Until my opportunities to fish become more frequent, I am going to put the "This Week in Fishing (T.W.i.F)" posts on the back burner. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to try and update the blog here and there.
This past Friday, January 20th, would have been my father's 87th birthday if he was still with me. He and my grandfather used to take me fishing on Virginia's eastern shore for flounder during the summer. Friday was also a two-hour early dismissal for our school system since we just finished the second marking period. Swim practice had been cancelled for the day, giving the team a nice day off before the championship season starts. Despite the temperatures in the upper 40's and the slight drizzle, I decided to take the 10 minute hike out to the pond in the Hughes Tree Farm. Armed with the same small Arkie jig and bright green soft plastic "Hot Worms" I was able to catch a half dozen bluegill.
Saturday, I woke up and saw that the weather conditions had not improved very much. It didn't matter though. My plan for today was to get some things done around the house; cleaning the pellet stoves, some of the boy's laundry as well as straightening up the basement some. After that, just after lunch, I was going to head down to Lake Lariat with the kayak. The morning went fine and there wasn't any rain so I set out on the lake.
As I left the finger of the lake coming out from the launch I spotted a bald eagle flying away from me. There is a pair of eagles that have a nest along the lake and I see one, if not both, each time I paddle out. Today I came around one small bend and got a good look as one flew off. Its wingspan looked like it was at least 6 ft across. They really are beautiful birds. Unfortunately as you can see from the photo, I didn't get terribly close for good pictures.
As I paddled along I was using a 1/32 oz Arkie jig with a 2 inch copper tube.
I really like the tube and jig combination since it seems to catch both panfish as well as bigger ones like largemouth or pickerel. Today it paid off with a a couple of small, 9 inches or less, bass as well as a couple of bluegill. But the best fish of the day, and the year so far, came on the paddle back towards the launch. I made a long cast along one shoreline and allowed the bait to fall. After a couple of seconds I reeled in the slack line, as I was drifting towards it, and felt that it was heavy. A nice yank and I was fighting my biggest largemouth of the year. Measuring 14 inches, it wasn't a monster by any means, but it was nice to get a bigger fish this time of year. After releasing it I began my paddle back to the launch.
To end the weekend I had an errand to run to the industrial park in the mid county. There are two small retention ponds right at the entrance. I've spent a little time there in the past, predominantly in the summer. It holds bluegill as well as some largemouth. Today I had a small jig with the Berkeley 1 inch minnow. I didn't get many bites but I did managed two small bluegill in about an hour.
Considering the overcast skies and drizzle for much of the weekend I was pleased with how I did. Next weekend should be a lot less since I have a wrestling tournament to work. So until next time...Tight Lines!
A quick Fishnerd moment in closing: 19 fish since January 1st - most of them being bluegill.
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