Fishing

I decided to try my fishing hole again, since on my flight the 5th of July, it appeared that the river had finally gone back down. I didn't go over the weekend simply because it was a holiday and I tend to stay home to stay out of trouble. My fishing hole would not have had any visitors other than my self. It is quite remote and I never see anyone there after rafting season concludes.

I bought a new fishing pole from BiMart, since I wore my last one out on the Catfish that I caught last year. They are cheap Black Eagle fishing rods and even come with a reel, so they are almost disposable, but I like them and the soft action that they have. I may not buy any more of them however since they are now being made of IM6 Carbon fiber. The reel seems to be of superior quality as well, so I may have to give them up.

Nobody sells worms here, or rather close to here, so I have to use cut bait. Seems to me to work just as well. So when I go to the river, I first see what it has to offer in the way of Smallmouth Bass. If they are of any size, I keep them and when I catch a little one, he becomes bait. Getting bait isn't a problem as most of them are really small. Can't catch any big ones because you can't keep the little ones off the lures.

The weather today was actually pretty nice, a bit windy, but only about 80 degrees. The Ticks were even way down from the last time we went there. I only found three or four this time. Perhaps the floods washed them down stream.

I had a bit of a distraction today in the form of a Golden Eagle, female I believe. She landed on a rock formation on the hillside above me and stayed there for quite a while, watching. The wind was up and that of course is when they are at their best. She stayed there for at least an hour and a half, finally flying up and over the hill. After a time she came back, circling no more than 50 feet over me, and finally landed on the side of the hill just across from me. I got the idea that she was a young one who was very curious and perhaps a bit hungry. I tossed a Small Catfish on the bank and walked off to see if she was considering lowering herself to Bald Eagle status. Apparently not. As soon as I left, the entertainment factor apparently left with me, so she left.

I ended up with a gallon ziplock full of Catfish filets, and came on home. I mixed up a batter of Sourdough with beer, Lemon Pepper, Savory, and Terragon. A little Baking Soda and Baking Powder. I cut them into strips and then deep fryed them. Good stuff.