Pics From My Latest River Trip

I spent the evening on the Shenandoah River again tonight. I caught a lot of fish, but no monsters this time. I did see some really cool critters hanging out down by the river though...

If you look close enough there is a huge Bald Eagle hanging out in the Sycamore tree.


Here is an Egret...


And this was my view on the way back to the boat landing...

I plan on being back on the river at least one more time before I go on my cruise to Bermuda. Hopefully Hurricane Bill doesn't change the plans!

Big Smallies On The Shenandoah

Today was the best day I have ever had fishing on the Shenandoah River. In the past week I have gone fishing three times from my kayak. All three times I have caught numerous fish, some of which have been decent, but tonight was unbelievable. What makes this night so special to me is that I caught really big fish on the river. For the past few years the Shenandoah has been plagued by fish kills which have wiped out the adult population of fish. Therefore large Smallmouth bass were a rarity to catch. This year there hasn't been a kill, and the river level has stayed up all summer long. This combination has made for some great fishing!

I got in the river at about 4 p.m. and paddled close to two miles upstream from where I started. I had fished this stretch of river the other day, but wanted to go farther upstream over some small falls that require portaging over. I caught a few small Smallies like this one, before I got to the falls. On the first cast after I crossed the falls and got back into my 'yak all that changed.

I cast my #3 Mepps Spinner and hooked into a big fish. After fighting it for a minute or two and being treated to some spectacular jumps I landed this hefty Smallmouth. This fish was wider than my kayak. I judged it to be about 16 inches long (longer than my forearm) and weighing between three and four pounds. After taking some more pictures I released it back into the river.

I caught two more nice fish that weighed around two to two and a half pounds in the same stretch over the next hour. Here was big fish number two.



Big fish number three.

The last fish I hooked into of the evening was a monster. I cast into a deep hole just above the falls that I had portaged earlier in the evening. I let the spinner sink, and then started a slow retrieve, barely keeping the blade turning. I was rewarded with a heavy strike and about a 2 minute fight with a huge Smallmouth. Because I was so close to the falls, I had to paddle with my left hand and fight the fish with my right. I finally felt like I could make a try at landing the fish, so I dropped my paddle and got the fish next to the boat. I had the fish out of the water and laying on the side of the kayak, when it gave a shake and broke my 8 lbs. test line. I swear this fish was around 5 to 6 pounds, because it dwarfed the first big fish I caught this evening. I only wish I had gotten a hold of it long enough to get a good picture. I am pretty sure it may have been a citation fish.

I was blessed with a great evening, and I hope to get back out on the river in the next few days. It would be great if I could convince my Dad or some other family members to join me on the river for some trophy Smallmouth fishing! We'll see what happens...

My Bowhunting "To Do" List

I have been shooting my bow pretty frequently the past few days. I am happy to say that I have almost returned to last year's accuracy level. There are a few things that I need to do to my bow to allow me to shoot a little bit better...

I need a new insert for my "Whisker Biscuit" arrow rest. After three seasons of shooting, I have worn through the bristles to the point that my arrow occasionally falls through bristles and rests on the frame of the Biscuit.

I also need to retie a new nocking/draw loop or buy a plastic one to put on the bow. I have been looking at the plastic ones for a year or so, and can't decide whether or not to try one out. The only problem I have with the string loop is that it stretches and I can tell that I am not hitting the back wall of the bow when I draw.

New arrows are also a necessity, as I am down to just three. I started with 8 last year, but lost and broken arrows have dropped me down to three. I'll probably end up buying a 6 pack of Beman ICS 400 arrows to replenish by supplies.

Luckily, I don't need to buy broadheads this year. Last year I switched to Rage 3 Blade broadheads. I bought my first pack, and was so impressed with their performance that I bought another. I haven't used the second pack I bought, and two from the first pack are still in good shape.

Unfortunately the owner of the bow shop I use died suddenly over the winter. I am unsure if his shop is still open. I may end up going to Gander Mountain if his shop has closed down, but I am afraid to see how outrageous their prices are. We'll see whether or not I can manage to buy any of the items on my wish list. Luckily I have a birthday coming up soon, so perhaps I'll supply my family with my wish list and see what happens! Good luck practicing to all of you getting ready for bow season!

Less Than A Month To Go

In a few short weeks it will be opening day of archery season in some parts of Virginia. These are areas that have very dense deer populations, so a special early season is in place to allow the harvest of antlerless deer before the real season begins. I managed to bag a doe on opening day of this season last year. I find this season to be a great scouting tool, as I was able to pattern a group of bucks on the property I hunt. I look forward to being able to hunt a little bit more during this early season now that I am done with school.

I figured tonight was as good a night as any to start practicing with my bow. I shoot a Reflex Growler that I bought 3 years ago. Reflex is the off brand of Hoyt and from what I can tell, it shoots the same as my friends Hoyt's that were made around the same time. I shot 5 arrows at 20 yards and managed about a three inch group. I then moved the target out to 30 yards and shot 5 more times. This time my group was a little erratic, although all 5 shots were in the "kill zone." I need to get my bow tuned and have a few more arrows made, but unfortunately I don't have the time or money to do that right now.

Saturday I get a private tour of the jail I have applied to work at. I have some other odds and ends to take care of during the next week, and then it is off for a 5 day cruise to Bermuda. I am looking forward to all the events on my calendar, but unfortunately they are going to cut into my shooting practice. I'll try to blog more often!

Flyfishing for Smallmouth

The past few weeks have been very busy for me, so I haven't had time to do anything fun outside. After tearing apart the engine of a lawnmower and ordering parts yesterday, I decided I would go fishing for a few hours on the Shenandoah River. The river is pretty low right now, so wading and fly fishing is my favorite way to try and catch Smallmouth Bass.
I was using my Cortland 5 weight fly rod, a 6 foot long tapered leader, and about 3 feet of 3 pound tippet. My go to flies and lures on this river is anything that is white and has a nice flash to it. I use white rooster tails when spin fishing. The closest thing I had yesterday was size 6 White Woolly Buggers with some Crystal Flash material wound around the body of the streamer.
I fished for about two hours and caught ten smallies, all on White Woolly Buggers. Most of them were around a pound but they put up a great fight! The biggest one I hooked was holding in some riffles that stretched all the way across the river. He struck at my fly 3 times before I finally hooked him. Unfortunately, he broke the tippet and the best glimpse I got of the fish was when he jumped out of the water and threw the fly from his mouth about 25 yards downstream. I would judge the fish to be about 2 pounds. I wish I had gotten a chance to actually fight the fish!
I am hoping that I will be able to get back out on the river at some point this weekend. I may take my kayak out and try fishing some of the deeper stretches of the river.

Back From The Beach...Plus A Groundhog Hunt

I just returned from a few days of camping on Hatteras Island in North Carolina. It was an awesome trip, and for most of the time we had great weather. I spent many great hours on the beach swimming and sleeping. I really feel like this was the first break I have had since I graduated college and it turned into a great trip. The only downside to the trip was the fact that the high temperatures and humidity made sleeping in a tent rather uncomfortable. My girlfriend and I planned this trip in less than a few days, and managed to have a great time without spending a ton of money. Perhaps one of these days I should write something about camping on a budget...

Now for the groundhog hunt...

I spent almost all day Thursday shopping and packing for the trip. I had just returned home from the Wal Mart and was driving past my house into our field behind the house. I was heading up to the barn to get camping stuff out so that I could pack for my trip. When I was halfway to the barn I noticed that a giant groundhog was feeding in front of the barn! This groundhog has tunneled under all of the walls in our barn and has made a horrible mess inside it over the past 2 years. I have hunted her numerous times and have managed to kill a few of her offspring, but I had never gotten a shot at her. Until Thursday.
I stopped my Jeep and ran back down the driveway to my house. I decided I was going to put a stalk on the groundhog and try and get close enough to shoot her with a .22 caliber rifle. I grabbed the rifle and some shells, and then ran back into the field. Since there was no cover in the field besides grass that is about a foot and a half tall, I had to belly crawl the whole way through our field to the barn where the groundhog was feeding. It took me about 20 minutes to belly crawl the 200 yards through the field to where I could get a clear shot at the critter. That seems like a long time, but this groundhog was very wary and would eat for a few seconds and then stand on its hind legs and look around for any danger.
I finally made it to about 40 yards from the groundhog, and then took aim from the prone position. My first shot went just over the groundhog's back, but the second one was a direct hit! I was rather proud of the shot since the gun I was using only has open sights.
The groundhog made it into the barn, but I trailed it in and could just see its tail sticking out from behind a pile of junk. Not wanting to stick my hand in after it, I got my dog to go into the barn and pull out the groundhog. It turns out that it was a big female, and I would estimate that it weighed about 15 pounds. It was definitely the biggest groundhog I have ever killed.
Even though it was only a groundhog, I was rather excited to have stalked and killed a critter that had outsmarted me for the past few years. Hopefully there won't be any more of them in the barn any time soon!

I'm A Lazy Blogger

I am failing to have anything to blog about lately. Most of my time has been spent working and taking care of odd jobs around the house. This weekend I am headed to Hatteras Island for a few days of camping at the beach. It will be nice to just hang out and not worry about anything for awhile. I really haven't had a break since I graduated, so I hope I'll feel rejuvenated after this weekend. I am going to spend some time on the pier and I hope to catch something good to eat!
Once I get back from the beach I'll be getting ready for another job interview with the sheriff's office. I'll also be starting a new part time job at the end of next week. Hopefully I'll have something good to write about before long...
Have a safe and fun Fourth!