The Saga of the Honey Hole, My Walden

The honey hole is quickly becoming my go to place.  It is not the best place.  It is not the most remote.  The deer are not guaranteed to move through.  I have only seen two bucks there in three years. The deer are ridiculously skittish and prone to go nocturnal.  But it is convenient to my home, less than a quarter mile away, isolated and there are deer, coyote, squirrels, and raccoons.   Public hunting land is nearby, but the proximity to the honey hole often wins out.  It's my Walden.

Last November, I logged my third and final deer of the season. Despite three hunts in front of hounds and several trips to the "big woods", fittingly my last deer was a doe from the honey hole.  A last minute hunt, during the middle of the day.

The season is over, but she will be there.  Each afternoon, I will walk my dog along the edge of my suburban oasis and invariably there will be whitetail deer to wave, "good bye".  Perhaps tomorrow I'll visit again, bow in hand and sons in tow to hunt squirrels and rabbits in the fresh snow.

Now, I turn to the flyrod and bassbugs; spinning reels and floats, baitcasters and cranks.  Standing in a stream, waders on, and "waving a stick"..... my favorite way to hunt.

Surprise smallmouth fishing trip on the New River

Long time since I've posted about flyfishing or spent time on the water. This week, a surprise team building event lead to an  opportunity on the New River with Tangent Outfitters in Montgomery / Giles counties. 

Flycasting form and accuracy came back quickly, but I missed a couple of hits. Fly fishing was a little slow but I managed to boat 2, one over 15". Earlier, we landed one about 18" on spinning gear. 

The fish on the fly...... Made up for a year's absence! 

Thankfully, I will be getting more time in the field and on the water now!!!!!! Also learned some new tricks!!!! 

Oh there was an alleged Muskie encounter by the other fly fisherman.

In January?!?!?

On a very unseasonably warm Sunday (74F in Raleigh, NC!!!!), I intended to meet up with Feather Chucker for some winter fishing and try out a new 5 wt Cabela's Cahill combo that arrived last week. Unfortunately, a long "honey-do" list and three children left me about 30 minutes late and I couldn't find him.  I decided I'd better fish the next good spot then head home to walk the dog and help another friend retreive a tree stand, before dark. I practiced casting, presenting and worked out my my new rod for a review to be posted. Just before leaving the water, I asked a lady riding by if she would take a series of pictures for my rod review.

She did, but as she left she jumped and had a startled look (I have that effect on people!) before riding off. A moment later, I exited the water where she stood and I ciaught a very brief glance of what appeared to be the tail of a fleeing Kingsnake. A quick flash of a black and yellow so I wasn't 100% sure of what I saw and being JANUARY, I probably had the same kind of startled look trying to make sense of what I thought I saw. About 2 miles or so from the parking lot, I see a couple with a dog pointing at something on the bike trail. I glance as I pass and it's this:

Yes!!!!!!! In the middle of January I am staring at a 2-2.5' specimen of Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen, the infamous northern copperhead sometimes referred to as a moccasin or upland moccasin. I am guessing this is a northern based upon the spots in the cross bands, but many specimens between central Va and central NC are intergrades with Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix, the southern copperhead to some extent so it is hard to discern in the field. Regardless, a copperhead in early January has to make for an unbelievable observation and what a way to start the season?!?!

 

Look what came today........

Quick post about a little something that came via UPS today………

Just after Christmas, I found an offer I could not refuse and with the incredibly warm temps we are expecting, this package arrived just in time!!! I’m really excited about this……………….

Cabela’s had their Cahill Fly-Fishing outfits (4pc. 9’ graphite rod, reel, line and backing) on sale for just under $40. I could not resist. I ordered a five weight outfit for pan fish and an eight weight for largemouth, smallmouth and striped bass. So why am I so excited about these “low-end” beginner’s outfits?  It’s all about the action and purpose.

These are probably the bottom of the Cabelas’ line.  However, I really like their mid-flex action for warm water fishing. Unlike saltwater fishing where super stiff extra fast rods enable you to fling 60 feet of line into the wind with a single haul, fishing medium sized rivers,  small streams and ponds generally involves short casts.  Accuracy and placement are paramount.  The moderate action allows for very precise placement and the stiff butt provides power for casting large terrestrials, bass bugs, streamers, weighted nymphs, and Clouser’s.  Those are flies typically for largemouth smallmouth bass and panfish. More importantly unlike the higher in rods they really take a beating in the brush, trunk, closet and if you lose one… you won't miss it as much as a $600.00 Sage. So, that is why I'm really excited about what came in the mail today and hopefully a warm Monday through Friday will make for an exciting mid-winter excursion Saturday.

My EDC............. not what you think

Every Day Carry or "EDC".  For the unfamiliar, here is a youtube link to a typical EDC video by a well known poster. EDC uploads are extremely popular.  Why, I don't really know.  However, I can assure you that every hour or so it seems someone is uploading a new one.  So, i'm going to have some fun and post my "EDC" . This one is different.  No “Bug Out Bags”, Urban Survival Gear or Conceal Carry details.  My EDC evolves and refers to what I carry from season to season in order to take advantage of the 30 minutes here or an hour there I can squeeze in between commutes to lay a line or throw a lure.  My current summer/spring EDC is geared towards small streams, rivers and office park or municpal pond fishing.  It has taken years to refine my "EDC", but I think I have an efficient flyfishing set up and the ultimate urban (suburban) conventional gear set up.  So let’s go.

First off, fly fishing is my favorite way to enjoy the water. Typically, I keep a chest pack with what I consider a bantam batch of essential flies to cover all water and weather conditions:

As you can see, I favor streamers, buggers and terrestrials.  Poppers are fun to fish but streamers and terrestrials more efficient in smaller rivers and ponds.  Over the next few weeks I’ll be learning to tie my own.   For my conventional pack I generally keep a few 3/16-1/4 oz crankbaits running 1-3’.  The rebel wee-craw is a go to even at 1/8 oz.  In fact I caught my best bass ever, a 20.5” smallmouth on one!  The little micro hook locked in the corner and held.  Next up would be an assortment of senko worms and grubs.  Great thing about senko soft baits is that they have enough weight to cast unweighted in shallow water for a nice slow action.  The last thing to fill it out would be 1/8 safety pin spinnerbaits with chrome single Colorado blades (Strike King). 

For my hardware, I use an 8’ Cabalas Cahill 5wt 4 piece rod and reel.  A good moderate-fast action will load in the top 1/3^rd of the blank allowing it to handle large wind resistant flies; present accurate short-med casts and more importantly it will take a beating and hold together.  In contrast most high-end fast action rods tend to be rather brittle.  To be honest, the best rod for this purpose is probably a 6 wt with a fighting butt.  Often referred to as a “salt water 6-weight”.  I’ll be upgrading soon.  In my opinion a 6 wt makes sport of small bream but will throw larger streamers and bugs for bass. 

For my conventional rod I really like a 2-piece 6’ medium-light St. Croix Premier casting rod.  I used to have a Shimano 100B reel.  Great set up allowed me to throw tubes as light as 1/8 oz accurately without bird’s nests.   This reel lasted over 10 years but recently I actually “upgraded to” a Shimano Cardiff 100. Another great reel, I found one new and unused on eBay.  These two reels are the best (IMHO) for small stream bassin. 

The conventional setup generally gets the nod when I have less than an hour on the water.  Honorable mention goes to my spinning set up. A St. Croix reel on a 2-piece 6’6” med action rod.

Rounding out the EDC are a set of waders/belt, mesh carry bag, flash light, utility tool (Gerber Suspension), wading boots, phone and a hat.

The pay off........... a little trophy like this small bass (6 of 2012).  He's under a foot, but I caught him in a small stream you could step accross most days. 

 

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.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!