The Journey from the Lake to the Pan

It's a beautiful day in April, nice and warm but still with a breeze, which means it's another great day to be fishing; this time on Lake Macintosh.

Arriving at the lake's boat area at just after 10:00 AM with my younger brother, and my father, we picked one of the four john boats that were left and began to put our things in order. We were armed with a bucket full of worms and night crawlers, some of which were collected the week before by us, and some which were purchased at the lake's marina upon arrival. After the Haw River experience I was fully expecting for live bait to be the ticket to fishing success, but we were also packing a small assortment of lures and jigs, just in case.

The goal today was to catch enough decently sized fish to have a fish fry, with all of the assorted fixings that go with it, and it had been a while. After our small green-colored boat had been equipped with a propeller (try rowing a couple miles and back), two batteries, plus all of the necessary fishing equipment we shoved off into the warm murky water. One of our batteries would get us to our fishing destination, the other would help get us back.

(The dock area over-viewing the lake)

The temperature was pleasant and the breeze was steady as we motored to our first location; the rock covered bank in front of a small cove.

(A rock covered bank on Lake Macintosh)

We began to cast our lines with worms and sinkers into the water and waited as we drifted slowly down the bank without an anchor. Nothing much happened except for a large northern water snake swimming in front of the boat. I was going to attempt netting him but he dipped under the water and disappeared.

It didn't take long for us to realize that nothing was happening in this particular location, not to mention there were a couple of other boats in or near the same cove. We decided to move to a location where we had luck in the past, so we began on our way to the more remote location, casting in an occasional worm-baited line along the way with no success.

As we continued, we began to see a familiar site; the dam.

(A distant view of the dam)

We had packed some water bottles and some boiled peanuts, so beginning with my brother we began to take advantage of the journey between locations and enjoy a cold drink. Then after what seemed like 30-45 minutes, we reached our destination.

It was a small, seclusive cove that had yielded us some nice bluegill in the past.

(A good bluegill cove on Lake Macintosh)

By now it was pretty obvious that live bait was not working, despite my initial beliefs. So with lures in hand, and a renewed sense of purpose we began to cast our rooster tails and jigs into the lake. It wasn't long before the first catch of the day came along.

(A White Bass, the first catch of the day)

A white bass lunged onto my lure aggressively and fought me all the way until I got him in the boat. If one is biting, then there are bound to be more. We continued doing this and I managed to pull in more white bass, one after the other, as it was becoming more and more likely that there would be enough for a fish fry. I should also mention that white bass is the state fish of Oklahoma.

(Another white bass caught on my orange rooster tail)

The white bass kept biting and we kept pulling them in, sometimes at the same time. The fish stringer was filling up quickly. My brother managed to catch a largemouth bass, but had to release it due to it not meeting the legally required 14 inches in length for largemouth. He also managed to catch a perch and two bluegill, one of which was released.

Despite the variety that he was catching, I was exclusively catching white bass, which was making me think that maybe there is something about my lure that was particularly appealing to them.

(Another of many white bass caught)

Some of the fish vigorously hit my line making me think that they were bigger than they actually were. As we crept along the shoreline, jigging and reeling, we bottomed out into a wide open area with a grassy bank. After spending some time here, and having a motor boat send waves disturbing our fishing, we began to head back in the direction of the marina. Besides, with 14 fish there was plenty for a fish fry.

Heading back in the general direction of the marina I spotted a duck wading in the water and decided to test how close I could get with the camera before he flew away.

(A duck wading in front of us, all the while keeping his eye on us)

We got ever closer and he was watching us closely, but I managed to get an even closer one before he finally got spooked and took off.

(A wading duck, just before flying away)

After the 30-45 minute cruise back to the marina, we unloaded our small boat piece by piece and loaded up the car for the drive home. At this time we were exhausted, a little bit grimy, and maybe a touch sunburned but we still had a big job ahead. Cleaning our catch.

Cleaning and scaling fish is not the most fun nor the most pleasant part of a fish fry, but the final product is more than worth it.

(The cleaning board, from left to right: white bass, bluegill, perch)

This photo represents the variety of fish that would need to be cleaned, but out of the total 14 fish that were kept, 12 of those were white bass.

I have spared you the gory details of removing the heads, the entrails, and the scales. Doing it once was enough, I don't need to re-live it. After the fish are cleaned, they go into a bowl of icy water for a number of minutes.

(A bowl of cleaned fish soaking in ice water)

The main point of this was to give us time to take a shower, wash our hands, and take a breath. After that, the fish will be covered in seasoned flour before hitting the fryer.

(The pan of floured fish, before hitting the fryer)

While the fixings and side dishes are being prepared, the floured fish go into the cast-iron skillet over the open flame of the grill stove to be fried in lard.

(A pan full of freshly caught fish frying in lard on the grill stove)

The smell of these freshly caught fish frying outside on a grill stove is indescribable! Before long, everything is ready and when it all comes together you get the final product; the fruits of your labor.

(My dinner plate: fish, french fries, hushpuppies and a side of slaw)

There you have it! I've shown you the journey from the lake, to the frying pan, and finally to the dinner plate. The fishing part is fun, the cleaning part isn't so much, but I am here to tell you that it is well worth it!

Cosmo my new Black Racer

(Black Racer snake, or coluber constrictor)

As luck would have it, several days after catching the baby northern water snake at the river, I was searching in the leaf-covered woodlands behind my house and discovered a medium sized Black Racer, coiled up just underneath a thick tree. I slowly approached him as he began to slither away and I ended up chasing him almost into the neighbors yard and stopped when he went under a log in front of me.

I thought that it was over, that he had made it into a burrow or hole but I stood motionless for a couple more minutes, listening and looking for any sign of him. I then noticed the log at my feet and slowly uncovered it, revealing roughly an inch or two of the snakes body. I carefully reached down and pulled him out slowly, until I could see his head.

I decided to name it Cosmo (yes like Cosmo Kramer, being a Seinfeld fan) and fixed up a new home for him.

(Cosmo resting in his new home)

I was actually quite surprised that he did not attempt to bite me when I caught him. Black Racers have a bit of a reputation for biting when being handled, although he did release his bad smelling musk on me, which is a typical self-defense mechanism. Ughh.

Another typical scare tactic used by black racers, and some other non-venomous snakes, is to flutter their tails against the leaves as to make a sound like a rattlesnake.

Black Racers are non-venomous and typically eat small rodents, lizards, frogs and sometimes other snakes. Despite the name coluber constrictor they do not constrict, but actually hold the prey down with their body to subdue it.

(A Cricket Frog resting on a leaf in a creek)

Cricket Frogs, like the one above which I found in the small creek behind my house, could be considered typical food for a Black Racer.

A day of fishing at the Haw River

It's mid April and the weather is beginning to warm up here in NC, and for me and a handful of other people this means it's time to go fishing. Me and and my younger brother headed down to our local recognized body of water, the Haw River, for a day of fishing and exploration. So we packed up our pepper spray (very underrated, but useful at a public river), our fishing gear, and some snacks etc. and headed out.

(Our grassy pathway to the Haw River)

We made our way through the cut path with brush on either side, watching our step and checking out our surroundings until we arrived at our first fishing destination, the bridge.

(We call it the Haw River Bridge)

Once there we immediately noticed that the River was higher than it normally is due to the recent rains, but decided to cast our lines anyway. Both of us carefully climed down the rock face which stood between us and the bank, and began to cast our rods and jig our lures in hopes of getting some Bluegill, or maybe some Bass.

After 15 minutes or so had passed in the same location it was becoming apparent that lures were not going to serve us well in the higher waters and faster rapids. Not to mention there were some pretty gnarly sand bugs.

So after re-climbing the approximately 15 foot rock face again, we began in the opposite direction; we were headed toward the dam area of the River.

(The dam area)

I spotted a huge cluster of turtles resting on two large rocks sticking up out of the water. They seemed almost stranded, or sun-bathing.

(Water turtles getting some sun)

Passing the turtles and continuing on we made it to the dam area, and began to realize that in order to get to the spots that we wanted, we had to get in the shallow water (which was cold, by the way). We sludged through the shallow water all the while getting small rocks and pebbles stuck in our shoes, and all of a sudden I decided to stop. I spotted a medium sized Northern Water Snake resting on a cluster of wood and leaves overhanging the bank, and snapped the following photo.

(A Northern Water Snake, or Nerodia sipedon)

The Northern Water Snake, or Nerodia sipedon, is a common non-venomous snake that feeds on frogs, crayfish, fish, and any other critters it can stretch it's mouth around. I was going to attempt to catch this guy but he was too far down for me to reach, and judging from that look on his face I would have been bitten a few times too. But of course it wouldn't be the first time...

Then a few minutes later while walking around in a somewhat isolated shallow area, I spotted a baby one resting just under the surface of the water. I carefully reached in and grabbed him in such a way that he would not be able to bite me, and even if he did it wouldn't be much of a bother. I mean look at him, he's harmless!

(A baby Northern Water Snake)

And here is another one just for your viewing enjoyment. Also realize that I took the photos of the baby snake after taking him home, as I was so enthralled with him I didn't think to do it back at the river.

(Photo #2 of baby Northern Water Snake back at home)

I should also mention that unless you are absolutely sure of what you are doing, do not try to pick up any snake or attempt to catch it. I have been doing this off and on for years and I always make a point to know exactly what kind of snake it is before I even think about trying to catch it. North Carolina does not contain very many varieties of poisonous snake, but it always pays to be safe.

We continued to venture down the trail, stopping periodically at new openings to cast our lures but it just wasn't working. The water was too high, the fish didn't seem very hungry, and we didn't have any alternative bait...yet.

Then, after a while, we happened upon an area where the river was more calm, and decided to turn over some logs and rocks in search of crayfish. I managed to catch one, and I also managed to get two earthworms in the process. Then I had a great idea. I put one of the earthworms on the hook with my lure, sort of a lure/live bait hybrid kind of thing. At the next opening I cast it in, and positioned my rod on the ground thinking that I should just wait for a tug, when I noticed that it was already moving.

(A medium sized Bluegill, hooked on my lure/live bait hybrid rig)

I began to reel in my line when to my surprise I had a medium sized Bluegill fighting with me on the other end! Now secure in my knowledge that my contraption worked, I added my other worm and dropped it no more than 2 feet from the bank, wham!

(Another Bluegill, my brother snapped this one for me)

This guy was smaller, but still a fighter! It also meant the last of my two worms, thus putting an end to the short lived fishing success. We were both rather tired from hiking all day from location to location, and decided to call it quits. Although the day only yielded two Bluegill, it was still a success!

Oh, and next time the lures aren't working try strapping a worm on there and leaving it on the bottom. It can't hurt!