Another One in the Books

So much emphasis is put on a few dates every year.Whether Christmas,July 4th,your birthday,your wedding anniversary,you think about it all year.It finally comes around and before you know it,poof,it's gone.For me few things bring a smile to my face like Man Camp.Sorry to say it but this year was a bit different.Last year I moved an hour south of where I was living,aka the ghetto,into my first house.Unfortunately this meant that our normal Man Camp spot was an hour farther away,making it a two hour drive.The days before this years Man Camp I was upset with a weather forecast that was ever changing.Upset with what seemed to be a low turn out.Upset with the fact that,well I felt like doing my own thing.Thankfully after some pre Man Camp discussions a few details were cleared up and a few "hell yeah I'm in" were promised,only to have a few drop out.This marked the first year in 9 straight years that we would not have a boat for fishing.No worries my buddy Kris was nice enough to let me strap his old town canoe to the Ranger and away we went on a glorious 70 degree southern Virginia day.





Upon showing up at the Chickahominy WMA we noticed that little had changed in a year.We unloaded the truck like it was a normal routine,turned on the radio and put the tents up in silence.Then it was time to do some exploring with ye Old Town canoe.Kris and I put the canoe in the water and headed up the creek I have for years tried to navigate with a motor.Low water and a ditch like drainage kept me from getting very far.We found wood duck boxes,wild violets and turkey hunters.That night around the campfire we were joined by Mattapus the hippy.We dined on fresh flounder,Kris traded at his job for some,and a few cold ones of course.Knowing we had a long day ahead of us we turned in early at 1 am.



The next day brought another blue sky,but with it a stiff wind.Our plan was a nice float/fishing trip in the canoe.The tide was running a few feet above normal and the winds were estimated around 20-30 mph steady.(We only used the most accurate of wind gauges,grass and guessing)So plan B was take a short paddle up the same creek but with more water we made it much farther and had a great time staring into space and not saying much of anything.Back in camp we ate a healthy lunch of roast beef sandwiches and bacon.Not roast beef with bacon,the bacon was a separate dish if you will.I needed to get a line wet so i ventured off for a drive around the WMA.Every access point to the river was either flooded or had white caps and was unfishable.I knew of a place just off the WMA that I have been meaning to fish for years.A little feeder creek bass action never hurt anybody,except maybe the guy who owns the property.So I fished for a few hours,caught a few bass and headed back to camp to await the arrival of the people with normal working hours.





That afternoon my friend Jon,my brother the nutty professor and my friend Mike showed up.We played unofficial horseshoes in the woods,drank cheap whiskey and told lies.Most of all what we did was forget.We all forgot about whatever problems we had,big or small.We forgot about going to work,paying the bills,or whatever else was on our mind.Either if for a minute or for the entire day that's what it's all about.Being an adult is over rated and under paid.The night ended with no serious injuries and an exceptional amount of laughs.So I'm glad I went just like I have every year.Next year will be our tenth annual and we may decide to move venues but who knows.For right now I just want to remember the good times we had and how much my real friends mean to me.



A short side note about the weather.We left out early Saturday knowing the wind and rain were moving in that afternoon.We were all home from Richmond to Suffolk,by noon that day.By 4 that afternoon tornados and horrible thunderstorms had overtaken the entire portion of southeatern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina.I believe I last heard some 72 reported tornados from that front were reported.Some did major damage in and around the area and many lives were lost.Fortunately we all dodged a huge bullet.However many of the people that I work with did not.My thoughts go out to the entire area and I hope they can all rebuild and start over.

Never Give Up

It's been a tough long few days for me and I needed to get out.I spent the last few weeks doing online research for a new truck.I got home late last weekend with a few in mind.I was on the phone and computer literally all day Monday and most of Tuesday.If you know anything about me,that's not how I like to spend my free time.Man Camp 2011 kicks off tomorrow and I'm nowhere near ready,so what did I do today?Maybe I spent the day airing my tent out and getting my things together.Not at all,I went fishing.I saw it as the only real responsible thing to do and I'm glad I went.I'm sure I will forget to pack something or something I should have checked will be broken from last year but oh well.I spent the morning on the same stretch of river that skunked me three times just a few weeks ago.




So what was my plan?Did I switch up lures?Maybe I went at a different time of day.I changed one thing and one thing only.i went back to what I know works for me.Forget all the fancy 10-12 dollar crank baits that I have never ever caught fish on.I went back to using the same lures I used last time home,except this time I stuck with them.The tackle box stayed zipped up the entire morning.My old school technique is easily described as follows.Use a small lure that you know any and all fish will chase at the least.Cover a ton of water,hey why did I buy a trolling motor if I didn't plan on using it.Once you locate small baitfish/panfish switch to your tried and true.Cover lots of water and never lose faith,have patience.So what are my low budget lures?Let's go over them real quick.




First off is my fish finder lure is the beetle spin,yup 1.29 beetle spin.Whatever color you want,they all work on panfish.I'm sure some work better than others though.Once you have found a few shad/panfish switch over to old faithful.The very first lure I ever used was....a rubber worm.Not much of a lure but it's a soft plastic,whatever.Stop trying to get fancy on me people.I have narrowed down my rubber worm selection to bright green zero worms with a red hook and no weight.The worm is heavy enough to get some distance while casting and you can skip it under trees and low hanging shrubs.Guess what else,IT WORKS!That's really all that matters isn't it.This is what works for me,it may or may not work for you.My brother Swamp Thing uses a total different set up and guess what,his lures don't work for me.So just think back before you go out fishing this spring.You have been staring at those magazines for the last few months.All those new,shiny,expensive lures,endorsed by Ass Hat Mcgee who won the Alaska eel tourney in 1972,forget about it.Just use what you have had success with before and I bet you it works.

Black Gold!

Man Camp 2010

No wait,that's oil,this is coal.Well it seems I have been put on the infamous coal run of the Chesapeake Bay.Running from Newport News, Va. to Baltimore has definitely been more of the same.One of the good things is I know where I will be from day to day and I don't have to go offshore and get hammered by all types of weather.It's extremely hard physical work that keeps you up for days without any real sleep schedule.It's a get it when you can kind of run and I like it,for now.I'm sure this Summer when the coal is sandblasting me in the face and sticking to every part of my body I will have a change of heart.Just wanted to give everyone an update that I have not forgotten to post,just been a bit busy.Next week it's go time for Man Camp 2011!





This brings me to a little quick something I wanted to point out about my self.I'm getting old,like using my brain to make decisions instead of the amount of beer I have consumed.Man Camp is next week....weather permitting.Yes,I know,my friends will surely haggle me to death if I cancel over a little rain but hear me out.Next week the forecast has gone from sunny and 8- to rainy and 50 and back again.So trying to keep everyone in the loop I let it be known that if it rains the Dude will not be attending.This went over like a turd in the prom punch bowl,not cool.The reality is I have responsibilities,oh crap I said it,I hate that damn word.It's true,I'm ,oh no here it come again,growing up,noooooo!it's just part of life and I'm trying to deal with it,unsuccessfully.Sitting in a tent,with 40 mph wind gusts,rain coming sideways and catching a cold isn't my idea of fun.Neither is getting estimates for gutters,or cleaning out the ditches but they have to be done.I really do hope the weather participates for a few days so i can get out and have some fun with the crew.If it doesn't then a long line of yearly camping trips comes to an end and I will have nobody to blame but mother nature.

Skunk Times 3

Or was it 4?It's been over a week since I had my string of not so memorable fishing trips on my local waters in Southeast Virginia so you have to forgive me.As always it was nice to get out rather than being a loaf on the couch.It would have been better to catch fish which was the intended purpose of putting the boat in the water.It happens every year though and I have nobody to blame but myself.It's like a bad habit that I refuse to kick no matter how much everyone tells me it's all wrong.Going fishing for bass when the air temperature warms up,yet the water is still quite cold.I feel that sweet warmth of the sun and I get this bug that tells me the fish must be biting,surely with these two days above 60 degrees they are out and hungry.How wrong I was,again and again and again.The funny thing is,I'm not the only one who goes out early every year and gets skunked,repeatedly,days in a row.I learned that even the "pro" bass fishermen with all of the fancy gear and 3000 hp motors can't find fish all the time.On a side note,the "pro" guys in my new neck of the woods seem to be a little more tolerable.We still aren't exactly on the same page when it comes to enjoying the entire outdoors experience but I will try and let that go.I took the time to explore some of the feeder creeks to the river,got some excellent pictures and found a few wood duck holes for this November that I will revisit.I'm aware the waterfowl season just ended,I never stop looking.The big event of the Spring happens when I get home in a few weeks,MAN CAMP! For those of you that have tuned in over the last year let me fill you in.Man Camp is a once a year event that myself and a few friends have hosted for eight years now.Every Spring,the tents get aired out,fishing poles get re-spooled.friendships get renewed and a bunch of dudes go to the woods to get away.As you may get from the title Man Camp is just that,a camp for men.There is no bitching about anything.Your personal life,we don't care.your wife,kids,job,whatever,just leave it at home.We all gather in the woods at the same camp site every Spring to have a good time,throw around a few jokes,drink a few beers and not get any sleep.The attendees have ranged from two full sets of brothers,six total to my old landlord and good friends father all the way from Vermont.We have dealt with temperatures from 40 degrees and mist all weekend to 85 degrees with plenty of ticks and chiggers.I ended up on antibiotics for tick and chigger bites last year,can't wait to do it again!So there it is back at work for a few weeks then the official kick off to Spring happens.Thanks for reading and get outside!I wanted to put more pictures up but the internet siganl isn't the greatest in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay

Versatile,I Could Be

Iguess I walked into this one.A few days ago I informed my oldest brother Swamp Thing over at River Mud Blog, http://rivermud.blogspot.com/2011/03/award-where-i-talk-about-feelings-is-no.html ,he recieved a blog award from LB at Biscuits and Bullets, http://bulletsandbiscuits.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-yesi-am-trash-picker-upper.html ,for being versatile.He in turn passed the award around as and I intend to follow through with this.So the instructions are to write a few things about myself that the internet friends may not know.So let's give it a whirl!

1.I'm technologically stupid As if you couldn't tell from the links above,I'm a computer idiot.I wanted to start with this because I honestly believe if I could figure this contraption out a bit better, my blog would be much more on point.As it is,I'm self taught on the computer and thankfully my career has little to do with them.


2.I like being different Both of my brothers have normal awesome lives and I applaud them for being able to hold that down.I simply can't do it though.I have always enjoyed going against the grain in every facet of my life.I stand my ground to an extent but I know when to admit I'm wrong.That doesn't mean I will do what you say though!My brothers are and have always been my role models and I'm glad they are happy but what makes them happy doesn't always work for me.

3. The Outdoors is my Life I honestly live for the outdoors.My nickname at work is bird dog.Every time I hear a duck/goose I look to the sky to see where it's coming from and where it's going.At work it literally kills me to talk to people on land who had a good day on the water fishing or hunting.I want to be there,I need to be there.I can't stand being inside on a nice day.If money didn't exist and the trade and barter system were still an option I would spend every day in the woods and waters of this great nation hunting,trapping,fishing because I love it.

4.Would of,Could of,Should of School,oh school how I hate you.I wish,like my normal brothers,I would have stayed in college.My brothers don't even know this or they do and never speak of it.I'm to the age now where I realize I screwed up big time.I can hear my dad saying,yeah no crap boy,but it hit me a few years ago.Towing a barge down the coast in heavy weather we broke the tow wire.I almost lost my life many times along with other merchant seaman that day.We saved the barge from going aground.Good for us,except nobody cared.It didn't matter to anyone except the insurance company who didn't get the call.It was just a part of my job.That day reminds me that being in an office,being that "yes" man isn't such a bad idea sometimes.

5.I'm a Closet Travel Junky I want to travel so bad and I have no reason not to.I went to Panama,El Salvador and Guatemala for work a few years ago on a tugboat and have always wanted to go back.Go back?Let me be real,I want to travel the globe before I retire so I can enjoy what the rest of the world has to offer.I went and got my passport a few months ago and as long as my income doesn't come to an end I need to make the time to branch out with my outdoor activities.



So there it is,a few things you may not know about me.Just wanted to thank the few hardcore readers that visit my site.I went through a phase where I didn't want to post on here anymore.Then I realized that the reason I write is to get things off my mind.I never stop thinking so I find it's good to write it down.So I guess I will pass this award on to a few people.Nope I can't do that,everbody on my reading list already got the writing prompt.So thanks for reading and get outdoors everybody!

A Wicked Wind

Everything is going great,I'm off the boat,my father is recuperating from surgery well,I arrive at my house for the first time in two weeks and I get this sinking feeling that something is wrong.It was ten at night as I walked into the back yard and discovered this mess.

Oh but wait it gets better!Not only did the boat get flipped off the trailer in high winds but the axle decided to stay at ground level while the trailer frame followed the boat.

So what's the damage?broken leaf springs is all the damage this fiasco caused.Unfortunately the trailer,which I bought new in 2006,was due for a bit of maintenance.I figured if I was going into this I might as well do it all and do it right.So after driving around eighty miles between five different stores I ended up with leaf springs,a handful of stainless steel bolts and lock nuts,wood screws for the bunk boards,PB Blaster penetrating catalyst which is my new best friend.Now I'm not sure how many of you own a boat trailer but I'm assuming if you do then this is childsplay to you.Me on the other hand has never done any of this by myself,however I have done all of it with help before.Let me say saltwater does wonders to any and all metal.Even with breaker bars and butane torches,I ended up breaking out a grinder with a cutting wheel to disperse one bolt.Not sure why I didn't do that to all the rusty bolts but live and learn I suppose.So after a day and a half labor and running around,80 dollars and my trailer is like new.
All in one piece and my mind set at ease,it was time for the maintenance that was scheduled for this spring.Lights and wheel bearings were on the menu and even though late in the day,I knew I needed to do it so the trailer would be ready to go.The lights weren't to much of a problem with the trailer already upside down everything was in my face and easy to get to.The bearings,well the bearings,yeah the bearings.I figured the trailer,which I rarely use,would leave the bearings to be in good shape.How incorrect I was!Sitting with my face by the hub cap and popping it off was my first mistake.Brown water and goo went everywhere and continued to drip out of the bearing.Bad news folks these bearings are trash,good news I have everything in my shed to fix them.So with daylight leaving me I hunkered down and cleaned out and repacked the bearings.Funny thing about it,after I was all done,I sat that and looked at it.I thought,the last time I used this trailer was over a year ago,why am I keeping it.Is it because it was my first boat and trailer?Is it because it's paid for and nice to have a backup?Maybe by next year I will be able to let go of it,but I doubt it.On another note my brother came down from Maryland with his wife and my nephew.Both my brothers and I had a great afternoon fishing trip on my local river so stay tuned for that post.As always thanks for reading and get outdoors!

Early Spring

Typically for the Mid Atlantic region we should still be dealing with feet of snow and gale force winds.Thanks to my furry friend it seems Spring has come early,or maybe not.I'm a bit of a weather nerd,I won't hide that from anyone.As a child I seriously contemplated becoming a weatherman until I discovered how much math was involved.At work in North Carolina and I have been watching the weather closely.I have been waiting for Winter to rush back in,however it seems the East Coast may be getting an early out from our contract with mother nature.The weather in Southeast Virginia over the next few weeks shows typical early spring conditions.One day near 70 the next 45 with 30 mph winds followed by three days of rain.The area needs the rain but not all at once.Being addicted to the outdoors means having a general understanding of ever changing weather conditions at the very least.The best way to ruin a good day outdoors is to be caught in a fast approaching cold front with the wrong gear.So I may be home again next week and looking forward to any break in the rain to go try my hand at fishing again.I would like to think I will be home for the entire spring bass spawn but that requires luck.Stay tuned and in the meantime,get outside and make the best of the day.