Wednesday, June 5, 2013

My First Solo Fishing Trip Since The Knee Relacement Revision (06/05/13)

Hello Folks,

I'm approaching the fourth month out since my knee revision back in February 2013

I found it hard to sleep last night. In fact, it was close to 2:30 a.m. before I finally conked out. Julie and I had to rise at 6:45 a.m. because I had PT to go to in the morning. Four hours is just not enough sleep for me.

When we came home after PT and stopping for breakfast, I went back to bed to try to get a few winks. I caught about a hour or so of sleep before rising again. Julie and Zach had gone out for a drive on this beautiful day and I was alone at home with my middle son, Tom.

I had heard on the morning NBC Today Show that a topical storm is heading our way from Cuba. Al Roker said that in the next 24 hours, this tropical storm will head up the east coast and drop between 2 to 4 inches of rain. We need the rains here in Pennsylvania. Currently, we are behind our average rainfall by over three inches!

Knowing that tomorrow may bring rain and Friday I begin the first of two cortisone spinal epidural injections, I made the decision to pack a quick supper and prep the boat for an evening trip to the Conowingo Pond. It is legal to fish for "catch and release" bass during this time of the year.

Most of the smallmouth on "The Pond" have spawned out. However, the largemouth in the Lower Pond are finishing their spawning period.

I arrived at the Muddy Creek Access (Pa. Fish and Boat Commission) around 5:00 p.m. and I was the only boat in the parking lot!

I noticed one other fellow waiting with a few fishing rods. As I was getting into my truck to back my boat down the ramp, another boat arrived. It was the friend of the other fellow who was waiting.

So now there were two of us at the ramp... That was it on such a beautiful evening!

The air temperature was 75 degrees when I arrived at the launch. There was a brisk wind blowing from the southeast. It was actually strong enough to push my fully loaded 18' G3 upriver against the current. But as the evening past, the wind began to settle.

The lower river had a dark green stain. I could see about two feet into the water. The water temperature in the main river was 73.5 degrees and in the back coves and larger eddies, it was holding around 75.4 degrees.

There were a lot of water birds in the area tonight. I saw two adult osprey fishing nearby. It was fun watching them set up to take a dive into the water in an attempt to land a fish. I also saw two adult bald eagles, several blue herons, geese, and ducks.

This section of the river, especially just below the Holtwood Dam, is one of my most favorite, ...

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I didn't catch any big fish tonight. They were all between eight and twelve inches (Cookie Cutters) in length.

Here is the smallest fish I caught this evening...

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Look how beautiful the scenery is in the background!

Here is one of my "Cookie Cutter" bass from this evening's trip...

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I began the evening by tossing a 1/2 ounce spinnerbait, but did not get a single strike. I took notice that bass were chasing minnows and darters on the surface. Every now and then, I would see or hear a big splash nearby... catfish, carp, and bass were all  taking advantage of abundance of the small fry. So, I picked up a Cabin Creek tube and caught my first smallmouth of the evening.

I only caught one bass with a "Big O" 3/8th oz. in Fire Tiger color.

By the end of my two hour solo fishing trip, I had brought ten small bass to hand and missed several more.

It felt good getting out this evening. I had made the decision to not "over do it" by staying too long and then feeling terribly sore all night long. When I do over do it, I cannot rest well.

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad