Paddletrucker
09-06-2010, 01:53 AM
Well, this was to be my three day weekend of non-stop fishing. Didn't turn out that way. I just about didn't get to go Saturday. Today, I wasn't able to get on the water until high noon, and couldn't stay for too long. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to get on the water earlier in the morning.
I did manage to get this nice 18.25 inch largemouth on a Biffle Bug. A real fatty, he weighed almost six pounds. I only recently started paying attention to what my fish weigh, rather than the length on the Hawg Trough. Sure seemed heavy to me. Maybe I need to check the scale on my Boga Grip.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050003.jpg
On the very next cast, I got this one that was a little smaller, but still really fat. He was still a tad over 5 pounds. He had a weird looking hump on his back. He was really shaped strangely. He was almost the shape of a drum or something. He fought REALLY hard, though. In fact both fish fought harder than normal, it seemed.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050004.jpg
A couple of guys in a bass boat were snickering at my kayak and rig. One of the things I heard was, "Is he serious with that thing?" Before I got my pictures taken of the second fish and a new bait from my bag behind me, I had drifted far enough away from the spot for the guys who didn't "think I was serious" and another guy in another boat to move right in on the spot where they watched me catch back to back 5+ pound fish. :o:o It was hilarious watching them try to get out later after the river fell about 8 inches. ;) The water next to the rock bank is about 8 feet deep. All around, though, it's less than a foot with only a few places between gravel bars to get into the deeper water.
Potlickers,
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050010.jpg
On the paddle back, I saw something I don't usually see and I'm glad of it.
We see a lot of nerodia, or Diamond Back Watersnakes here. Most folks mistake them for water moccasins. Lots of people think if they see a snake in the water, it's a water moccasin. In reality, I see very, very few and I'm on the water quite a bit.
This was a genuine Cotton Mouth Water Moccasin and a pretty darn big one at that. :eek: He was swimming to a root ball of a big old tree that hangs out over the water.
Check out the head.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050005.jpg
Going.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050006-1.jpg\
Going.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050007.jpg
Gone. Well, not really, but well hidden.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050008.jpg
What you can't see, or know, is that the big old tree he went into has a big rope swing hanging from it and I see people swimming all around here most every time I'm here. I cringed thinking about that big 'ol moccasin being wound up in that root ball and knowing how many kids I've seen climb up on that tree in that exact same spot. Hopefully, he'll move on.
Oh, and on the drive home I decided to stop in the next town over from where I live to get a heat 'em and eat 'em sandwich and a cold Gatorade. Looks like we're getting a new store........or something. :)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050011.jpg
I did manage to get this nice 18.25 inch largemouth on a Biffle Bug. A real fatty, he weighed almost six pounds. I only recently started paying attention to what my fish weigh, rather than the length on the Hawg Trough. Sure seemed heavy to me. Maybe I need to check the scale on my Boga Grip.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050003.jpg
On the very next cast, I got this one that was a little smaller, but still really fat. He was still a tad over 5 pounds. He had a weird looking hump on his back. He was really shaped strangely. He was almost the shape of a drum or something. He fought REALLY hard, though. In fact both fish fought harder than normal, it seemed.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050004.jpg
A couple of guys in a bass boat were snickering at my kayak and rig. One of the things I heard was, "Is he serious with that thing?" Before I got my pictures taken of the second fish and a new bait from my bag behind me, I had drifted far enough away from the spot for the guys who didn't "think I was serious" and another guy in another boat to move right in on the spot where they watched me catch back to back 5+ pound fish. :o:o It was hilarious watching them try to get out later after the river fell about 8 inches. ;) The water next to the rock bank is about 8 feet deep. All around, though, it's less than a foot with only a few places between gravel bars to get into the deeper water.
Potlickers,
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050010.jpg
On the paddle back, I saw something I don't usually see and I'm glad of it.
We see a lot of nerodia, or Diamond Back Watersnakes here. Most folks mistake them for water moccasins. Lots of people think if they see a snake in the water, it's a water moccasin. In reality, I see very, very few and I'm on the water quite a bit.
This was a genuine Cotton Mouth Water Moccasin and a pretty darn big one at that. :eek: He was swimming to a root ball of a big old tree that hangs out over the water.
Check out the head.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050005.jpg
Going.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050006-1.jpg\
Going.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050007.jpg
Gone. Well, not really, but well hidden.
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050008.jpg
What you can't see, or know, is that the big old tree he went into has a big rope swing hanging from it and I see people swimming all around here most every time I'm here. I cringed thinking about that big 'ol moccasin being wound up in that root ball and knowing how many kids I've seen climb up on that tree in that exact same spot. Hopefully, he'll move on.
Oh, and on the drive home I decided to stop in the next town over from where I live to get a heat 'em and eat 'em sandwich and a cold Gatorade. Looks like we're getting a new store........or something. :)
http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/picsofnate/P9050011.jpg