Christmas Sharking

This Christmas I did something every 29 year old boy dreams of; shark fishing from a kayak! This boy had been planning on it ever since his family decided to rent a beach house for Christmas.

The technique is simple enough: buy a bucket of frozen chum from wal-mart, and a bag of sardines. Paddle out a quarter mile or so, throw out an anchor, tie a rope around the chum and let it drift behind the boat. After just a few minutes shark should be swarming around the boat. I caught a couple but was starting to get seasick, so brought one to shore for my nephew to see.

The shark pictured is a spiny dogfish, only a few feet long, and I caught it at Garden City Beach. A guy who works at the pier advised that the big ones (6 footers) are away for the winter. So maybe I'll try again sometime in warmer weather... or maybe not...

More Alabama Fishing

I bought a 1-year Alabama fishing license this weekend! This is due to my love for the state's PCB-rich waters, and for the beautiful brown color of its streams and rivers and lakes (and tap water).

I went fishing w/ Bro. Chad and Bro. Jeremy early saturday morning. We saw a couple of big stripers, but I think there weren't a lot in the creek yet, and even those weren't biting. I did catch a small one though, and hooked something big near the bank, but somehow the hook didn't get set good. I also caught a few nice bluegill on a crappie jig bro. Chad gave me. Bro. Chad spotted the shadow of a monster striper swimming upstream, and bro. Jeremy saw a huge one chasing a fish right under his boat.

It was a hot day, but there was a little wind, and the river was beautiful. It's a lot of fun to get outside and fish and talk about the Lord, and I'm thankful to have such good friends to share it with.

Maybe I enjoyed it too much. This was the last day of our memorial day meetings. After our church dinner I proclaimed that instead of playing softball w/ the other brothers, I would go fishing instead. On the way home I remembered today is Sunday! I suppose it must have felt like a saturday or a monday... or maybe I'm just a dummy. Anyhow, I have a good reason for staying home instead:

QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_ JEFF.IN COD SUNDAY_ 64-0823E 1050-257 Now, you say, "Brother Branham, you hunt. Didn't you ever hunt on Sunday?" Let me tell you something. Not--I'm not patting myself to the back of this, but I'm... I'm not a Sabbatarian now; I believe the Holy Spirit is our Sabbath. I believe that, but I believe we should honor that resurrection as a memorial. That's a memorial that I... If you honor any day, honor that resurrection.Now, there's no law on keeping any certain day, because you enter into the Sabbath of peace, when you enter into Him. I've got that question in here to answer pretty soon anyhow, if the Lord willing, about what is the Sabbath day? And I'll explain it, God willing.And now notice, remember this. See? When I was a little boy, right up here where Eichs lived on the road, I was about fourteen years old; I was trapping for a living. The only thing I had to help get bread in our house was catching skunks, muskrats, opossums.I love trapping, and I had to do it. I'd go to school smelling like a skunk, and I--I had only one pair of clothes, and that's all I could wear. That's all I had. Mom would take them off and wash them, put them back on; and now, that's how I went to school, little boy. But I was standing up there one night; I said, "I got them traps set up there around Wathen's, up above that." I'd leave every morning about 2 o'clock with a lantern to run these traps, then get back in time to go to school. I'd catch a rabbit; I got fifteen cents out of it. I'd get a box of shells out of that, and maybe that kill three or four rabbits. What we didn't have to make some biscuits and rabbits, why, and gravy for supper, I'd sell the other, and maybe get enough to get some bread, or some meal, or some flour to make gravy with. I don't know whether you had to live like that or not.
QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_ JEFF.IN COD SUNDAY_ 64-0823E 1051-259 I'd set trout lines on the river; go down, and get them fish, and sell them for ten cents a pound. Set my trout lines; I didn't have no boat; I'd swim out with a log. Get in the river, and it's still cold, put my bucket of bait out here on the log and to paddle and paddle out like that, my naked body in the river, and run this... Had me a string on this side, tie my fish up. Them old catfish finning me in the leg going along like that, and put my bait on...But look, a many a night have I went out in that river at 11 o'clock and shake every piece of bait off that line. If I couldn't catch enough in six days, I didn't want the one come on the seventh. I've stood there in the rain.
QUESTIONS.AND.ANSWERS_ JEFF.IN COD SUNDAY_ 64-0823E 1051-261 One night I can just see myself yet standing, leaning against... I was a sinner; but I was standing, leaning against the post like this, the door. Oh, it was pouring down rain, pretty near 11 o'clock. I said, "I'll be late tonight, but I'm going and spring every one of those traps. I won't catch him on the Sabbath." I said, "I won't--I won't set them traps." God honors that.

Mother's Day Kayaking

We had a wonderful vacation at Poppy & Mimi's this Mother's Day weekend! This post is about our kayaking trips, but you can get the full account from my queen's blog.

Saturday we took our kayaks to the beach. Here I am getting ready to set sail and glide effortlessly over the waves...

It didn't go as planned. A gust of wind and a big wave flipped me...

I managed to flip it back over, then got flipped again. We detached the sail underwater and Poppy hauled it in so I could flip the boat over again:

Monday we went kayaking on the Little Pee Dee river, from Red Bluff Landing to Church's Landing. Sharon and Renee:

Mimi and Poppy:

A nice bluegill. Renee rubbed it and touched its eyeball. When we put it in the water it made a big splash and disappeared, but Renee kept looking around for it :)

Me and the Pee Dee Princess:

Kayak Fishing - Alabama Style

Saturday we woke up early and put our kayaks into Cane creek to drift and fish the six miles down to lake Logan Martin.

After about a mile, we had to get out and drag our kayaks up the bank into a cow pasture to get around a tree that had fallen into the creek. We slid our boats around most of the fresh cow doo, but bro. Jeremy stepped in a soft spot on the bank where the cows come to refresh themselves, and was instantly ankle deep in a noxious mixture of the stuff. Later on, Chad remembered that he had accidentally left his favorite rod here.

A couple miles later, we came upon an old man and his wife fishing on the bank. There was no sign of civilization... except a truck parked behind them. Chad and Jeremy drifted past and the woman's lap dog barked at them. She said: "it's okaaay, they can fish too. If you don't be quiet, I'll put you in the truck.......all by yourself". She said it over and over until the dog stopped barking. Then she saw me and started again: "I'll put you in the truuuck.......all by yourself," But the dog wasn't barking anymore.

A while later we passed a feeder creek. Chad said, "do you smell that? There's a hog farm up that creek." I was glad we had brought our own water.

We really had a great time, even though the fishing wasn't spectacular this weekend. The creek was beautiful and the company was first rate. We amused ourselves by watching Jeremy stand up in his kayak, and also by crashing through branches laden with spiders. I hate spiders. A big hairy wolf spider crawled past my leg and into the cup holder and I pretended not to notice (only screamed a couple of times). Patience soon paid off when it emerged from the top of the cupholder and I expertly flipped it into the water with my paddle... after a few tries.

Chad caught a nice spotted bass, and with his bare hands, a turtle and a snake. He's a real man. We polished off this trip by realizing we were late for choir practice, and paddled like eskimos back to Chad's house. Daniel was there waiting to tell us he had been bank fishing and caught 12 fish in just a few hours. Oh well...!

Brother Jeremy crossing over a tight spot:

Brother Chad w/ a nice spotted bass:

Me probably washing off some "mud":

Chad is a real man. Here's proof:

Fishing - Alabama Style

Friday night, I was taken "snagging" by some local experts. To "snag", you cast a chunk of lead and a big treble hook as far as you can, then keep jerking it until you're ready to cast again. It's really like setting the hook over and over, except that you don't catch anything. At least I didn't... but I had a lot of fun.

Our fishing buddy Daniel really likes to show off. Here's a picture of him chewing on a copperhead he found in the rocks. He yelled "snake!" and then got all excited and had to pick it up and put it on a stick:


Brothers Chad and Jeremy are discussing the frog in Chad's right hand. Chad gave me a pack of them and I can't wait to try them out somewhere:

Allatoona Fishing Report - Spotted Bass

I caught 6 spots this morning at Red Top Mountain State Park & had a great time doing it. The morning was beautiful, and there were gobs of fish shallow for the spawn. The biggest was about 3 lbs; I was throwing green and blue flake flukes and a Sammy.

The Hobie Outiffter pedals are amazing. The kayak was lighter than usual today, and much faster... b/c I didn't bring the 5 gallon bait bucket - filled w/ water. I just zipped around close to the landing and had a ball.

I took lots of great pictures with the camera, but left the memory card at home! Oops!

Lake Lanier Striper Fishing

Dad and I went fishing in the kayak yesterday and he caught this nice striper and spotted bass in shoal creek. The striper took a blueback herring fished under a balloon. The spotted bass took a jig and fluke. I also hooked a big striper w/ a fluke but it broke the line.

Sail Bag Donation

Today (Saturday), I tried out the new kayak for the first time. I put in at the back of a creek and fished almost to the main lake. I pulled up to a dock, and sat on it, leaving my feet in the kayak so it wouldn't leave. Then I took the sail out of its bag and put the bag next to me (on the dock)... and sailed off into the sunset. I will probably never see the bag again; maybe next time I fish lake lanier I'll go looking for it. If the owner never uses his dock, it could still be there. Oh, and I didn't catch any fish. But I did see lots of them on the fish finder... does that count?