Outdoorsman Thread

[treefarmer]

You always seem to have a big time with grandsons!
Treefarmer

[carrmillus]

Went fishing last evening off the dock of a friend's on a relatively small lake with six or eight homes around it.

We were fishing for bluegill and shell cracker bream, as they are on the bed, which usually coincides with the 1st full moon in May around here.

I put a "weedless" half ounce jig and eight inch worm on a bass rod and made a couple of casts across a tree top and came out with this guy.

He immediately wrapped me around the tree and instead of trying to horse him out, I let him have his head for a minute and he unwound himself.

First time I'd been fishing in years. Felt good.

Two pictures of the same fish.

He was released back into the lake.

Charlie Noyes

........Charlie, now you're ruint fer life!!!!............... ............................

[TripleF]

Thanks fellas..... I do my best to try and add a little excitement or myth to our outings.....

[Dinadan]

Scott - good story - I always like your photos!

Charlie - nice fish and photos!

I am trying to get back into fishing this year. Thirty years ago I did a good deal of fishing, but after I got married I pretty much turned to other interests. Now my wife is retired due to knee problems we have a lot more time together. We are taking up fishing as a hobby, I guess you could say. We were out on the Pascagoula River last Friday. The only fish we caught were some tiny bream too small to keep, but we had a great time.

[RobesonsRme.com]

I used to drift fish the Escambia River north of Pensacola with my Uncle Raymond. We were fishing up near the Florida - Alabama line, but the river still had a tendency to fill up at high tide.

He had a gosh-awful heavy wooden john boat that he kept chained and locked to a tree. Turning that thing over always scared the bejoolies out of me. That is the snakiest body of water I have ever seen. Uncle Raymond grew up on that river. He "sculled" the boat over the transom with a common oar. I could never figure out the wrist motions he used, but he could put that boat wherever and whenever he wanted. He was a master.

All we had to fish with were cane poles with a fixed length of floating fly line and a popping bug on a clear monofilament leader.

We drifted the bank, laying those bugs up under the bushes, draw them out, whip the line rearward in a backcast and lay it in there again or do a simple roll cast to move it a little further down the bank.

A lazy way to fish, but fun and rewarding.

No rods. No reels. No fuss.

Those bull bluegill ate those popping bugs up.

This time of year, I see no reason why that should not work on the Pascagoula, as well.

Pretty body of water.

Charlie Noyes

[TripleF]

Thanks Mel! Appreciate ya!

Knice hobby to take up for sure.....good luck. Don't forget to pursue them specks (Crappie for you northerners).

[Old Hunter]

Mel, looks like time well spent with your wife - nice duck boat too! OH

[jerryd6818]

Charlie, sounds a bit like my Uncle Noble. When I was growing up, he lived about a quarter mile from the Little Wabash River. He farmed, hunted, trapped and fished. He too had an old wooden flat bottom boat (sometimes called a dog boat) that he kept locked to a tree on the river bank with a chain and turned over with it's bottom up. As you described, he could scull that boat into any place he wanted to put it. He ran trot lines and had several hoop nets put out. Occasionally he would telephone for catfish and once in a great while get in the water and check the holes in the river bank for cats (I don't recall right now what sticking your arm back up in those holes is called).

[tjmurphy]

Noodleing

[philco]

Noodleing

Also called "spodgin' "

[FRJ]

For me, I would call it searchin' for alligators, but that's just me.

[jerryd6818]

There ya go T.J.

Phil, "spodgin' " is new to me. Course that doesn't mean anything, 'cause contrary to popular belief, I don't know everything.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Watching those guys pull those huge catfish out of those holes and hollow logs has always amazed me.

I'd be fearful of finding a snapping or loggerhead turtle, instead. Maybe the two do not inhabit the same hidey-holes.

Having a background in thoracic surgery, I always wondered why those big thrashing cats didn't puncture the guy's chest wall and collapse a lung with their pectoral fin bones, which are razor sharp, while being cradled in the guy's arms. Looked hazardous to me.

Seems to be an Oklahoma thing. I believe most of the videos of that activity I've seen were made in OK.

I don't know of anybody around here that does that.

Charlie

[Dinadan]

Call it whatever you want, but sticking my hand into underwater holes is not for me! I guess I have too vivid an imagination about what may be in there.

Charlie - when I was a boy my father and I would drift fish the Escatawpa River, which is along the Alabama Mississippi line. A lot of memories were made on that river. We also fished the Pascagoula River with popping bugs. There are several oxbow lakes in the Pascagoula River swamp which are still accessible off of the river. That is where my father and I (and now my wife and I) fished. No current to speak of, and lots of big cypress trees for shade on hot days.

Here is a photo of an interesting phenomenon that I saw this week at work. A partial halo around the sun, I guess you would say. I have seen plenty of halos, and quite a few sundogs, but this was different from anything I remember seeing before.

[TripleF]

Very cool Mel!

[jlw257]

Quote "when I was a boy my father and I would drift fish the Escatawpa River, which is along the Alabama Mississippi line."

Dinadan, I live 2 miles from the Escatawpa River and have some great memories Hunting and Fishing on it. Recently one of our Game Cameras took this picture of a Big Black Bear.

Larry

[Dinadan]

Thanks, Scott. Unusual for sure.

Larry - I grew up about five miles on the east side of the river. These days I live a bit further east in the outskirts of Mobile. I still kayak on the Escatawpa River occasionally. Here is a photo my daughter when we were out two or three years ago.I know that my grandfather drifted and fished the Escatawpa, as did my father, so my daughter makes at least four generations of my family to have enjoyed that river.

Great bear photo! I always hope to see wildlife when I am out. I have never seen a bear in my area, though I have seen sign.

[TripleF]

Had the boys out for a mission Sunday.....they built their first fort all by themselves!!! I was impressed. I've got them in Green Beret training, or at least that's what they think

I was purty proud.

Then we whittled some feathers/shavings for the mini fire I had going in the park grill don't tell anybody I had a fire going that wasn't charcoal.

After watching a video by BushcraftBartons on YT, now they want to cook bacon on a cross stick over the fire......Their mom informed me today that they made her buy bacon at the grocery store last night for their next mission!

[royal0014]

Scott, fer as weird as you can be sometimes ..... ( )

you make one cool Gran'Paw

[carrmillus]

Thanks, Scott. Unusual for sure.

Larry - I grew up about five miles on the east side of the river. These days I live a bit further east in the outskirts of Mobile. I still kayak on the Escatawpa River occasionally. Here is a photo my daughter when we were out two or three years ago.I know that my grandfather drifted and fished the Escatawpa, as did my father, so my daughter makes at least four generations of my family to have enjoyed that river.

Great bear photo! I always hope to see wildlife when I am out. I have never seen a bear in my area, though I have seen sign.

.......dinadan, have you ever fished on the TCHOUTACABOUFFA river???........... ..........

[jerryd6818]

Thanks, Scott. Unusual for sure.

Larry - I grew up about five miles on the east side of the river. These days I live a bit further east in the outskirts of Mobile. I still kayak on the Escatawpa River occasionally. Here is a photo my daughter when we were out two or three years ago.I know that my grandfather drifted and fished the Escatawpa, as did my father, so my daughter makes at least four generations of my family to have enjoyed that river.

Great bear photo! I always hope to see wildlife when I am out. I have never seen a bear in my area, though I have seen sign.

.......dinadan, have you ever fished on the TCHOUTACABOUFFA river???........... ..........

Good God, say that three times quickly after four shots of Jack....

[carrmillus]

........jerry I can't even say it slowly, once, stone sober!!!!!............. ...................

[Colonel26]

Thanks, Scott. Unusual for sure.

Larry - I grew up about five miles on the east side of the river. These days I live a bit further east in the outskirts of Mobile. I still kayak on the Escatawpa River occasionally. Here is a photo my daughter when we were out two or three years ago.I know that my grandfather drifted and fished the Escatawpa, as did my father, so my daughter makes at least four generations of my family to have enjoyed that river.

Great bear photo! I always hope to see wildlife when I am out. I have never seen a bear in my area, though I have seen sign.

.......dinadan, have you ever fished on the TCHOUTACABOUFFA river???........... ..........

I'm pretty sure that if I'd ever tried to pronounce that out loud grandma would have washed my mouth out with soap just in case.

[TripleF]

Scott, fer as weird as you can be sometimes ..... ( )

you make one cool Gran'Paw

Weird?

Thanks Royal...........I think

[Dinadan]

.......dinadan, have you ever fished on the TCHOUTACABOUFFA river???........... ..........

No, I have never fished or kayaked the Tchoutacabouffa River. Every time I cross it on I-10 I try to pronounce the name. I guess the Pascagoula River is as far into Mississippi as I have fished, or kayaked, for that matter. There are many fine rivers and creeks that I have seen and thought would be nice to try, but when I load up to go I usually pick a fairly close location.