Granny and I broke out our new Outcast Striker Raft again today for an early morning float. We left last night and did our shuttle leaving Granny’s car at the boat ramp. We took my car and the raft to the boat launch and slept in the Exploder. We woke up at 5 AM and all we needed to do was blow up the raft and push off.
It was a beautiful thing. We took advantage of sunrise at 5:20 AM and we were fishing before 6. Well ahead of any other possible floating anglers. Much earlier than joy paddling canoers. However, the fishing was slow and the mosquitoes were no less than vicious. Voraciously vicious!
Despite the slow fishing, we nabbed a few adequate smallmouth bass. Nothing larger than 13” but no matter the size, these guys are always scrappy. Not one of these fell for topwater. We caught most on a white streamer stripped very slow and one on a Tequeely.
There were several highlights to the day beyond the fishing. First the solitude. We floated about six miles and didn’t see another human. Furthermore, it was an excellent reptile day. We saw several snapping turtles, a softshell and what I’m pretty sure was a northern map turtle. We saw our first Wisconsin snake. The little two-footer swam the river. It looked similar to the common water snake but the colors were bright. After some research I’d say there’s a good chance it was the eastern fox snake.
We arrived at the take out ramp around 1:30 PM. After being up so early, fishing hardcore for eight hours and the 85° heat we were tired. But I had a frosty coke in the Yeti for the drive home. All we had to do was load up the raft in Granny’s car then drive me to mine and we were on our way. BUT, Granny left her car keys in her handbag. The handbag was in my car!
In such a remote area there were no folks to hitch a ride from. Instead, I grabbed the bug dope, a swig of water and headed out on a four mile jog/run/walk for my truck. I’m proud to say I covered the ground in a mere 62 minutes. When I got to my Exploder however, I saw a strange thing underneath. At first I thought my muffler fell off again. But no. It was a woodchuck. Woodchucks are famous for chewing on car hoses and wires. I chased him off – hopefully he wasn’t there all day doing damage.
Ahh the adventures that go with every day life. Today was a fun one and I got some upper body rowing in along with some good leg work. We got home around 5 PM. Just in time to listen to the Cubs on the radio and enjoy some home cooking. Next time on the water for me will be Friday in Arkansas. Stay tuned!
Jeff,
Nice day on the water and no crowds!
Tad
That was a rookie mistake by Granny… think she’s getting rusty and needs to fish more🤣
You guys are right all the way around here. I do think however, Granny is trying to get me in shape!
Jeff, don’t y’all feel bad; we did the very same thing on the Greenbrier River in WV one time! Bill
Yup. No matter how experience you are or how careful or how organized if you keep doing this stuff all the time – things can go sideways. I have some good stories from the last few decades. This was an easy one!
glad it worked out! You needed the exercise after our adventure.,