he and Asher intended to cast for bass today. I know he mentioned a shaky head. I don't recall what else he planned to try.

So far no phone pictures have shown up in texts, but I'm eager to get a report. Maybe they'll accomplish enough that I'll have a whole story to share in a blog tomorrow.

8 1/2-hour Fish

I'm not sure what Nathaniel and Caleb did with the first 8 1/2 hours of this year, but sometime around 8:30 this morning, they tallied their first fish of the new year. Nathaniel guessed that they caught 15 or 20 fish, all close to the bottom and on little jigs, and pretty much all from one corner of the pond. Bluegills dominated, with good quality overall, but they each managed to catch a bass or two as well.

As for me, I stayed home and worked on fish stories and did stuff around here, so I remain fishless in 2015. I'll have to rectify that soon.

Christmas Eve Pond Play

Late yesterday afternoon, Nathaniel decided the pond bluegills needed a Christmas Eve visit. I agreed, and we both figured that Asher would like to tag along. We scrounged up a few worms, which were shallow and easy to find on a strangely warm and rainy December day, grabbed ultralights and ice jigs, and hopped in Nathaniel's truck.

When Asher's along, it's always a competition, so we settled on an inches game. We would measure every fish and total the inches. For modesty sake, I won't say who won.

We only had an hour or so to fish before dark, but the fish were cooperative. We caught about 15 fish and even managed a couple of doubles. We caught them all on tipped ice jigs, either fished vertically at the deep end of the pond or cast to the bank, allowed to sink and dragged slowly across the bottom. The fish aren't stacked in the deep water yet, but they are on the bottom, and some have moved all the way out.

Last fish of the year? Maybe, but we still have a whole week, so maybe not!

Downwind & Half an Oar Short

With the wind blowing up the lake, Nathaniel decided to get his rowing out of the way first, rowing to a downlake spot he wanted to investigate and then working one bank back toward the truck while letting the wind do most of the work.

Good plan, but things don't always go as planned.

About 100 feet shy of the spot, one of the two-piece oars came apart, and we both watched helplessly as the blade end sank out of sight. An oar with no blade is as useful as no oar, and one good oar in a oarlock is as useful as zero oars, unless you just want to spin, which we didn't. So the lone oar became a long, heavy, awkward paddle with no t-grip.

We were almost to the spot, and wind had shifted a bit and was crossing the lake, so Nathaniel decided to complete the quest. He'd still work us back along the bank and fish, just without the aid of the wind at his back.

If you fish, you might guess the next part. While we were fishing that spot, the wind finished shifting and picked up a bit, so by the time were ready to work the other way, it was blowing steadily, straight down the lake, and away from the truck.

Nathaniel soon learned just how inefficient it is to use an oar to paddle a johnboat into the wind. Each oar/paddle stroke moved the boat slightly forward but turned it more, and switching sides robbed distance back because of the wind. He eventually came up with an awkward sculling-type stroke off he back of the boat that worked a little better than traditional paddling (see video). I took the paddle once just to keep us from loosing too much while he rested momentarily, but I was even less efficient working backward from the johnboat's front seat.

We made it back to the truck in OK time, but Nathaniel only ended up fishing about 10 minutes while we were out there. Sounded like a good plan!