Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Excellent job, looks like a great day. That stretch should only get better in the next month or so.

Glad you guys caught some fish.....it was probably too early to fish that stretch as you and Paul mentioned. The potholes in the grass are excellent to fish! But remember, one of the BRHS Fishing Club members caught a 3.8 pounder at Algonkian a couple of weeks ago!!

BTW, I have caught some nice ones on the other side of the islands during the July 4 Float. That float starts and ends at Algonkian. You paddle up as far as you want and then float back. Great way to get your exercise in!

We got back around 2 and the zoo was in full swing. On guy in a jet came between Charlie and I at full speed...right at the ramp!

Where was DNR?

AndrewDo124 wrote:

Wish I could have made it! When's the next float so I can clear my schedule?

July 4th....just like last year. Paddle/peddle up as far as you want and fish around Algonkian.

Osprey wrote:

Thanks to Ernie and Charlie for a fun experience, I survived and I'm not even too sore. Dave and Doug, it was good meeting you, hope next time you can stick around a little longer.

I started off casting an old surface lure and a Berkley power tube. The better fish hit the plug including a few bluegills. The power tube drew a lot of hits with only a  few hookups. After donating the tube to a bottom snag I tried a power curly tail on a small 3/16 oz. jig head. That was a lucky choice, they really liked it.

It's amazing what you notice when you're not surrounded by fiberglass moving along under power. I saw a mink scampering along the shore and up the bank into it's den. I looked eye to eye with two turtles, one looked like a good sized snapping turtle. I only noticed one water snake that was swimming toward me. I did center myself in the kayak for a while after that sight. There were a few ospreys, and even saw some type of falcon zoom bye. Never saw the woodpeckers, but they were everywhere. One of the most numerous birds were the Blue Herons along the shore. There was this one Heron hiding back in a hollow that flew off with a loud squawk that echoed off the bank startling the devil out of both Ernie and me. Unfortunately, my camera was sitting in a "dry box" keeping dry, so the only two pics I snapped are of Ernie and Charlie, early in the day.

OK, here it is from an overweight old guy spending his first day in a kayak...... I HAD A BLAST!

1. Whoever coined the phrase "Peace and Quiet" was a kayaker.

2. It didn't take too long to learn that fishing from sea level required an adjustment to lifelong casting skills. After several power casts that splashed about ten feet away resulting in overruns, I realized I needed to add some arc by casting slightly up instead of out.

3. One application of sun block before sunrise won't make it thru a daylong trip.

4. Fishermen are like meteorologists when predicting. The trip was described as a 6 hour, leisurely float well suited to an out of shape novice. Eight hours later I was ready for a nap, but managed the drive half way around the beltway and a cool shower before fainting on the side of the bed. The younger prognosticator was honing his skills too. Once he said there were still two and a half hours to go. Two hours later he said only an hour and a half remained. Finally he told me we were almost there, "right down where those boats are". Either he was going on memory or Charlie has been endowed with eagle eyes. Nobody can see that far.

5. Please let me know when we're going again.

Bob- this is one of the greatest posts ever!

You captured what I always think about when on the kayak. Sometimes I take it for granted but thanks for the reminder!

Time ALWAYS gets away from me. Count on it, I have said "that took longer than I expected" on every float that I have ever gone on. When we are in a boat, we can stop and go home. When on a float, we always have "an hour or two to go". I don't think we really know.

You might want to think about coming out to the Potomac River Smallmouth Fishing Club event on Wednesday. CD Dollar is going to talk about catching salt water fish out of a kayak....I am ready for that.

And you are right about that Heron that was hiding in that fallen tree....I felt my heart tick a few extra beats when he squawked!

I will keep you posted on future floats.

It's as if Charlie posted the pix himself...

redskinsfan360 wrote:

My brother said that he will teach me how to do it later (I don't think it can be done on our computer).....

Charlie,

It CAN be done.  I do it on our computer whenever I post pics.

Thanks for the laughs, starting with Bob