Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Smallmouth Camp...Last Hurrah Before Summer


This past weekend being the final one before the official start of Summer , Memorial Day weekend , I took advantage of the nice weather and spent three days floating for smallies with some good friends. Whether or not to go fishing is never a difficult decision for me , but when you throw in the opportunity to spend a couple of nights hanging out at a perfect little fishing cabin with a great group of guys , it's a true no-brainer.
 photo P1080121_zpsa99a035c.jpg
While the rest of the guys were arriving Friday after work or Saturday morning , Sean and I decided to meet Friday morning and get in a full day of floating and fishing.
 photo P1080122_zps6e00b7d9.jpg
 photo P1080100_zps6f2d0dc1.jpg
We had the boat in the water by 9:00 and didn't waste any time in hooking up with our intended quarry.
 photo P1080101_zps186bbe96.jpg
 photo P1080104_zps48822fec.jpg
 photo P1080107_zpsbcf4cf71.jpg
 photo P1080108_zpsc630cf30.jpg
We picked right back up where we left off on the last trip and just had a blast chucking streamers for fat smallies.
 photo P1080103_zpsbd15a105.jpg
 photo P1080114_zpsa903f878.jpg
 photo P1080105_zps81298c3c.jpg
 photo P1080109_zpsd4400c62.jpg
The fish were a little more spread out than on our previous trips so it took some work to figure them out again but once we had established a pattern...it was on.
 photo P1080113_zps8135c409.jpg
 photo P1080117_zps8234ee84.jpg
We made a full day of it and didn't pull the boat up to the takeout until after 7:00 , one fantastic day down and we were just getting started.
That night we met up with one of the other guys at the cabin and then headed into the nearest town for a little authentic Ozark mexican food (when the menu is written in Spanish I think you can call it authentic?). The food was surprisingly good , although by the next afternoon it was questionable as to whether a couple of the guys should have been allowed to eat such fare when one has to spend the day in a boat with them. We finished off the night sitting out on the cabin porch with some adult beverages and a few cigars talking about the next days plans.
 photo P1080120_zpsbd7fb529.jpg
Saturday was a carbon copy of the day before...one of the other guys decided to hop in the boat with us and it didn't take long before we'd all met with at least one of the locals.
 photo P1080150_zps213a297e.jpg
 photo P1080124_zps23a43084.jpg
 photo P1080125_zpsadff0265.jpg
The smaller fish are definitely getting active and we caught a bunch of those , but there were enough nice fish mixed in to keep you on your game hoping for that next good eat.
 photo P1080127_zpsc29d1e1b.jpg
 photo P1080126_zps1986ca29.jpg
 photo P1080131_zps45d23d39.jpg
It was a great day on the water with a couple of good friends. The fishing was great , mix in with that a streamside lunch and an afternoon of digging sweating beverages out of the cooler. What more can I say....
 photo P1080138_zpse17d4cca.jpg
 photo P1080129_zps5e8b85d8.jpg
 photo P1080130_zps6d0cdb7f.jpg
 photo P1080135_zps4d2ba0c9.jpg
 photo P1080140_zps56d150e4.jpg
We finished up the evening still getting chases and eats right across from the takeout as the rest of our group loaded up.
That night we had the whole crew at the cabin and celebrated the day with a meal fit for a king and a few cold beverages while we sat around talking about the days fishing.
 photo P1080146_zps5b49a9d5.jpg
There's just no better way to end a good day of fishing than sitting around a firepit with a group of friends and a good cigar...perfection.
Sunday we got up early and loaded up our gear out of the cabin before hooking up the boats and heading for the access. We had a full crew floating today , seven guys...two dogs and three drifters.
 photo P1080148_zpsffa79357.jpg
We got a few looks from some of the locals who probably aren't accustomed to seeing driftboat armadas floating down this particular river.
 photo P1080153_zps99247e90.jpg
Sunday the fishing was a little bit slower for us , we still managed to catch some decent numbers but only a few quality fish.
 photo P1080154_zps6c0b41c9.jpg
 photo P1080133_zpsfceee3cd.jpg
 photo P1080143_zps0d3d27cb.jpg
Of course we lost a few that would have changed that but that seems to always be the case when Sean and I hit the water. We fished at a little faster pace and hit the takeout around 5:00 to accomodate the several hour drive that most everyone still had to make to get back home.
While we stood around unloading gear and securing boats the conversation naturally revolved around the weekends fishing , while I heard a few groans about the one that got away I didn't see anything but smiles when it came to the great weekend we'd just had. Another fantastic weekend floating another Ozarks stream for those beautiful smallmouth...Life is Good!
 photo P1080144_zpsd4163230.jpg

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Hanging around the Locals...WarmWater Weekend

I had some things going on this last weekend that kept me around home instead of floating down a beautiful smallmouth stream unfortunately. Even so , I managed to sneak away for a few hours on a couple of occasions and wet a line on a few of the local waters.
 photo P1080063_zps66e22421.jpg
 photo P1080080_zpsa91fecb2.jpg
Nothing much to tell , a few bass and some bluegill out of a little pond.
 photo P1070940_zps1c1304c3.jpg
Several wipers from a local reservoir along with a channel cat by-catch.
 photo P1080082_zpsa38b6d09.jpg
 photo P1080064_zpsd563f840.jpg
 photo P1080081_zpsb3b24c97.jpg
 photo P1080085_zpsb640186d.jpg
 photo P1080076_zps55103fd2.jpg
And one small carp from a local city lake close to the house.
 photo P1050407_zps4d154449.jpg
Just enough action to tide me over until I can get a "real " fishing trip planned!