Hit the river after work, but got skunked. Frustrating part was 3 seperate times I saw stripers swim right up to my sluggo and turn away without hitting it. I didn’t have any other baits with me, so I tried every different type of retrieve from fishing it slow as a plastic worm to just about skimming it across the top to twitching it with no weight as well as with a slit shot. I’m not trying again till my new baits get here. Guess they’ll be runing alot of water with this rain on the way anyway. Lake is about as high as I’ve ever seen it.
The conditions were absolutely perfect with just enough water moving to move me slowly down the banks. Saw a jon boat for a little bit, but other than that, I was the only one in the area. Well, me and a new friend I made that hopped around following me while I drifted down the river until he realized I wasn’t fishing live bait.
My other brush with nature came right before dark. I stopped casting for a few and was just relaxing, admiring the surroundings as I slowly drifted down river. Then, out of nowhere came a huge KAPOWWW!!right at the side of my kayak just behing me…so close it got my back all wet. It seemed like too big a splash to be a muskrat, but I guess it was as I was seeing them all over. I was sitting still, so he probably thought he would catch a ride on something that was just floating down the river. Really scared the **** out of me. All I could think about after that was a headline I read online about a fisherman killed by a beaver last week.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
That big splash was probably a beaver. They slap their tail on the water when alarmed. Surprised he did it that close to your boat. Cool shot of the owl. We actually fed one herring on the river last year. We threw it on a mud bank and he swooped down to get it, actually looking at us before eating it as if he was getting our permission.
Pretty cool pic…Check out the video’s hand feeding a Barred Owl on the Coosa River if you haven’t seen this before… and the Jet Boat Striper fishing video is worth seeing as well… from Cy Grajcar’s website: http://www.extremestripers.com/videos.html
Team Shad Up & Fish
If you’ve had fun catching fish on the transom bait, you are welcome…
I’ve spent about 85% of my life’s wages on fishing, the rest I just wasted…
I think kayaks must attract beavers, I have had them splash not 4 ft. away, both in the river and in ponds. That’s a great picture of the owl. my wife wont let me take a camera in the kayak! When I bought my kayak, years ago, on sale, all they had was Clemson orange. Tried to fish out of it but never a bite, I painted it green and brown camo and I started catching fish! I fish the upper Saluda above lake Greenwood!
quote:
Originally posted by Reality_Bites
Pretty cool pic…Check out the video’s hand feeding a Barred Owl on the Coosa River if you haven’t seen this before… and the Jet Boat Striper fishing video is worth seeing as well… from Cy Grajcar’s website: http://www.extremestripers.com/videos.html
Team Shad Up & Fish
If you’ve had fun catching fish on the transom bait, you are welcome…
I’ve spent about 85% of my life’s wages on fishing, the rest I just wasted…
Wow! I wouldn’t get my hand anywhere near the talons on one of those things.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
quote:
Originally posted by boatpoor
I think kayaks must attract beavers, I have had them splash not 4 ft. away, both in the river and in ponds. That’s a great picture of the owl. my wife wont let me take a camera in the kayak! When I bought my kayak, years ago, on sale, all they had was Clemson orange. Tried to fish out of it but never a bite, I painted it green and brown camo and I started catching fish! I fish the upper Saluda above lake Greenwood!
I thought you were going to say you painted it garnet and black. lol
I took that with my phone…surprised how well it came out using the digital zoom. I keep it in a tupperware container. I believe the beaver only came so close because I was taking a break from the fishing and sitting motionless in the kayak…well, other than an occassional 12 oz curl. 
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
I don’t think it was because you were still, I bet he thought you were trying to take his picture. It looks like beavers can get very angry over getting their pictures taken.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Beaver-Kills-Fisherman-Trying-to-Capture-Photo-of-It-356694.shtml
quote:
Originally posted by striperskiff
quote:
Originally posted by boatpoor
I think kayaks must attract beavers, I have had them splash not 4 ft. away, both in the river and in ponds. That’s a great picture of the owl. my wife wont let me take a camera in the kayak! When I bought my kayak, years ago, on sale, all they had was Clemson orange. Tried to fish out of it but never a bite, I painted it green and brown camo and I started catching fish! I fish the upper Saluda above lake Greenwood!
I thought you were going to say you painted it garnet and black. lol
I took that with my phone…surprised how well it came out using the digital zoom. I keep it in a tupperware container. I believe the beaver only came so close because I was taking a break from the fishing and sitting motionless in the kayak…well, other than an occassional 12 oz curl.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
LOL…Thats the story I was referring to in my original post, but I had only seen the headine.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
I fished from Metz landing up (same area) on friday afternooon in the rain with a buddy and he had 2 good sized Striper on silver and chartreuse Cotton Cordel stick baits. I was fishless though, using shadalicious swim baits, and 2-3 other floating swim baits…
Due to water levels and large amount of rain, I prolly won’t be on the water this week.
1994 Bass Tracker Pontoon
Life’s too short not to fish