Swamp Angel
Senior Member
Well, y'all, without a doubt, it has been a differ'nt type day on the 'Hooch fer me. Ol' Man Winter done made a feint an' pertended to be Spring-time, but don't be fooled, fer he's only a-tryin' to out-flank us an' take us by surprise. Jes' look at that ten-day weather prognostication. It's gonna be cold ag'in afore three days has passed us by. But, today was a good un if just fer the fact that it was so warm fer a January day.
I took out the 'Hoochee Queen solo fer the first time this mornin'. I ain't never been out in her before without mah wife or my friend, Bart, riding with me. She shore did handle a lot differ'ntly with only a trollin' motor an' a batt'ry fer counterweight in the front.
I put in at Abbott's Bridge an' run up to Shakerag just afore noon-o'clock. It was surprisin' how fast that Gheenoe got up the river with jes' me an' a tackle box! I think I musta got up to 'bout 18 miles an hour at wide open throttle which I tried fer about a couple hunnert yards before I thought better of it due to the change in the lie of fallen timber over the past few weeks.
Well, when I got up to Shakerag, I started fishin' by castin' from the slack water behind the big rock across the channel and into the fallen timber on the east bank. After a few casts that resulted in nothing, I made another cast that, to mah great surprise, resulted in a huge . . . . . . nuthin'. Not even a consarned nibble.
I fished around fer a little bit more when mah cellular phone started makin' racket. It was mah wife, Meaux, callin' to tell me that she had jes' come in from Chicago an' landed at Hartsfield. I said, "Meaux, I got yer fishin' pole an' yer life jacket in the boat with me if you wanna come on up to the river. I'll meet ya at either Roger's or Abbott's dependin' on how fast you drive versus how fast I kin git back down river. 'Course, if ya wanna go to the house an' check on Boudreaux an' Maggie, an' let them out into the yard, that's okay too."
She said she'd like to come fishin', and that she'd meet me at Abbott's Bridge. So . . . we met at Abbott's Bridge 'bout an hour later and decided that rather than gun it back up to Shakerag, we'd float down toward Medlock an' motor back up before it got dark.
We spent mos' the time talkin' while I made cast after cast to each promisin' spot and catchin' . . . nuthin'. Nary a nibble. Not even at the mouth of the creek running in from the west bank 'bout a quarter mile north of McClure Bridge. It was more than a little frustratin' an' had me nigh on ready to pitch mah pole in the river, but I persevered.
As we approached the big rocks just upstream of McClure Bridge, Meaux said she didn't want to go no further than them rocks. She hadn't yet been home to see our two hound dogs, Boudreaux an' Maggie. We ain't got no chi'dren apart from them dogs, so I unnerstood what she meant an' didn't push fer more river time. Besides, I ain't yet caught a fish, so what's the use of forcin' her into stayin' out on the water?
'Bout that time - BAM! There she was. . . My one an' only rainbow for the day. I maintained mah good luck fer 2011 by avoidin' gittin' skunked. That's including the 'Hooch in north Georgia as well as the Choctawhatchee in southeast Alabama which combine fer seven or eight trips fishin' this year.
After much refleck-shun, and realization that it was a slow day fer nearly ever'body on this section of the 'Hooch, I realized that the slow down coulda been the high pressure system movin' in on us, as well as the cold water temperatures which ranged from 39 to 42 degrees.
We returned to the ramp at Abbott's to meet DNR pullin' up as we got there. I passed okay. Had all mah life jackets, an' me an' Meaux both had our licenses with us so we passed. I must say, though, that it was god to see DNR there today. I hadn't seen them on the 'Hooch since June and had been gittin' really frustrated with the folks I had seen several times at Abbott's fishin' from the ramp an' usin' bait rather than artificials. It was oh, so good, to see these men who protect our waters returning to the front lines an' ready for battle, should the need arise.
I'll try ag'in tomorrow after church, and hopefully hook up with more'n jes' one fish. It should be a 'nuther good and warm day fer fishin' in the 'Hoochee Queen accordin' to them weather prognosticators.
Hopefully, any of y'all that were fishin' the same area did better'n me today.
Y'all take care now. Thanks fer takin' the time to read my aimless ramblin'.
Respectfully,
Swampy
I took out the 'Hoochee Queen solo fer the first time this mornin'. I ain't never been out in her before without mah wife or my friend, Bart, riding with me. She shore did handle a lot differ'ntly with only a trollin' motor an' a batt'ry fer counterweight in the front.
I put in at Abbott's Bridge an' run up to Shakerag just afore noon-o'clock. It was surprisin' how fast that Gheenoe got up the river with jes' me an' a tackle box! I think I musta got up to 'bout 18 miles an hour at wide open throttle which I tried fer about a couple hunnert yards before I thought better of it due to the change in the lie of fallen timber over the past few weeks.
Well, when I got up to Shakerag, I started fishin' by castin' from the slack water behind the big rock across the channel and into the fallen timber on the east bank. After a few casts that resulted in nothing, I made another cast that, to mah great surprise, resulted in a huge . . . . . . nuthin'. Not even a consarned nibble.
I fished around fer a little bit more when mah cellular phone started makin' racket. It was mah wife, Meaux, callin' to tell me that she had jes' come in from Chicago an' landed at Hartsfield. I said, "Meaux, I got yer fishin' pole an' yer life jacket in the boat with me if you wanna come on up to the river. I'll meet ya at either Roger's or Abbott's dependin' on how fast you drive versus how fast I kin git back down river. 'Course, if ya wanna go to the house an' check on Boudreaux an' Maggie, an' let them out into the yard, that's okay too."
She said she'd like to come fishin', and that she'd meet me at Abbott's Bridge. So . . . we met at Abbott's Bridge 'bout an hour later and decided that rather than gun it back up to Shakerag, we'd float down toward Medlock an' motor back up before it got dark.
We spent mos' the time talkin' while I made cast after cast to each promisin' spot and catchin' . . . nuthin'. Nary a nibble. Not even at the mouth of the creek running in from the west bank 'bout a quarter mile north of McClure Bridge. It was more than a little frustratin' an' had me nigh on ready to pitch mah pole in the river, but I persevered.
As we approached the big rocks just upstream of McClure Bridge, Meaux said she didn't want to go no further than them rocks. She hadn't yet been home to see our two hound dogs, Boudreaux an' Maggie. We ain't got no chi'dren apart from them dogs, so I unnerstood what she meant an' didn't push fer more river time. Besides, I ain't yet caught a fish, so what's the use of forcin' her into stayin' out on the water?
'Bout that time - BAM! There she was. . . My one an' only rainbow for the day. I maintained mah good luck fer 2011 by avoidin' gittin' skunked. That's including the 'Hooch in north Georgia as well as the Choctawhatchee in southeast Alabama which combine fer seven or eight trips fishin' this year.
After much refleck-shun, and realization that it was a slow day fer nearly ever'body on this section of the 'Hooch, I realized that the slow down coulda been the high pressure system movin' in on us, as well as the cold water temperatures which ranged from 39 to 42 degrees.
We returned to the ramp at Abbott's to meet DNR pullin' up as we got there. I passed okay. Had all mah life jackets, an' me an' Meaux both had our licenses with us so we passed. I must say, though, that it was god to see DNR there today. I hadn't seen them on the 'Hooch since June and had been gittin' really frustrated with the folks I had seen several times at Abbott's fishin' from the ramp an' usin' bait rather than artificials. It was oh, so good, to see these men who protect our waters returning to the front lines an' ready for battle, should the need arise.
I'll try ag'in tomorrow after church, and hopefully hook up with more'n jes' one fish. It should be a 'nuther good and warm day fer fishin' in the 'Hoochee Queen accordin' to them weather prognosticators.
Hopefully, any of y'all that were fishin' the same area did better'n me today.
Y'all take care now. Thanks fer takin' the time to read my aimless ramblin'.
Respectfully,
Swampy
