Well, for my second post, things are about as opposite from the first story as you can get. No photos for this one as it was just not a good day.
One week after catching my personal best large mouth, Stew, Patrick and I decide to head down the Catawba in the same direction. South it was as the water was on and who doesn't like an easy paddle. I decided to through my game winning Zara Spook behind some bridge pylons into the swirling current pools . I get no bites, but it got worse. On the last cast I want to make before heading down stream, I backlash the ever living snot out of my reel. By far the worst backlash I have ever gotten, so instead of picking and cutting, I decide to retire that rod for the day. It's not a huge ordeal as the conditions are somewhat similar to the previous weekend, except with a lot of sun. I don't forsee the top water bite being too great today. With that said, I decided to paddle on.
Fishing, fishing, fishing. No bites. We have all had those days. That's why it's called fishing and not catching. Stew had one, maybe two fish. Patrick may have had one as well. It was a good day to hang out, with beautiful weather and good friends. We finally reach the creek where I caught the big girl. I throw a crank bait or two, a shakey head worm, a texas rigged worm, and a jig to no avail. To make matters worse, two of my lines get completely tangled. Great. Wonderful. BLAH.
I coast to the shore and start to untangle. After a few choice words, Stew and Patrick come over to see what's going on. "Sounded like you got a hook in your @$$". Nope, just tangled. As I'm picking the lines apart, Patrick hooks into a nice fish, but he throws the hook. Stew catches on in the same spot. So there's two fish I miss because of some tangles.
All in all not a great day but not bad. Still salvagable. We all head up stream. When we get to the docks, I decide I am heading to the store to buy some Bratwurst and buns and we are gonna cook on the river and make this a great day. We fish our way up stream, Stew catching a few and Patrick as well. Me, 0. Nada. Nil. None. Zip. BLAH.
We hit the shore and build a great fire. Have some great brats and a few good laughs. We head out and fish our way back. Still don't get a dang bite. I was fishing the same color worm, rigged the same. Completely crazy. I fished the straight tail worm, the trick worm, the u tail worm, the crankbait, the jig, the shakey head jig. No bites, and to make it worse, the guys were catching fish in front of me, behind me, and beside me. That's the life of a fisherman though. Days like this make it hard to keep coming back, but days like the previous week make it completely worth the while. It was just as painstaking trying to load up my gear, but I'll spare you the details on that. Stay tuned for my next installment, where I actually had a pretty good day.
Remember, conservation and education are key to providing an outstanding fishery for the next generation, so practice and preach it.
Until next time, tight lines!
