Anthracite Outfitters Trip Summary and Report: Memorial Day Weekend 2010
Eddy Rider and I spent the weekend on the water. Our weekend started with a half day trip with 5 clients on Friday. They were great!!!
Two of the gentlemen in the group are attached to an artillery unit in the army as forward observers. They deploy in April. We thanked them for their service then, and do so now, and wish them godspeed when they deploy!!!
Friday was slow. There are tons of insects of various species hatching and on the drift. Basically the river is flowing with food and the fish can eat at will which makes fishing tough. A few fish were hit on Friday, and I brought a channel catfish to the yak that I hooked up on a crankbait. The group Friday had a blast on the trip.
Saturday we had a couple from the Philly area come out for a full day trip.
They both could fish, and the young lady was high hook for the day. She was way cool. She had a deliberate focus about her. When I was going through the tackle selection we provided them for the rigged trip, she was struck by the spinner bait. She said "Ooh! I like this!!! It's all glittery and shiny. It's pretty!!!" I thanked my lucky stars at that point because she found a lure she could believe in, and of all the things to believe in was a standard. So I started her out with a straight up rapala. I did so because she had no kayak fishing experience. I wanted to make sure she was comfy in the yak casting before I gave her a lure that could get snagged and make life difficult. We also started out in smooth, slow flowing water, so the shoreline ridge was more suited to a distressed minnow presentation.
When we were about to hit the quicker flowing water I had her switch over to her "pretty lure". Sure enough she was hooked up.
The highlight for the trip for me was that she was fearless. It's better that way then the converse so long as their back is watched. She was drifting stern first through an exposed boulder field. I said there are hazzards here let's switch to the other bank. She said "I don't want to. There's fish here and I'm catching them!" I was shocked cause that was balls!!! I said "O.k! I'll watch your back and let you know when exposed rocks are approaching that could startle you." She was cool with that. She caught more fish. LOL
When we pulled up for lunch there was a jet boat pulled up with a huge floating donut and 4 guys getting ready for a leisure drift back to their campground on the river. They invited us for cold free flowing beer, but we declined because we had clients. They are the typical folks you find on our river. They are there to enjoy life, enjoy the river, and those doing the same are friends!!! We saw them the next day doing their "thing"...
The clients called their trip 100yds from the take out. They had a blast!!! So did we!!!
Dan got them back to the hotel and we met up with Toast back at Dan's house. We were finally off the clock so to speak.
We got back to the launch around sunset and covered the last mile of the leg to camp in the dark. We got to the island and set camp. The tents were set and we got the fire rock'n.
This is my favorite camp site. This island is on an elevation drop so the water moves broken and rapid flanking the island and smooths out and mingles at the down river tip. It's a current angler's dream!!!
We got to fishing and before we know it Toast is yelling "Hank!!! Hank!!! Hank!!!" I said "what?" He replied "I'm on!!! I got a good fish!!!" I said " well don't drop it and I'll be right there." Dan bee-lined to him and saw his rod doubled...
Dan said "Hank, get the bogas and pliers!!!"
Sure enough our boy Toast was on to a solid channel cat he hooked on a jig. He fought it well on the light tackle and we called that cat Memorial Day dinner!!!
After that it died back on the bite. We went and checked the shallows and the island was crawling with life...
Insects were all over emerging and doing their life cycle thing. That confirmed the slow bite for me. There's so much bait in the water the fish want the food pretty much drifted into their open mouths, save for the cats that will find you.
When the bite laid down we noticed the steam filling the river valley and the rising moon's glow emerging like the insects over the mountain.
At midnight it was go time for the camera, which just happened to be the first hours of my 36th birthday...
Dan and I slept in the next day. It was our first trip this season on the river where we weren't on the clock. We just lolly gagged and enjoyed the elements of the river that brought us there in the first place.
On the drift out we found a mixed species pod of fish with some individuals looking in excess of 3'. Toast hooked his first musky but broke it off shore side. Then Dan hooked up his cat on an inline spinner.
The rest was just a mellow paddle out. I'm tying flies for our clients this weekend and getting ready to find fish.
There is such pleasure in seeing all forms of life doing their own thing on the water!!!
Tightlines and stay tuned for more reports from the the "River"!!!
Two of the gentlemen in the group are attached to an artillery unit in the army as forward observers. They deploy in April. We thanked them for their service then, and do so now, and wish them godspeed when they deploy!!!
Friday was slow. There are tons of insects of various species hatching and on the drift. Basically the river is flowing with food and the fish can eat at will which makes fishing tough. A few fish were hit on Friday, and I brought a channel catfish to the yak that I hooked up on a crankbait. The group Friday had a blast on the trip.
Saturday we had a couple from the Philly area come out for a full day trip.
When we were about to hit the quicker flowing water I had her switch over to her "pretty lure". Sure enough she was hooked up.
The highlight for the trip for me was that she was fearless. It's better that way then the converse so long as their back is watched. She was drifting stern first through an exposed boulder field. I said there are hazzards here let's switch to the other bank. She said "I don't want to. There's fish here and I'm catching them!" I was shocked cause that was balls!!! I said "O.k! I'll watch your back and let you know when exposed rocks are approaching that could startle you." She was cool with that. She caught more fish. LOL
When we pulled up for lunch there was a jet boat pulled up with a huge floating donut and 4 guys getting ready for a leisure drift back to their campground on the river. They invited us for cold free flowing beer, but we declined because we had clients. They are the typical folks you find on our river. They are there to enjoy life, enjoy the river, and those doing the same are friends!!! We saw them the next day doing their "thing"...
The clients called their trip 100yds from the take out. They had a blast!!! So did we!!!
Dan got them back to the hotel and we met up with Toast back at Dan's house. We were finally off the clock so to speak.
We got back to the launch around sunset and covered the last mile of the leg to camp in the dark. We got to the island and set camp. The tents were set and we got the fire rock'n.
This is my favorite camp site. This island is on an elevation drop so the water moves broken and rapid flanking the island and smooths out and mingles at the down river tip. It's a current angler's dream!!!
We got to fishing and before we know it Toast is yelling "Hank!!! Hank!!! Hank!!!" I said "what?" He replied "I'm on!!! I got a good fish!!!" I said " well don't drop it and I'll be right there." Dan bee-lined to him and saw his rod doubled...
Sure enough our boy Toast was on to a solid channel cat he hooked on a jig. He fought it well on the light tackle and we called that cat Memorial Day dinner!!!
After that it died back on the bite. We went and checked the shallows and the island was crawling with life...
Insects were all over emerging and doing their life cycle thing. That confirmed the slow bite for me. There's so much bait in the water the fish want the food pretty much drifted into their open mouths, save for the cats that will find you.
When the bite laid down we noticed the steam filling the river valley and the rising moon's glow emerging like the insects over the mountain.
At midnight it was go time for the camera, which just happened to be the first hours of my 36th birthday...
Dan and I slept in the next day. It was our first trip this season on the river where we weren't on the clock. We just lolly gagged and enjoyed the elements of the river that brought us there in the first place.
On the drift out we found a mixed species pod of fish with some individuals looking in excess of 3'. Toast hooked his first musky but broke it off shore side. Then Dan hooked up his cat on an inline spinner.
The rest was just a mellow paddle out. I'm tying flies for our clients this weekend and getting ready to find fish.
There is such pleasure in seeing all forms of life doing their own thing on the water!!!
Tightlines and stay tuned for more reports from the the "River"!!!
