Haven't heard from me in a while have you? well Just haven't had anything much to say. I recently....well not too recent... about a month ago went fishing a couple of days in a row. I wrote a short...well not too short story about my recent adventures. hers is one that was posted on another page. the other one will be posted soon. You can read the other one on my group link. http://groups.myspace.com/OchlockneeRiverYachtClub . Find a chair and get ready for :
Dinner on the Table
What is a day off? A day off is when you can do whatever it is YOU want to do. Most will agree to that. Very few times do I have a Saturday for doing what I want. This time was different. No opointments, no job, no chores, well there is always chores, but why do today what can put off till tommorrow? It's Saturday morning at 6:00 in the morning. The crack of dawn, the boat is loaded and ready for the big game. The last bit of last night's supper was a quick breakfast now it's time to shove off. At 6:10 it's fishing time. At the river, the last minute checks on the gear, the lines were untangled the Mudpuppy is prepared for launch. Back down into the water and off the trailer she goes! Now at anchor, The Mudpuppy awaits her captain. The trolling motor mounted, the gas motor sits in the bow, the Camera ready for action, just in case. Anchors aweigh and then lines out. Acajun thunder with a cricket dangling ever so delightful on the end, and a bottom rig with a pond worm dragging the bottom. Nothing. Move and nothing, and this trend continues for a few minutes. Now a noisy group comes arounf the bend laughing and talking ruining the silence of a perfect morning. Finally they get in the river and head down stream, the direction that was the most probable until the motor mouth headed that way. To spare the agony of enduring an annoying encounter with the motormouth once again, it was time for a change of plans. After no luck it was definitely time for a change of scenery.Upriver we haed to an ajoining pond just to the other side of the ramp from where I had just launched althouh there is no connecting waterway except to go into the river and back up to reach the pond. Now that in itself could be a story. It is full of trees overhanging willows and sort of swift current for a trolling motor, not really deep enough in most places to use a gas motor without the endagerment of sheering a pin or catching the foot on a log just under the surface. A struggle it was, but with a little effort and a lot of ducking it finally pays off. It opens into the pond and just to the left of the river bend, is a set of lillie pads. 10 minutes go by......nothing. Now it's time to change to gas, for the struggle about to begin will need a little more power than 12 volts and 27 lbs of thrust. First try, go straight up across the sandbar....No dice. Second try, go around the sandbar to the other swift water side and give it the full throttle. Not going. Ok go back to the sandbar drag her across, and hit the gas hard! Acoss we go only to run into yet another obtsicle. Swift water and small openings, just enough to squeeze through. after some some struggling and starting over again and again, with some special manuevers, I make to to the Big Water. The big water is the Hwy 19 bridge, where the the river opens nice and wide for about a mile or so up to where the Little Ochlocknee River runs in. So off to the farthest point I can go. On a previous trip, I had went up about three to four miles until I could no longer go because of Logs all the way across. Thinking I would do this again I made it just past the mouth of the Little Ochlocknee and ran aground once again. Not wanting to press my luck anymore, it wa time to cast out the lines, first the worm the the cricket......the cajun thunder hands in a root system and breaks off, Time to re-rig. A bobber and a hook ..no weight. the bobber slightly above the hook. I call this the David Parker Theory. Now David is a friend of mine, and he once told me that this application works well on Lake Miccosukee. It has been said tht some times this is the only method that works on a hot summer day. Now its not summer just yet, but it was deffinetly time to test out the theory. Cricket next to the bank... down she goes!! the fight is on! Wait! what is this ? a minnow! How can that be? He can barely get the hook in his mouth! Ok, retrieve the cajun thunder anchor down about 10 yards try again....Wham, she goes down!!! A bream..Now we are talking dinner!!! not very big but a keeper. Try this again.. a few more casts and another fish, this one not quite what I am looking for so back in the drink he goes. a few more trys again move down 20 yards do it again. The line goes down again Alright!! this much better than listening to the blabber-mouth downstream talk about his theory of wireless wires, whatever that means. Three more and I can have dinner tonight. The pace is set. Drift just past the last cast, throw the cricket against the bank, see if goes down. It seems to work beautiful. 10:30 now, Just getting started good. The breeze just blowing enough to stay cool, but not effecting the casts. Nice and shady to be comfortable from the afternoon sun. A throw, a bight or two, a drift, so it goes most of the day. Not really getting on a slaughter, but definitely enough to eat. Final count...26. Not Bad, But some could have been a bit bigger. Hook swallowers they were for the most part, meaning I had to keep a few I could have done without. The return trip just as painstaking as the launchbut with a smile on my face and the bragging rights for the day, if only to myself made it all a worthwhile trip and dinner on the table!!!
Until Next time..........
