Old Hickory-First Kayak Fishing Outing for My Son

Kayak fishing with my son today was a proud moment for me. Steve went out in his own kayak and learned to kayak and caught some nice fish on Old Hickory. It took him about 30 minutes to learn how to navigate properly in the kayak but when all was said and done he did pretty well for a 7 year old. He also did very well fishing, catching a very nice channel 2-3 pound channel cat, a drum and a lot of bluegill under the shade trees in a deep water cove. I didn't think about it previously but all I had to do to manage the fishing was drop an anchor and tie it off on the cleats of the two kayaks. I will take credit for most of the casting, but he hooked and caught all the fish. It was kind of frustrating since they were biting very well this morning, but he caught his fair share. The funny part of it was watching him struggle so hard to bring the big catfish up. His arms were killing him:)

Old Hickory Lake Summer Shore Fishing

Went fishing for a few hours in the morning from the shoreline in a fairly heavily fished area. We caught a lot of bluegill, 2 small channel cats, a drum and a 2 small snapping turtles (may have been the same turtle...not sure). We used nightcrawlers fished on slip bobbers about 5 feet down. Fishing in the shade is the key for the fishermen and the fish.

Outing #2 Old Hickory 2011

The fishing was better today {even if I was feeling a bit constipated}, but the crappie are not biting yet. Caught some large drum, smaller cats and bluegill (of course). The video above highlights my skills at catching fish and videoing at the same time. Have not dropped the $200 4G I-phone in the water yet.....good hands from my basketball years.

Rough Start for 2011

I had my first fishing outing of the new year on Old Hickory Lake. The ginormous fish picture attached was the lone highlight for the morning. It was very cold and windy and I only fished for a few hours. I'll get em next time. At a minimum it's more than the competition in North Carolina has caught this year.....

Annual Trip Claytor Lake, VA Oct 23-27

Just got back from annual fall trip, 3rd time to Claytor Lake.  Weather was beautiful for this time of year.  Though fishing was no where near where it was our first time.  Primarily we got into some big bluegill, a couple nice crappies, a few bass, a couple big cats, landed some perch but could have been more productive.


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Annual Trips Summay

With time and age, I can't remember well when we went where.  So here is my summary:

2011 - Claytor Lake, VA
2010 - Claytor Lake, VA
2009 - Lake Norman, NC
2008 - Claytor Lake, VA
2007 -  Douglas Lake, TN
2006 -  Claytor Lake, VA
2005 -  South Holston Lake, TN
2004 - Stonewall Jackson Lake, WV
(here's where it gets really fuzzy)
2003 - Bluestone Lake, WV
2002 - Bluestone Lake, WV
2001 - Bluestone Lake, WV
2000 -  Beech Fork Lake, WV

Steve's trip to Nashville and Old Hickory

I decided to take advantage of direct flight from RDU->Nashville and get a few days of fishing in with Brian since he didn't make the fall trip.   The good news was we got in a good bunch of fishing time on Saturday morning.  The bad news was, we sure didn't catch much.  Not sure if it was weather related or not, though Brian informs me that it was one of the worst outings.  Due to some other recent outings I've had, I'm wondering if I'm bad luck and if I should take up golfing.