Good News

So far so good.The "upper management" waited until the last minute to tell me my schedule request had gone through.So what's it all mean dude?For starters my waterfowl season is on track for some good dates.Early goose,if I want it,early duck,home a few days after opening day and the last two weeks of the season in January.The main thing and what drove me to push this until it was a reality is the rotation change on the boat.After the next thirty days go on by I will be on a different rotation and only have to deal with the "trouble" for fifteen out of my normal thirty day hitch.The things I'm giving up are well worth it I think.My brother,nutty professor,is off for the summer and I won't be able to spend much time with him.By the time I get home in August he will be gearing up to go teach for another school year.Fortunately for him,the Northern Flight blind will be waiting at the house for him to help me put on the boat.So as you can guess I'm a bit happier and I just need to make it through these next few weeks without getting sent home.All for now!Obviously I have been doing a bit of fishing in the evening,the pic is of the largest bass I think I have ever caught,6 plus pounds.Not as fat as the other one I caught a few months ago,but a bit longer and a much better fighter.

An Interesting Situation

So some time has passed since I last made the time to sit down and type down some thoughts.The last few weeks I have had the time but my attitude has been shall we say in the gutter at best.Let's start with we returned to the shipyard after towing the Army Tug to South Carolina.I was given some things to do on a company barge,paint,pressure wash,etc.Everything was going fine until we got orders to go on the infamous Chesapeake Bay coal run.It isn't that I didn't want to do some sailing and get back out there and work.It was the fact that I had to work side by side,every watch with who had become my arch enemy,the Captain of the tug.Whoa now,I know it sounds like I need to check myself I know but let me explain.This "Captain" is let's say an obese oxygen thief at best.He is the definition of BACONATOR.he is the epitome of bad hygiene.Now on top of that he thinks he is the tugboat god.I have worked with this,oh lord,"man" for over a year and he has continually gotten worse and pushed me to the breaking point.My breaking point is a bit higher than others as I have been subject to some not so fun working conditions.I have always found a way out and made myself better and this situation is clearly no different.I won't go into exactly what he does because well my hands would cramp up and you would either get tired of reading about it or make multiple trips to the restroom to vomit.So earlier this week I was looking at the schedule and saw that as it currently lies with my 30 on 15 off schedule I would have little to no duck hunting season,unacceptable.So I worked out a few different plans in my head and made the call to the office.Of course it didn't go as planned but it could have been worse.I was told it's slow,maybe not this time but next hitch,blah blah bliggity blah.So we are back in the yard after a week on the coal run and my next course of action is take it to the top,yes talk to the owners.It is seriously that bad that I simply can not work with captain fatty mcgee anymore.I obviously won't refuse but I need a schedule change.One for duck hunting season,secondly so I can get off of his rotation,third so I don't blow my lid.Well by the end of the week hopefully I will have something figured out and will have cooled down a bit.Drink a cold one for your buddy the DUDE!

Take a Deep Breath

towing the ST-805 US Army tug
I'm back at work,hooray.When it was all said and done I was only kept home 3 extra days.I really got lucky that a small job popped up for the tug I normally work on.It was an easy one but I was glad to have the opportunity.We left Maryland June 22 bound for Skiffes Creek on the James River.Interesting enough that's where ol t-dawg started his tug career right on Skiffes Creek.It was strange going back there but it was only to pick up an Army tug and tow it to South Carolina.So we arrived June 24 hooked up to her and towed her rusty ass right out of the slip.This tug has been sitting in the slip since before I started going past the Army base towing rock over five years ago.Seriously it has never moved.So you may be thinking it's going to get scrapped,you would be wrong.We hauled it down the coast and into Denton Shipyard in South Carolina.After a quick turn around we arrived back in the shipyard in Maryland this past Monday.Beautiful weather,awesome salt breeze and damn it felt good to be off the coast and towing something.So that's it,the can of beans.Now it's more barge/boat/shipyard work.I'm not complaining as long as the checks don't start bouncing.Hopefully I can get some fishing in over the holiday weekend after work of course.

Back Home

the nutty professor with a White Perch caught at Blackwater Creek
Well after fishing a few different lakes and ponds in Northern Virginia it was time to return home.Once home I realized I still had a little over a week worth of free time before I was due back on the boat.Since all the rivers on the East Coast have been taking a relentless beating from weeks worth of rain,lakes and ponds were my best bet for fishing.Fish I did!Taking the small original S.S Gut Runner out to another spot on the inter coastal waterway,the Nutty Professor and I made a day of it.Going to a new recreational spot is always an adventure.Especially when towing a boat and not knowing what condition the ramp is in.Fortunately everything went smooth at 6 in the morning and we caught a few fish with no problems.I will definitely be returning to Blackwater Creek later this summer.More for a scouting trip then for fishing.It seems to be an excellent wood duck spot.



Over the last few days I have fished some local spots that I haven't visited for years.After fishing them I realized why I had not been there in years,they are all over fished.I had minimal success and never left without catching some sort of fish.Hey anything from a bluegill to a chain pickerel,it kept me from getting skunked and that's all that matters.I just need to justify why I got up at 5 in the morning.I was due back to work this Thursday but was granted a few extra days off that I didn't ask for.It seems that my boat finally has a job and I will be returning to work Monday morning.Maybe my next post will actually involve something interesting at work.It has just dawned on me that over the last few weeks I have fished just about every other day.Well I'm sure when I get home in mid July the weather won't be cooperating like it has over the last few weeks.

Marsh Run at C.F Phelps WMA,have fun fishing that muddy mess
It took me a bit but I found it
the magic spot at Germantown Lake

First bass at Germantown Lake,Northern Virginia

Fishing Northern Virginia

Last weekend I headed a few hours north to Baltimore to hang with the bid brother Swamp Thing and see a band.It was a great evening with him and his wife and it fit perfectly into my semi planned northern Virginia fishing trip.After seeing the Two Man Gentleman band On Sunday night my brother and I headed out at daybreak for a the first fishing spot in Northern Virginia.Lake Brittle is an interesting yet extremely shallow bank lake with good shore access for fishing.With it's fishing pier and boat rental that would have been the way to go.Unfortunately with a lack of time for Swamp Thing to fish,he had to be at a work site in only a few hours,we fished the bank with minimal success.Trying everything from small top water to crank baits we found the fish plentiful but weary of man made baits.After catching one fish a piece we called it all good and probably will never return to this over fished lake.Swamp Thing got on the road and I headed thirty miles south to my next destination the Rappahonnock River on the C.F. Phelps WMA.

Yellow Perch caught at lake Brittle on rooster tail


After my short drive down to the WMA,in which I only got lost a few times,I found an access point to wade the river.Unfortunately with the excessive rain we have been having the last few weeks the river was running a few feet above normal.Taking that into consideration with the normal muddy water of the river it was unfishable.Not willing to give up so easy I slapped on my knee boots and took the trail back into the woods and found a low spot,threw a line in and said screw this.So now what to do?I drove 3 hours North for nothing?Negative I say,the WMA supposedly has a 3 acre pond.So on the country roads me and my trusty Ford Ranger went searching.We searched and then some more of that and found a few other access points for the WMA but no pond.At this point in the day it was around 90 degrees,I had been up since 6 AM and had not had a bite to eat.I called a temporary retreat to fill up on rations and regroup.After finding a decent town with lodging I decided that at the least I needed some rest and food.After I ate my head cleared a bit and I decided with the power of my wireless internet I could find somewhere to fish.So then it was on to an evening of internet scouting and a nice comfortable bed.With the help of some of the guys on the Duck Hunters Refuge Forum and my big brother I located a few lakes that were quite close to my current location.With my 5 AM wake up call and a not so fresh biscuit from the hotel it was on to my next fishing destination Lake Germantown.




Upon arriving at Lake Gremantown I did the good thing and donated the "suggested" amount of money for out of county residents.When arriving at the boat rental spot and finding the attendant asleep I need I had made a quality choice.In all seriousness the kid was cool and helped me out quite a bit.He informed me the rate was 12 dollars an hour.Yes an hour,not a day an hour.Whoa I say!Well what to do,I'm 3 hours from home it's 7 AM,screw it let's fish.So on I went fishing the bank working my way down and away from the dam,which is where everyone told me to go.I'm not sure why I didn't follow there directions I just wasn't feeling it.I remembered reading online that the lake was spring fed.Now I came to Northern Virginia to river fish so if a spring was as close as I could get then so be it.So after a few lackluster bites I put on the old trusty buzz bait and headed around another curve and then I heard the magical miniature roar of a spring.I headed up to it and first cast,fish on, a nice one pound bass.I continued fishing this spot for a few minutes and found the boat getting literally pulled around the corner.the lake turned into a stream and the stream turned into kick ass.Just what I was looking for an actual creek feed into the lake.Working the rented boat and motor over a few slate rocks.sorry park management,I wanted to be in the right place before I started fishing.Apparently I was,as I through trusty buzz into the rapids time and time again.Continually getting nice strong hits and a total of nine bass in thirty minutes all weighing between 1 and 2 pounds.I switched to a rattle trap and caught 2 more bass and a crappie.It was such a great time and if I'm ever in the area again I'm sure to return.



So I returned the boat and left the area thinking I wrote down directions to find this WMA pond from Germantown Lake and I intended to find it.Well after an hour of driving with no luck I just started making turns on roads and started following my nose.It worked I found the pond,still not sure how,and took the trail down to fish it before the sun got to me.Half way down the trail the horseflies were murderous in there attempt to get me to turn back.I refused and carried on like any idiot who wants to fish.To no avail after thirty minutes fishing many fly bites and no fish bites I returned to the Ranger and called it good.



So all summed up a success!I saw a classic band and got some fishing in with my brother.Then on my own I scouted everything from a few local towns to lakes and a WMA.All total eleven bass,1 crappie and 1 yellow perch.I returned home and over the last few days have fished some of the areas closer to home that I have neglected in the last few years with minimal success.An upcoming post on them next week as I have 2 more fishing trips planned.The pictures for this post will be up on a different post as my computer sucks.Thanks Northern Virginia for a good time

Dismal Swamp Canal

Well after a few days back at home it was time to get out and do something.With a few ideas in mind it didn't take to long for me and my brother to decide on what to do.The weather in our neck of the woods has been quite horrible as of late.So we decided to try something a little new to both of us.We decided to take the small boat with a trolling motor and go fish the Dismal Swamp Canal.Having already fished it once and scouted out the boat ramp the Nutty Professor was one up on me.I'm not the kind of person who likes going into an event with no prior planning or idea of what is to come.Fortunately the Nutty one came through and we had a very low stress fishing/sight seeing expedition on the good old S.S Gut Runner!

As you can see from the picture above the Dismal Swamp Canal is very much just that,a canal.It's history is an awesome that sparks some personal interest in me because of it's Maritime background.Barges are very rarely moved through this part of the intercoastal waterway anymore given the sizes of most modern steel hull barges and boats for that matter.If you want to learn more about the history of the Dismal Swamp well read a book because I haven't done much research yet.So the water is black and brackish leaning more towards fresh.We were aiming at just trying to put a few fish in the boat whether it be bluegill or bass,unfortunately we didn't get a single bite.No problems though we learned a few things and The Nutty one now has an actual freshwater pole and lures,hot damn.Take care of them and when we're fifty I'm sure you will still be using that same pole.No fish but a great time,some new scenery and a good reason to keep the small boat around until next year.Looking forward to a good music show in Baltimore with Swamp Thing and then a few days of more unplanned public area fishing in northern and western Virginia.Look out world the Dude doesn't have a pla

The now antique superintendent's house