Beaver Creek Fleet

Some people go directly to happy hour after work on Friday and continue the charade into early morning. Instead of dulling our senses, we ignited them and drove into the wilderness of Beaver Creek Ohio.

The crew was back together: my dad, my brother, and myself. After a quick and ritualistic pine cone fight, the tent was set and we were soaking in nature and simply enjoying the warm summer night.

Sparky

Spidey

We eventually went to bed and anticipated the morning and fishing to come. To be more clear, going to bed does not mean you actually sleep or feel recovered in the morning. Nope. That's all nonsense when you're sleeping on what felt like a bed of rocks.

We arrived at the creek in the morning and were excited about the afternoon to come. We were kids in a candy shop. I cannot even explain the impact that a creek has over you. It takes every worry that you couldn't shake out of your head for five days straight and buries them where the bass are hiding. 
 

Beaver Creek

My brother struck first. Watermelon seeded plastic worm, you are a good friend.

Cool brother with a Small Mouth

My dad would pull ahead and not look back. Over the past week, he has become a master at the hula popper. He would eventually pull in 3-4 smallies. Well done Pops!

My trip was a little different. The night before I caught a nice one on my good friend (Watermelon worm), but today I chose my professionally constructed fly-rod courtesy of Shane Murphy. I tried everything in my fly box and...everything came up short. I've had the fly rod for less than a year and I already feel very comfortable with the action, now I just need to master the lures. I eventually switched to my spinning reel and had some success.

Eventually, we would stop to swim upstream and soak in the atmosphere. The fishing trip was coming to an end and I was already missing what we were about to be leaving. I do a lot of fishing by myself when no one else can go but nothing beats fishing with family. The experience we all share together is indescribable. I get more excited to see them catching the fish than actually catching them myself. I am glad I was born into a outdoor family. I am also overly confident that we would all become hermits and live in the woods for the rest of our lives if given the chance. Short of a nuclear war, I don't think we will ever need to but thank goodness it's always right where we left it.

The Zebco 404 SE

     My Dad proved me wrong. But before he proved me wrong, I caught a fish.

     Another beautiful summer evening at the Mouth of King's Creek, my new favorite 15 minute hideout. My Bro, Dad, and myself ventured down the to do a little angling. I was working a lime green chatter bait, something that still did not know what a fish felt like. That soon changed when I brought in two small white bass. Not thrilled about the size but two small white bass are better than two small nothings.

     My Brother wasn't having much luck. My Dad was getting bites but nothing solid.  He was fishing on the bottom with a big ol' nasty hook and a worm throughout. Suddenly he got a bite, more-or-less an attack. Immediately the fish took off deeper into the river. My Dad's line is at a stalemate, the drag needs adjusted. But his reel doesn't have a great drag, or much of anything else for that sake. He is using a Zebco Push Button 404 SE.

He has a regular spincast reel but always resorts back to the Zebco. I always think, there's goina be that time where he hooks a big one and then he'll be screwed. Well, he hooked a big one, but he wasn't screwed. He played this fish like there was a camera crew set up filming his show: The unknown would take off; he'd release the button for more line; fish would tire; he'd yank the pole back and play a game of inches and feet for the rest of the fight. Finally, the fish was his.

He caught a huge Freshwater Drum on an old little reel with a skinny little line, proving it's not about the rod, it's about the fisherman who's holding it.

Another Warm Summer Night

Not doing anything for awhile always makes it that much more enjoyable the next time you get to do it. The past few weeks my sister and I have been finishing up our screenplay with days of nonstop writing, especially long nights and early mornings when the fish are just waiting to get hooked. Once I finished the revision, I knew exactly where I was headed.

I ventured back to the mouth of King's Creek on the Ohio River. Water was near a hot 80 degrees on the front side of the sandbar and after wading out, I reeled in a small mouth on my second cast using a watermelon seeded Texas-rigged rubber worm. Not big but still a rush I haven't had a fix on in weeks.

I was surprised at how quickly the sun set. Only got to fish for 45 minutes but every minute and cast were worth it. Made me appreciate what a warm summer's night, a little bit of fishin', and a big stream of water could do for some peace of mind.