Hickory Shad at Weldon were on Fire Today - 3/22/16

Weldon NC Shad Fishing

****see videos at the bottom**** 

Had the day off and my son was also on Spring break so I asked him did he want to go catch some shad. He said "sure". WOW!  He  is 19 and his priorities are school, girls, friends, girls, and did I say girls? and not necessarily in that order. So I was surprised and happy he chose to go shad fishing.

We didn't leave town until 2 so I only had 2 choices. The Tar near Rocky Mount or Weldon. I chose Weldon. I looked at usgs.gov and they had the flow listed at 10,500 cfm. I then looked at Dominion Powers release schedule and it was supposed to stay at that for at least 2 more days. We got there the water was muddy!  Crap!  I like mud for Bass fishing but not Shad fishing. I actually thought about heading south to the Tar but something told me to stay. We were fishing by 3:45 and the first Shad came to hand on the first or second cast. We caught too many to count. We fished 5 or so spots and all produced fish. when the action slowed on one spot we drifted down 50 yds or so, anchored and the action repeated.

We Never Left Sight of the Ramp.  When  action slowed we moved up or down no farther than a long cast and the action picked right back up.

All hits came on White 2 inch Berkely Powerbait grubs on a 1/8 oz Pink Jig head. It was a great few hours on the water with my son.

You can see how I tie the above rig at -

We finished the day off by stopping at Ralph's BBQ where one of my sister in laws works at,  so we got to see her and eat some great food.

An awesome ending to a great day of fishing.

Thanks, Mack

#Roanokeriver

#shadfishing

#weldon

My 2016 Fox Squirrel Season #foxsquirrel

Hello Guys,   I Fox Squirrel Hunted 3 or 4 times this Season.   The First was with my Dog Pete.
Now, Pete and I had a blast and we saw 2 that day but they both went into holes and eluded us.
They are a lot smarter than most people think, maybe they get a bad wrap from the tame ones on golf courses but these ones we hunt are ELUSIVE.

The next time I went was November the 28th.   This time I took a friend of a friend who had never seen a Fox Squirrel and wanted to kill one and mark it off his bucket list. Lee is his name and it was a wonderful day hunting with a very nice hunter. We met up at 11:00 am and made the 1hr drive south to my  Fox Squirrel hot spot.  You could immediately tell that Lee was an expert hunter  and the pressure was on for me to put Lee on one.  

My plan was to go to good spots and sit at each one for ~30 minutes and if no action to move and repeat. On the first move I spotted a big Black saddleback one ahead of us but he gave us the slip.
This move and repeat process continued until 3pm  when I told Lee That we were in my # 2 spot and we should sit here till dark.  Lee sat up against one big pine and I another approximately 70 yards from him.  There wasn't much happening until 5 pm when I heard something running between Lee and I . I looked that way and a big Silver one climbed a small oak. I  Rushed the tree and Lee was getting there as well. The squirrel then jumped to a big pine and both lee and I had him spotted.  I told Lee that the honor was his and His trusty Winchester 37 in 410 put the hammer on that squirrel.    An awesome ending to a great afternoon in the woods.

Here is the picture of Lee's Fox Squirrel -

Lee then presented me with a Turkey Wingbone call that he made himself from a turkey he killed !!
Wow! what a special present.  Thanks Lee, I hope we can do this again next year.

Fast Forward to 12/12/2016 and I was after one for me.   Somehow I was daydreaming or just not paying attention and I missed my turn to where I hunt.    I went over a little hill and I see what I think is a dead Fox Squirrel on the side of US 1. I have to turn around anyway and as I pull up to it I can see that it is a Fox Squirrel.
 Crap,  I sometimes shoot them but it is a shame when one gets run over.   What a nice example of a Saddleback color phase.  I put the squirrel just off the road in the woods so it could return to the earth.

Now, I was headed in the right direction.   I arrived at my spot and since my time was limited today I chose to make the sit till dark in the same place that Lee and I hunted  a few weeks ago.  I sat down and was about to nod off and in 5 minutes and I hear something in the tree 5 yards in front of me.  I look up and there is this big beautiful Black one coming down the tree not 5 yards from me.   The squirrel gets to the bottom and knows I am something but doesn't know what.   Anyway, I got a video of it which I added the going in and out of the woods.  I ain't  the best movie maker  but watch that sucker check me out from the bottom of the tree.

Here is the video ----

 and a picture,  shot with a 20 gauge Savage S x S using # 6 shot at 25 yards

Though I only got to Fox Squirrel Hunt 3 or 4 times it was a fun season and one I will remember.
Thanks, Mack

#foxsquirrel

#squirrelhunting