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4AM snuck up on me as the kittens danced on my chest ( what an alarm clock!)
4:30 and a co-worker who's been begging for a river trip pulled into the driveway- off for a cup of joe from the 7-11 2 blocks away before final loading.
5:00 and a quick text message for the third in opur party brought no response. I had to give him the benefit because on a previous trip I was the one oversleeping. three text messages later we were reloading Remove 1 yak add one canoe Double check the tie downs and on the road at 6:15 2 people short of our party of 5.
Arrived at Brunswick and launched around 7:45- first time I've made the trip without a nature stop along the way. I must have been excited to be getting my yak on the big river.
We paddled up the canal to take advantage of the drift back below the bridge as well as my wanting to see how well I'd do against the current should I decide to go solo at a later date. I really want to attempt to make it up to white horse rapids sometime this year. The river levels at POR Guage read 2.6 + and most of my experience there has been at 1.75 or lower. the Potomac had a slight tinge of green with visibility being about 3'. I should brush up on entomology as there appeared to be several hatches occurring throughout the day. stoneflies and whitewings emerged from the surface throughout the day yet I did not notice anything feeding on them at the surface.
pounding the water with a spinnerbait yeilded one hit during the first mile. At least the sun was shining. switching to a senko and hitting the pillows in front of the boulders produced nada. Being too stubborn to change tactics had to be my downfall.
At 2 miles in I started to float the senko in the faster water behind the boulders.
Hits started coming but I was doing a poor job of setting the hook. Everything that took the bait seemed to run at me just before spitting the hook.
Frustrated I figured maybe something with treble hooks would cure what ailed me. Mr rapala let me down. A Bagley bluegill wouldn't lodge itself on the bottom or a downed tree let alone a fish' jaw!
It was time to take a break.
During my break I noticed what looked to be bluegills slurping bugs off the surface. Desperate to feel a fish pulling I dug through the tackle looking for the cheap plastic dispenser the held a few flies. The fly rod had intentionally been left at home. whipping a 6' St Croix yeilded just enough distance to get the speck of a lure beyond my shadow,three 6" chubs later I felt vindicated. I had avoided a total skunk!
Glad to have caught something I paddled the last 3 miles, stopping once just above Landers to admire a smallie of decent size caught by another fisherman.
No reminders required that I paddled though what could have been the best water of the day.I was happy , no make that ecstatic, that I'd beat the skunk and live to fish another day
4:30 and a co-worker who's been begging for a river trip pulled into the driveway- off for a cup of joe from the 7-11 2 blocks away before final loading.
5:00 and a quick text message for the third in opur party brought no response. I had to give him the benefit because on a previous trip I was the one oversleeping. three text messages later we were reloading Remove 1 yak add one canoe Double check the tie downs and on the road at 6:15 2 people short of our party of 5.
Arrived at Brunswick and launched around 7:45- first time I've made the trip without a nature stop along the way. I must have been excited to be getting my yak on the big river.
We paddled up the canal to take advantage of the drift back below the bridge as well as my wanting to see how well I'd do against the current should I decide to go solo at a later date. I really want to attempt to make it up to white horse rapids sometime this year. The river levels at POR Guage read 2.6 + and most of my experience there has been at 1.75 or lower. the Potomac had a slight tinge of green with visibility being about 3'. I should brush up on entomology as there appeared to be several hatches occurring throughout the day. stoneflies and whitewings emerged from the surface throughout the day yet I did not notice anything feeding on them at the surface.
pounding the water with a spinnerbait yeilded one hit during the first mile. At least the sun was shining. switching to a senko and hitting the pillows in front of the boulders produced nada. Being too stubborn to change tactics had to be my downfall.
At 2 miles in I started to float the senko in the faster water behind the boulders.
Hits started coming but I was doing a poor job of setting the hook. Everything that took the bait seemed to run at me just before spitting the hook.
Frustrated I figured maybe something with treble hooks would cure what ailed me. Mr rapala let me down. A Bagley bluegill wouldn't lodge itself on the bottom or a downed tree let alone a fish' jaw!
It was time to take a break.
During my break I noticed what looked to be bluegills slurping bugs off the surface. Desperate to feel a fish pulling I dug through the tackle looking for the cheap plastic dispenser the held a few flies. The fly rod had intentionally been left at home. whipping a 6' St Croix yeilded just enough distance to get the speck of a lure beyond my shadow,three 6" chubs later I felt vindicated. I had avoided a total skunk!
Glad to have caught something I paddled the last 3 miles, stopping once just above Landers to admire a smallie of decent size caught by another fisherman.
No reminders required that I paddled though what could have been the best water of the day.I was happy , no make that ecstatic, that I'd beat the skunk and live to fish another day
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