Live lined some night crawlers this morning.....

[Mr.Mom]

Woke up early and decided to fish a favorite spot of mine....fed the baby, had some coffee, kissed the wife, and head out just before day light.....

First stop, the local B&T....on the way out the door I figured I'd go with night crawlers rather than the phobe I had tied on over the coffee this morning......

Then over the curb and through the woods with the Jeep....parked at the trail head......hopped/stepped my way across the train tressel and then over to the first spot on the river....

Fished about 2hrs...day dreamed....and thought about how I fished this way as a kid in a similar setting.....man time flys....

It was cold out....ice rimmed the slack water edges of the river....but I had dressed just warm enough....the cold felt refreshing and cleared my head....it felt good to hold a fishing pole......

I didn't catch anything....but the trip did it's job.....this time of year can be so busy that it just felt good to be there a couple hours......

Happy Sunday guys and girls....

Two weeks till ......

[Steve]

Sounds like a great morning. You need times like that every once in awhile....

[Mr.Mom]

It's a great smallmouth spot...and just up river is a trout conservation area....then the reservoir holds some big browns at the damn....so I was thinking maybe I'd get lucky and one would be in the the river since the lake turned over (thermocline)......maybe next time......

My kids asked me to hook them up on one of my earlier trips this year.....here's a couple pics of the happy faces......















Breakfast of Champions.....

They were done in record time and then mooched of my plate....LOL

[Coop]

Great report and pics,,,they look excited holding up that stringer,,,very cool.

[Mr.Mom]

Originally Posted by Coop

Great report and pics,,,they look excited holding up that stringer,,,very cool.

I use to go there in the early am this Summer/Spring....they'd be sleeping when I left, then when I got home they'd want the full report....fish stories...bear stories....bears with cubs......

They were really pumped when I showed them the smallies through the window when walking up sidewalk...

I had my son back there with me a couple times this year....and since then I invested in bear spray....with this recent cold weather I haven't seen any....but we're jamb packed here otherwise, and some are arrogant....

I'm looking forward to hooking them into a nice fish of their own this Spring....they're ready to move on from the Sunnies.....

[chomper]

Cool pics and report. Some nice bass there. You all really have that many bears where you are at?

[fish-aholic]

Great stuff....Its that time of year...I'll start hitting lake anna on these crisp mornings chasing after winter Striper.....Man I love that place in the winter

[Sam]

Very cool story. I felt like i was there... and have been in the same situation a few times myself. Thanks for the report and pics. You've got a good thing going there.

[Mr.Mom]

Originally Posted by chomper

Cool pics and report. Some nice bass there.

Thanks ......

You all really have that many bears where you are at?


Yeah we honestly do.....

I have them in my yard very regular...they haven't been a problem....and I like living in an area where you can see wildlife on a regular basis....

Trust me...10 years ago I would have never thought I'd be buying bear spray....

But...When I was the working guy of the house part of my job was doing follow ups and responding to active bear calls in the area....I was also one of four guys (at the time) picked to be on the 'bear response team' when Fish & Game came up with standards to classify problem bears....so....I've seen good ol bears in the woods when hiking and fishing in the woods, and have seen 'problem' bears that don't want to leave even when getting wacked with rubber buck shot in the arse.....

Flash forward a couple years to my 'Mr.Mom' life and I feel I gotta be smart with my kids in the woods....bears like diapers....and 9 month old babies load em up when ya least expect it.....we also camp in 'bear country' pretty regular....

I may never use it...but I try to learn from other peoples experiences when possible.....the more bears we get the more we're over due for an attack of some sort.....IMHO that is anyway .....

I also understand that the spray may not cut it so I carry nice size sticker for that up close and personal stuff ....

........

[Mr.Mom]

Originally Posted by fish-aholic

Great stuff....Its that time of year...I'll start hitting lake anna on these crisp mornings chasing after winter Striper.....Man I love that place in the winter

[Mr.Mom]

Originally Posted by Sam

Very cool story. I felt like i was there... and have been in the same situation a few times myself. Thanks for the report and pics. You've got a good thing going there.

Thanks Sam .......

[Sam]

Bears, wow. I think I would be packing a little more than spray... At least we don't have to worry about bears on Assateague. I have had a fox or two sneak up on me, but I don't think I'd have to much of a problem compared to a bear.

[chomper]

Thats cool, in a way, about the bears. But I gotta agree with Sam about packing some more heat, than pepper spray may offer.