Talk about a bad day....

Think you are having a tough day?  Earlier today during lunch, I passed a guy spreading caulk between plates in the sidewalk. When I returned,  I found this little ground skink in it!

He was not there half an hour ago.  I tried to free him but this stuff sticks to everything!  He probably died from exhaustion or perhaps was asphyxiated in the goo.  Just a reminder, no matter how tough things seem......... someone has it tougher.

A Rainy Day on the Neuse River

Earlier this evening, I noticed the rain tapering off and immediately a thought came to mind: A rainy day means no swimmers, dogs, kayakers...... a great time to fish.  It's only 3pm I can get in a couple hours.  So I hit the Neuse and this wonderful sight (an almost empty lot)  greeted me.

A short walk to the landing and sure enough, no boats, no dogs, no swimmers and believe it or not clear water!  Nothing against swimmers and boaters, they have every right to the water and I like dogs (except when they try to retrieve my lures/flies), but it's nice to have quiet water. 

I gladly went back to the truck, grabbed the 5-weight and got to work.  I fished up and down the main channel using an olive beadhead bugger, a black leech pattern, and finished with a chartreuse and white clouser.  Nothing.  I only planned on spending a couple of hours on the water, but just before heading back to the truck I saw a feeder stream that I could not resist.  I decided to tie on a small brown and tan clouser and work the mouth of this feeder stream before heading out.

Bang, hit!  Landed this nice bream (number 4 of 2012)

A few misses and I got number 5...........

As usual the fishing heats up as the clock winds down.  A quick in and out before dinner, but a wonderful way to finish off a late rainy Sunday.

When the Dogwoods Bloom.......................

When the Dogwoods Bloom the Bass will boom.   That was an old saying I heard when I was young.  It generally referred to pre- spawn largemouth bass on a post-winter feeding binge and white bass gathering for their travel up stream.  Last week I had an opportunity to return to the Eno with Kev2380 to flyfish for white bass.  Well the turkey hunters were out (opening weekend), the dog woods were in bloom:

These fellas came over to greet me as I left the parking lot:

The parking lot began to fill:

All signs the white bass run was on, but there wasn’t a white bass to be found.  Much like the dogwoods (this one just started to bloom……. A month after the former!)

the unusually warm March followed by a seasonably cooler April have thrown a lot of migrating species slightly off their traditional patterns.  On the plus side, a few bream and robins made the trip worth it……. The skunk is no more.

The Eno River runs through Orange and Durham Counties in central North Carolina.  My blog is named in honor of the Lower James River which holds a special place in my heart.  My home.  However, the Eno is a small unspoiled (for an urban) river loaded with the largest, most colorful and gorgeous robins (redbreast sunfish) and bream (all other sunfish) you’ll find anywhere.  There is another small gem hidden in this stream as well.  The roanoke bass.  Unless you live in a warm water river drainage of high water quality and no smallmouth bass in the piedmont region of central/southern Virginia or central/northern North Carolina, you’ve probably never seen or heard of it.  Just imagine a rock bass, slightly deeper with a red eye.  Next up......... perhaps a trip to the Neuse  River.  (Note: I was beaten to the punch on Roanoke Bass...... Nice post).

Almost one year ago (April 12, 2011), I initiated this blog with a post about a wily turkey that eluded us for an entire season (The Screamer).   That old Tom had me and my two sons obsessed with turkey hunting.  Addicted!  We were up and ready to hit the woods every Saturday morning!  The only things that kept us away from the woods were a tornado and…….. well that’s about it!  We were off to a hot start, turkey hunting every weekend we could.  Not much fishing, but enough success to feel like I accomplished something.  I did catch my largest cat fish ever!  I was ready for what I expected to be a fun and successful deer season.  Lots of prepping, scouting and practicing.  Some pretty in-depth posts about bow hunting public land  and selecting the right tree-stand for the hunt.  Of course work and life forced a little hiatus and I literally only got to hunt or fish about half as often as I expected.  That’s the life of a Dad.  Not that I’m complaining.  The fish and game will likely be there for as long as I’m able to follow them, but little league football, dance recitals, science fairs, Daddy Daughter dances and family bike rides are fleeting.  My two little hunting buddies are bound to grow up and move on.  They may return, but for now I’ll enjoy the time we have.

Please follow and enjoy as I attempt to make year two more entertaining and informative than year one!  In addition to posts about fishing, deer and turkey hunting, I will expand my topics to include some new things I’ll be exploring in 2012:

·         Gardening (flower and veggie gardens)

·         My first attempt at fly tying

·         Creating a sportsman “EDC” not the urban survival type…… 
·         Reviews of equipment (some old, some new ) for the field and the water.

Last but definitely not least, I would like to thank all those whom followed my rookie season of blogging.    I’ve received a number of emails from friends, family, people surfing through and followers.  To you, I say thanks.  The notes were encouraging and I will post much more regularly in 2012.   Kev2380 thanks for asking about me last weekend (I’ll post a short review of our Eno river fly fishing trip shortly).  River Mud, thanks for listing me as a blog to follow in the River Mud blog!!!!  I got a huge spike in views after your listing and hopefully I’ll keep them coming back and perhaps even following! 

About 16 posts +/- a few last year.  I expected to make about 24 or more.  This year looks a bit more promising.   While I missed the turkey opening, I will probably get after the screamer in about 2 weeks.  No… I am not worried about someone else getting him.  Judging by the number of folks hunting the archery zones and actually bagging a bird using archery gear………. He’ll be there.  Before I end this post, I am going to set some 2012 challenges and I’m posting them here so I can’t back out…. 

1.       Harvest three archery deer (any sex).  Two for the food kitchens to help feed the hungry (donation via Hunters feeding the Hungry) and one for the grill!!!!!!!

2.       Harvest one turkey using archery gear

3.       Catch, photograph and release a “Neuse River Slam” on the fly: largemouth, striper, and catfish.

4.       Catch and photograph an Eno River roanoke bass on the fly

5.       Bonus: Harvest an archery feral hog.

Spring is here, a season of re-birth and renewal for the outdoorsman.  Time to get started on 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!