A Long Weekend

  I burned a vacation day Friday and it sure did feel like I was getting away with something as I was paddling my way down stream Friday afternoon. The weather was just about perfect in the low 80's a mostly sunny, No complaints at all! The water levels have dropped quite a bit and it's starting to clear in the backs of the creeks and with that the bite is also picking up.

This little dude didn't even know I was there.

 I caught five or six dink's Friday afternoon which was cool but the real fun started Saturday night after the lights went out. I got on the water about 6:00 and started catching fish right next to the launch. None of them were that big but I caught some where around 20 fish with the best one being roughly four pounds with several in the two pound class.

One of the nicer 2#ers.

The best fish of the night/weekend.

 It's really tough to beat an evening of fishing ninja style, cruising though the water after dark not really being able to see all that well and nobody else being able to see you. Once the night fishing bug bites there is nothing in the world as cool as being on the water and the chirp of the tree frogs so loud that you can't hear yourself think. Other times looking around and seeing the eyes of the gators glowing in the beam of your headlamp. Not to mention getting on a top water bite tracking your lure as much by sound as by site having a monster fish explode on it feeling your line tighten as the fish tries to run off with your bait. Fishing at night is one of my most favorite things to do and I'm grateful I get the opportunities to do it.
Tight Lines
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A Busy Weekend

 It all started with a couple deliveries from Santa's rejects. Not the gifts, the people that deliver them. Ya see I thought Santa only came once a year but I found out with a Discover Card and a little time he will sub-contract that work out to just about anybody willing to drive a delivery truck. The first elf brought me some carbon fiber goodness in the shape of a new paddle.

The performance difference is really noticeable between this paddle and my old one.

 I always thought elves were little tykes man was I wrong. The next one was probably three inches taller and 40 pounds heavier than me. Polite enough but definitely not feeling the Christmas cheer I was. My guess is he had been sitting in that hot assed truck for about 12 hours and had all the human contact he could stand for one day. Any ways he dropped of a box of really shiny stuff mainly in bream patterns. The one I was most interested in looks as good in person as in the pictures online.

Dude these are so cool!

 Well my normal Friday pattern held up and I got some time on Friday night to get on the water for a couple hours. I start off tossing a toad around and stuck one about 1.5lbs. no biggy but a fish none the less. I wanted to throw this new bait for a while before the lights went out; so I tied it on and BAM!!! on the first cast! A three pounder! Normally I'm not too excited about threes but this time I was.

To give perspective that is a 6" bait.

 Saturday morning I met with Hobie Pro Staffer Aaron Rubel and MBKFA member Elana Carson to be presenters on kayak fishing at a function called Becoming An Outdoor Woman. The program was sponsored by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Foundation. This is a great way for ladies to get involved in outdoor activities in a non-threatning environment.

Nice legs.

Elana's enthusiasm is infectious not to mention she cracks me up!

Aaron is a great ambassador for the sport. It was a pleasure working with him.

 After the classroom time we got on the water and the girls seems to have fun and a couple even caught a fish. That may not sound like much but to be able to control a kayak and fish at the same time is a skill that takes some practice to get good at. I was honored to be able to be a part of this and looking forward to next year.

I think I was more excited about the fish than she was!

This gal had a fish get away boat side but she seemed to be excited about hooking one anyway!

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2014 Kick Off

 It's bee a long cold winter and the fishing has suffered because of it but not all is lost. I've been able to get out some just not as much as I would like. Honestly last year ended really well, on Christmas Eve my new kayak came in which was awesome and shortly after that I caught my first true swimbait speck.

While it's not much of a catch the rewards of fishing swimbaits can be nice, catching fish on these baits is a lot of work.

 Like the rest of the country our winter has been one of the hardest we've had in decades and an ice storm that shut the area down for a few days. Even with all of that I was able to get on the water and catch some decent fish. Three weekends in a row I was able to pick up on a bite and catch some solid bass. No record breakers and none close to my personal best but solid fish none the less. For the most part my fishing has shifted to throwing bigger baits and focusing trophy hunting so I don't get to see a lot of numbers but the fish I am catching are better on average than the fish I was catching over the last couple of years.

I want this fish's great great great grandma.

 While I will fish a few tournaments this year my main focus is going to be trying to catch a double digit bass this year. Along with that I will also be looking to catch a couple fish on my bucket list. The main two are a cobia and a tuna, past that it's all gravy. The cobia are starting to move into the area now so if I'm going to do it I need to get after them soon.

You never know how goofy a hat looks until you see a picture of yourself in it.

  The fishing season is starting to ramp up folks get out there and yet a line. You have 100% chance of not catching fish if you don't get out there, so get out there! Your t.v. will be waiting for you when you get home...