Let's go Fishing!

It's not a bad drive to the lake and I enjoy talking to my Dad about life and how he and Mom are doin'.  So much so we don't even turn the radio on.  As an only child you sorta don't have anyone but your Mom and Dad.  They are your best friends, heroes and she-roes!  Good times coming and we finally arrived.  I was on the lake with Dad, alright!  Little did we know someone above painted this awesome picture for our arrival.  I guess b/c we were the only boat on the lake that afternoon........ 

It was awesome and we made it just in time to go catch some bait.  See, being a Country Boy you learn how to supply your own product.  That product may be tobacco, or Moon-shine, maybe even home-grown tomatoes for your salad. ;-)  I've seen Country folk still using clothing lines to air-dry their clothes.  Being Country doesn't necessarily make you stooopid, it makes you self-sufficient and knowledgeable of your surroundings.  Something we've all forgotten about, myself included.   But when going fishing, catching your own bait can still be done; you just gotta know how.  First you have to look for little flickers in the water like a diamond shining.  That's them!

the flats in 3 foot of water in the back of a cove

I do the tooth method.  Dr. Dedmond I'm sorry. 

Bend your knees and shoot the hips!

You want it to open up like a frisbee....want being the key word. 

Success!! 12 inch Gizzard Shad 

Now it's starting to get serious...... We are set.  The water temperature is perfect. The barometric pressure was perfect and the weather was amazing.  Have you ever heard of the Goldilocks syndrome??  Well this had to be it because all the conditions seemed juuu'st right.  :-)

Here fishy fishy fishy......

Morone Saxatilis is Latin for a very elusive creature.  A creature men from States all around search high and low for. A species that leaves even the most ardent-angler scratching his head wondering what the heck just happened?  The fresh water Striped Bass is one bad-to-the-bone fish.  The World record for freshwater is around 63 pounds.  So next time you go swimming in the lake remember little fishy below might be nibblin' on your toes! (jk they have no teeth)

Stripers are a funny fish;  funny like weird and not in a good way. They are finicky and will only eat certain things relative to their habitat.  They are the Virgo's of the underwater world.  Picky, mysterious, elusive and mean.  But graceful, beautiful, and organized.  It's my opinion Stripers are the funnest fish you'll ever catch as far as fighting goes.  Plus, they are very mean!!  They fight, pull, YANK, and jerk till every ounce of energy they have is exhausted. The stripers we catch are in a natural reproductive habitat, therefore they are muscular and strong due to the continuous running water.  The power plants of North Carolina produce some of the best tail-race fishing in the Nation.  But it is called fishing for a reason, otherwise we'd always go "catchin."  Thankfully the majority of fisheries in the South mandate and regulate specific lengths and sizes on the stripers.  This leads to huge growth within the striper community itself and makes for some great fishing. But most importantly remember: When reading a fish-tail you can't always believe what you see.  As I'll tell you like my uncle told me. "Matthew, how can you spread the truth if you are telling a story?"

There's a method to our madness..........

This is a down rigger about 15 feet down with a weight and a hook.

free-lining a gizzard shad straight back 150 feet

Well enough of the scenic shots right?  Here's some fish....

about a 30 pounder!

Be smart, always catch and release unless it's a wall-hanger or for food. 

We were winding up to go in and he attacked our bait!

the next day was beautiful as well.

Boat Ride

Shine on down. 

Country Boy with a 25 pound CATCH!!!

and release....

until next time,

~Country Boy

North Dakota, the Magic City

  When we landed in Minot, North Dakota we had no idea they were going to have sunflower fields as far as the eye could see.  Or that the color yellow would be so prominent in sunflowers, wheat, & canola fields.  There were pristine lakes w/ small little fishing docks and animals we'd never seen before.  But what really made our weekend was that there were a TON of North Carolinians.   We were there to visit our friends from NC and found out their neighbors were also from NC!  ANNNND! When we went to get ice for our picnic I ran into a girl in the service station w/ a Western Carolina University T-shirt on!  I said I went to Western! She said said she was from Asheville.  We were definitely in a Carolina state of mind.

While driving we saw these purple sprouts on the side of the road.  I put the camera on the ground and shot straight up.  I love the purple haze effect you get while staring at the flower and the grey clouds in the back. 

Hey lQQk! It's a prairie dog! Or what the locals refer to as Dack Rats!  Dakota Rats?  I thought they were cool and heard they were more prevalent on the base than anywhere else b/c the locals can't stand em' and they shoot em'! They drive the neighborhood dogs crazy too.  Can you imagine walking your dog around the block and one of these little boogers jump out in front of ya??  Your dog would go nuts!

 

Minot was founded in 1920 by George Valker and A. M. Christensen.  It's a quaint little town w/ a rich Scandinavian Heritage.  Here's a Church brought from directly from Gol, Norway.  Standing to it's left is a 25 foot tall Swedish Dala Horse. 

We really enjoyed ourselves in North Dakota.

Sunflowers are a fave of City Belle's. We stopped 3 or 4 times just to √ out the beauty of a real live computer desktop screensaver!

We attempted canoeing, but it didn't really work out.  Dogs, 65 degrees, 30 mph winds, & a vortex for a 

river. 

I love fishing tail races of rivers.

Sittin' on the dock of the bay; watchin' the clouds roll away......yeeaah......

~ Country Boy, City Belle.