A Morning with Russell

My friend Russell came up Sunday for a morning of fishing. Last year we had enjoyed a nice evening along this stretch of creek so I thought we would try it again. We weren't to be disappointed.

1st cast and a fish on.

A feisty smallie in the 10 inch range. A whole lot of fun on light tackle.

We found some nice Rock Bass living there too.

The old guy mugging for the camera.

Russell read a story about a guy who had caught a bass which had just ate a water moccasin. When the guy lipped the fish the snake bit him. No water moccasins along this creek but Russell isn't taking any chances :).

The rocks along the creek make for some challenging walking.

We fished further downstream than I had ever went and came to this potential hole. It looked like it just had to hold a nice fish.

Fish on. By the bend in Russell's rod it had to be a nice one.

It's nice to be right once in a while

The catch of the day. 14 1/2 inches of battling smallmouth photographed and slipped back into it's home water to grow bigger for next years fishing trip.

So ended another enjoyable trip with Russell. We caught enough fish to make us both happy, had some great conversations, and planned to do it all again before summer gives way to hunting season.

Elin's New Look

I just got Elin, my 1914 Model 51 Husqvarna hammergun, back from Mark Larson. Mark turned the prince of wales grip, which proved to be too small for my hand to comfortably carry and shoot, in to a straight grip. He also inletted a longer trigger tang in to it and recheckered it. So here's a before of Elin and......

here's the final results.

I'm very pleased with the results. Mark also fixed a crack in the head of the stock that he found when he took the stock off the action. Took it for a walk around the Back 40 and loved the way it carried and handled. I hope to spend alot of time with Elin wandering through my Allegheny Mountain grouse coverts this fall.

Independence Day on the River

I got to the river shortly after 6:00 this morning. As I walked down a small foot trail something across the river caught my eye.I only got one shot and was pushing the zoom all the way on the little point and shoot camera, but you can see what it was. This river is the main water source for Lake Raystown, the largest lake to Pa. Recently eagles have begun to nest there and they sometimes travel up the river in search of food.

The action started soon after I entered the river.

A nice smallie about a foot long.

This stretch of river was home to 3 nice smallies, 2 of which I was able to land.

One of the hardest birds for me to get a pic of, this Great Blue Heron stayed just at the far reaches of my zoom.

Caught some nice Rock Bass also. Here's a nicely colored one that fell to a plastic worm.

A couple more stretches that gave me several nice fish.

After landing a fish I happened to glance downriver and this is what I saw.

At least 4 bucks and a couple of does feeding on a small island. They kept an eye on me but weren't too concerned.

A couple of these boys are going to be wall hangers by fall.

After 4 1/2 hours my back and stomach told me it was time to head back to the truck. During the long wade back I looked for something to take pics of and found these.

So ended a wonderful morning on the river. I caught at least a dozen smallies between 10-13 inches, all nice chucky, healthy looking bass of the same year class. Some nice Rock Bass too, but am a little concerned because I didn't catch any small bass. Possibly meaning that the spawn from the last couple of years didn't survive, at least in this section of the river. Those 5-6 inch smallies can be a nuisance, but they in turn become the nice bass that you catch on future trips.

A Morning with Caleb

Caleb, my great-nephew found some spare time in his busy schedule to spend a morning fishing a special section of a local stream with me. There was a time when I baited his hook, unhooked his fish, and even carried him across the deeper parts of the river on my back. Now at 16 he can look me in the eye without looking up and wear my old wading shoes :).

Even a lowly Rockbass can put a smile on a true fisherman's face.

Here's Caleb fishing the "Enchanted Pool". This section of water has produced some nice fish in past years but this time we came up empty.

A couple of pics of the water we fished. It's a popular trout stream farther upstream but few fishermen bother with it's lower stretches and that's just fine with me.

We did find a few smallies that were too hungry to refuse our offerings.

All in all another enjoyable morning on the water making memories to relive in years to come.

An Afternoon on the River

Got away for a couple of hours for some smallmouth fishing. After making my way down a steep ridge along a faint trail this stretch of river was all mine.

Caught some Rock Bass and Smallies including a fat 13 incher, but neglected to take any pics. When I pulled in this feisty sunfish I snapped a quick pic.

The sycamores bear the wounds of past ice flows as they cling precariously to the river bank.

Some finally give in to gravity.

A cluster of yellow butterflies that caught my attention.

As I approached a small island I remembered nearly stepping on a fawn hidden in the sycamore saplings several years ago. The saplings are taller now but as I waded nearer a brown spot looked out of place.

I focused the little point and shoot camera on the spot and cranked up the zoom lens and this appeared.

As I inched my way closer the fawn stood up and came out of the saplings, unsure of just what this strange thing wading up the river was.

As is often the case I soon spotted another fawn hidden in the cover. This one had learned its lessons well and remained motionless.
After a couple of pics I decided to reversed my path and let the fawns settle back into their hiding place to wait for mothers return. So ended an enjoyable afternoon on the river with some fish caught and some pics of my encounters to share with you.

A Fruitful Walk

A walk around the Back 40 revealed a nice crop of soft mast for fall. These are wild plums on some trees I planted 6 or 7 years ago. A Seckel pear tree fruiting for the 1st time. Hopefully the bear won't break it down if they spy it's fruit.

A close-up of the Seckel pears.


The wild blackberrys are looking good. Maybe they will keep the bears busy.

An apple on a grafted "Sherry" apple tree. This variety is noted for its fruit hanging on the tree all winter.

The Paw Paw trees are heavy with clusters of fruit.

I get a great feeling of satisfaction when I see a tree that I planted years earlier setting fruit and knowing that it will still be producing long after I'm gone.