Summer Rain

The good news about that about the rain that has been falling steadily through this morning's early morning hours is that three of my tents are getting dryness tests with no one inside them to get wet if they fail. Yesterday was a basement sorting day for me, and the effort included pulling out various tents I've accumulated over the years to figure out which still have the right stakes, which rain tarps go with which tents, etc. As part of the process, I set up three tents in the yard. I left them up overnight because they provided big evening fun for my three youngest children and I figured they'd like to continue that fun this morning.
The bad news is that Nathaniel has big fishing plans with our friend, Mr. Kenneth, who he often works with in town. They plan to load Nathaniel's johnboat on Mr. Kenneth's utility trailer and haul it to the little lake at Tallulah Gorge State Park. Nathaniel got all his gear gathered yesterday, and Mr. Kenneth took the day off work, so hopefully the rain won't mess up their plans. It looks like the current band will pass in plenty of time, but there could be more regenerating to the west and moving in this direction.

The other good part about the rain, which is more important than our immediate circumstances, is that we can really use the rain in North Georgia right now, and it has been a good soaking rain this morning. If trout streams and garden plots could smile, they'd be doing so right now.

A Good Truck

My red F150 has served me well, but it looks like it's about time to bid it farewell. In July, when Holly joins our family, we'll officially outgrow out minivan for full-family travel. I plan to trade my truck for an Expedition that is about the same age, but has a whole lot less miles. It will work well for my travels and for the whole family, and the rest of the crew will still fit in the van when I'm not home.

I'll miss having an open bed to throw fishing rods, wet waders or a load of mulch into, and I admittedly just like driving a pick-up. That said, the Expedition, which gets about the same gas mileage as my truck, will serve me a lot better for most travel. Even when it's just Nathaniel and me, if we're fishing and going to a music festival on the same trip, we carry a fair amount of junk, and the extended cab space gets tight. If we tote fishing rods in the back, we have to stow 'em every time we stop long enough at any place where they don't quite seem secure in the back of the truck. And we can't tote anything that can't get wet in the back if there's any threat of rain along the way. All that space will be useful to me in the Expedition.

Another good thing about the Expedition is that both back seats fold all the way flat. That means I'll have just as much open open cargo space as I do now when I need it. It also means that as long as it won't be too terribly hot, I'll have a built-in camper space.
My truck virtually knows the way to favored places like Black's Camp on the Santee Cooper Lakes, Gaston's Resort on the White River and the Walnut Valley Festival. I've tallied about 100,000 miles since 2006, and during that time my truck never seen the inside of a shop, except maintenance necessities like tires, brake pads or fresh oil.

My children also like my truck. Somehow it's always more fun to go places in the truck than the van. Maybe that we'll translate to the Expedition. We'll just have to call it Dad's new truck.

Harvest Critical Part of Delayed Harvest

This morning brought an end to my favorite part of North Carolina's delayed harvest trout fishing season, and I probably won't return to favored destinations such as the DH sections of the Nantahala or Tuckasegee River until after October 1, when they revert to release regulations. Likewise, I probably won't return to to Georgia's DH waters until November.

From fall through early summer, select waters in both states are open only to catch-and-release fishing with single-hook artificial lures. On May 15 in Georgia and the first Saturday in June (today) in North Carolina, the same streams revert to general regulations, with a harvest of trout and the use of natural bait both permitted.

I prefer the "delay" period because I'm not a big fan of trout as food fish, I like fishing with artificial lures, and I enjoy the high densities of fish found in these waters during the time when only catch-and-release fishing is permitted. I'm also a fairly mobile angler. Given the choice, therefore, I'd rather not fish waters where anglers are camped out on every big hole, which happens much more frequently in heavy bait-fishing areas.

All that said, I appreciate the "harvest" season on these waters. I've heard many fellow catch-and-release anglers grumble about it, believing these waters would be even better if all the trout had to be released all the time. Beyond the fact that this would take away fine opportunities for a totally different group of fishermen, the idea that fishing would be better simply isn't true. In fact, the opposite is true.

Most waters chosen for delayed harvest designation offer good to outstanding cool-season habitat and can hold high numbers of trout from fall through spring. However, most also run low and get too warm to hold many trout during the summer. Prior to the development of the delayed harvest management concept, most were marginal put-and-take waters that got stocked with low numbers of trout early in the season and maybe a few more in the fall. If these waters were managed with a year-round catch-and-release requirement, they couldn't be stocked with nearly as many fish or most (and in some cases, all) of the trout would die of natural causes during the summer.

Fisheries divisions understandably wouldn't stock high numbers of trout that they knew would not survive through the year, so instead, these would be catch-and-release trout streams with very few trout in them, even during the winter, when they were running cool and full of water, which really wouldn't be very fun!

I'm thankful for those fishermen who are fishing all 26 of North Carlina's delayed harvest streams and lakes this morning and who are excited about the beginning of the "harvest" season. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't get to catch nearly as many fish in the fall.

River Crossings

A construction-caused lane narrowing prevented me from peering quickly at the Maumee River as I drove across it in the family van yesterday. Major letdown. I'd have to hold out for a tributary crossing in Findlay and then for a few looks at the Miami River before our grand crossing of the Ohio.

For as long as I can remember I've always delighted in crossing or paralleling rivers during travels. In fact, I think the rivers we'd see during family trips from Florida to Minnesota were the events that best helped me bear the long car rides as a boy. Every time we'd start across a bridge, I'd begin a quick study of the river's character, consider what sport fish might call its waters home and then scan the water and the banks for fishermen with hopes of doing a bit of vicarious angling.

Often, I'd borrow my dad's atlas for a moment (or an hour) of what fellow home-school parents world dub "delight directed learning." Looking back, I have little doubt that I learned more about rivers during car rides than I did in all my geography classes combined. I'd trace the rivers upstream to figure out sources and then go downstream to see where they eventually flowed. Little by little, I was also piecing together differences in the appearances of rivers according to topography, regions of the country and settings.

Of course we commonly traveled the same routes (both within Florida and across the country), so time allowed me to get to know some rivers well, and I was able to observe things like how different the Mighty Mississippi would look from one trip to another based on the level of the water. Occasionally, on a Boy Scout trip or some other outing, I'd get to camp beside or canoe down one of the rivers I'd previously seen only as a snapshot and would be able to get to know that river much better.

Four decades later I enjoy crossing rivers as much as I did as a young boy. Often, I'm the driver, so I have to settle for much faster looks; however, I still like figuring out stuff about where a river came from, where it is going and what its waters hold. In fact, just this morning, I looked at the Maumee and Miami rivers on Google Maps and read a little more about the Maumee.

Take Someone Fishing Next Week

The best time to share your love for fishing with someone else is any time you get the opportunity to do so. That truth acknowledged, June 2-10 is National Boating & Fishing Week, and within that week, most states offer at least one Free Fishing Day. A little thing like a waived license fee for a day might be just enough incentive for a co-worker and his family to join you an a nearby lake or stream for an afternoon.

If you do get the opportunity to take someone fishing who normally does not spend much time on the water, think simple. Just like when you take a child for the first time, think about low-effort high-reward destinations such as park ponds where you can fish from the shore or a johnboat with bait or use simple, cast-and-crank lures and enjoy a fairly decent chance of catching at lest a few fish. And those fish don't have to be big to add a lot of fun to an outing.

Also remember that folks who don't normally fish might run out of steam way before you would and may want to go do something else. If you want them to leave with a favorable attention and a desire to try some more fishing, be alert for any hints that it's time to call it a day.

Final Days For Delayed Harvest

Only to days remain in the "delay" period for the 26 North Carolina streams and small lakes that are managed as Delayed Harvest waters. Only single-hook artificial lures may be used or possessed and all fish must be released on these waters through 1/2 hour after sunset on Friday, June 1. Starting Saturday morning, the same waters revert to general regulations, with natural bait and a harvest of fish both permitted.

Late May days tend to produce some of the best action of the year on these waters for anglers who enjoy catch-and-release trout fishing. Fish abundance is high, and the trout typically are aggressive. Fly fishermen do well with attractor dry fly/nymph combinations. Spin-fishermen do well with fast moving reaction baits like Rebel Teeny Wee Craws or flashy in-line spinners.

Of course if you like really fast action, want a limit fish to take home and don't mind the crowds, you'll want to be bank-side on the same streams when they open to the harvest on Saturday morning, 1/2 hour before sunrise.

Simple Days

Preserves and jams served at breakfast time come straight from the root cellar behind Aunt Lucille's house. The Asparagus we enjoy at dinner is locally grown.

We spend our days in Muskegon doing simple things, like walking down the dirt road in the morning, climbing sand dunes by the Lake Michigan shoreline and playing games beneath the giant trees in the front yard.

The little swimming lake we visited this morning looked like a mighty fine place to fish. Maybe next time we'll tote a boat of some sort atop the car.