2012: The Recap

So I've decided yet again to return to my blog and make an effort to keep it running and updated. With fishing over 200 days a year the past few years now and working a full time job its hard to keep up to date on all the social media aspects and still get good sleep at night. So after a long and successful 2012 here is my recap for the year, and a vow to continue to update the blog!

Stay tuned for updates throughout the year and keep me in check if I start slacking ;)

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Well, well, well....Another year down and a new one to begin! Wasn't sure where to start this post so I guess I'll just try to keep it pretty chronilogical as the year went by. It was a year of high's and low's no doubt. Some of the high's being the many trips taken to various fishing locations around the state and surrounding states as well as the many big fish and pretty fish brought to hand. Some of the low's of the year go without explaining....big fish broke off, breaking guides off a rod, with the lowest being the loss of my cousin and good friend/fellow angler, Eric Workman (Eworkman or just "E" as he was known by in the fishing community). All of these high's and low's play into the game we call life though and like it or not, tis' the hand we are dealt and it's up to us how we figure things out.

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I'll begin with my numbers for the year. I started keeping track in 2010 and it's been pretty fun watching the numbers go up throughout the year for each individual category.

Here's the final tally:

201- Total days on the water(Of note: Spent 36 days working western fires. Fishing not even an option)

23- Longest "Days in a row on the water" Streak.

28- Number of different people I fished with.

5- Number of States fished

63- Total number of different streams and lakes fished.(In WV, 39 Streams/11 Lakes-Ponds)

34- Total citations between 10 different species. (Trout, bass and sunfish make up bulk of number)

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It was a great year of fishing and one that I won't forget. A few personal goal highlights of the year were worth mentioning: Grand Slam on North Branch Potomac(brown, bow, brookie, golden trout all in one day), Caught my first Northern Pike in WV, Caught my second Northern and on the fly!(which we're still trying to find out if has ever been done before in the state?? It'd be nice to lay claim to that title ), Several nice Smallmouth and a few citations there of to make up for 2011 when I struggled to catch any over 17" the entire year. Now onto a few pics that highlighted my year!

 

Saved the best for last. Our last day on the water together I can always say was a great one and I will forever be glad that I got too excited and missed this fish only for him to cast back and catch it before I could get my lure back out. Ha!
Fish on brother.....Fish on...

Steel Dreams....

This past weekend was the mecca of the fall for me. Steelhead. That's enough said. It's amazing how this little 6 pound organism can make a person drive 400 miles, spend hundreds of dollars and get no sleep, just to catch it. Blows my mind. But as soon as I hook up with one, I remember why I lost all that sleep, drove all that way, and spent all the money. Pound for pound, it is by far the hardest fighting fish in the lower 48. Words cannot describe the excitement I feel whenever I hook one and it makes that 100 yard long run, never looking back. The trip up started on a Thursday night at midnight. We(Eric, Corey, Myself) made the trek up and arrived on Walnut creek at daylight on Friday. We fished all day and didn't catch a fish. The rain set in around midday and it was about pointless to fish due to the muddy water, leaves, and debris floating around. Saturday we fished 20 mile creek and the bite was awesome! We had a blast and caught a bunch. Eric caught his first steelhead ever. I caught my first steelhead on the fly rod which was a feat for me. Saturday consisted of deer steaks, fresh steelhead fillets, and much needed sleep, all of which were emaculate. Sunday started with us fishing Elk Creek. The morning bite was on fire. It was insane. We caught a few and then after a good day on the water, we decided to head on home. It was a long trip back that ended with me spending the night beside I-79 because I couldn't make it from Big Otter(exit 40) to Charleston without falling asleep behind the wheel. Haha. All in all it was a great trip and looking forward to going back in November.

No Posts Means I'm Out Fishin'....... :)

So with my last post being 3 months ago, I figured I would update. The reason for not posting is because I was out fishing, so I could write a post ;) . Haha. Trying to cover up for myself huh? Anyway, Since school has ended I have been working in Richwood, WV, which is considered the "Gateway to the Monongahela National Forest" and also the gateway to trout country!

Since May 25th I have only not fished 6 days. Yes, I'm hardcore. I've worn out a pair of wading boots that was in good shape before summer. You can see my feet in them. I have acquired a new found skill that is called fly-fishing. I still spin fish, but I fly fish alot now. From doing both I have found that neither is better or worse than the other, both fisherman that use these methods have their jerks and nice guys, and both styles of fishing have their time and place meaning some days, a fly rod is the ticket to catching them, and others, you'd better have a spinning rod in your hands! In the past 57 days I have caught an estimated 600 fish. The locations I have fished include Cranberry, Williams, Elk, Gauley, and Cherry Rivers and many of their tributaries. Many of the streams I have fished I cannont mention on here or anywhere else on the internet due to their secrecy and seclusion such as native brookie streams or wild brown trout fingerling streams. Let's just say if you grab a Gazeteer or Topo map, most all of them are a small blue line going through the contour lines of the topo map ;) . I have also fished Big Ditch Lake, Summit Lake, and Bishop Knob Pond. As you can tell, I'm not the pond fisherman. The species include brook, brown, rainbow, and golden trout, smallmouth and largemouth bass, walleye, bluegill, rockbass, channel catfish, and crappie. Most of the numbers have been trout, simply because that is what I have been pursuing the most, but bluegill probably have second place due to their sheer nature of hitting anything that's small and touches the water.

School starts back around the last week in August and I am so not wanting to start back and leave the fishing here behind, possibly for the last time due to graduating and possibly moving far off for work, but any kind of change in life always has its perks. So, if I end up in Alaska or Montana, that would be a good trade off for Richwood. Haha. If not, I'm sure without a doubt in my mind, I will be able to locate a fish somewhere, wherever I'll be.

The rain begins and the fishing ends.....

After a long awaited day of doing absolutely nothing, I took one final at school and then it was off to go fishing. I figured with the water being somewhat up, I would hit the mouth of Davis Creek where it flows into the Kanawha River. This place has always been good to me, so I figured I'd give it another shot. Sure enough, as soon as I got there I started catching them. White bass, smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass were in great numbers up in the creek(backwater) and they were hitting everything from 3" grubs to topwater Rapala's. I caught around 30 or so before it got dark, then came the Sauger bite. I caught around 10 or so Sauger before my catfish rod that I had out began to give off drag like crazy. Baited up with a freshly cut bluegill, I knew whatever it was would be of somewhat significant size. I jerked, set the hook good, and the fight was on! After a 4 or 5 minutes battle, the beast came to hand. Not the biggest flathead in the world, but for 12 pound test, a 12-15 pound flathead will sure give you a run for your money. Just as I got him in, it began to rain, and pretty hard at that. So with no waterproof gear to my name with me, I had to pack it in. Overall though, it was an evening that I can't complain about.

Beggers can't be choosers.......

So with all the streams being blown out from enough rain that probably had Noah thinking about a return trip, trout, smallmouth and the whole "wading" thing hasn't really been in the picture. Instead, they have been currently replaced with Turkey hunting and fishing in the backwater areas and local ponds around Charleston. Now, me myself would much rather be walking up some remote stream in the mountains but with school coming to a close and finals to be taken care of, I am stuck here fishing the Kanawha River (which isn't a bad thing). Most of the past week was consumed with Turkey hunting to which I've had no luck. Heard many birds, saw a couple, but never could get any shots off at any of them. The fishing however, has been much better. White bass and Hybrids have been in "flocks" shall I say, coming up into the backwater areas of the creeks. A local pond has also been very good to me the past few days by providing me with some awesome ultra-light catfishing. Yeah, I said ultra-light catfishing. Knowing that the biggest fish in the lake is probably only around 6lbs or so, I decided to give my bass gear and my 7' ultra-light with 4lb test a try at the whiskered beasts. May I say it has been a blast! Ended up getting into some big bullheads as well, including the one pictured which is a WV citation of 2lbs. Hopefully the water will receed soon and I can get back to doing what I like best. Warmwater fishing has its perks, but I'm ready to catch some brookies, browns, and rainbows again.