Drew's Fishing Exploits
By far my favorite fishing spot. Unfortunately, the entire Ragged Mountain Natural Area was closed in spring 2012 for the construction of a new dam that will greatly increase the size the lake. Construction is scheduled to take 2 years - if I'm still in Charlottesville you better believe I'll be there on opening day.
species caught:
Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, White Crappie, Black Crappie
Rivanna River - Woolen Mills Area
Follow Market Street east from downtown Charlottesville until the road ends, and you've arrived at a great place to wade-fish. That is, unless you mind a snake encounter now and then. The Rivanna River contains a wide variety of fish species, with smallmouth bass being the most fun to catch.
species caught:
Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, Redbreast Sunfish, Bluegill, White Crappie, Rock Bass, Fallfish, Channel Catfish
This small pond on a friend of a friend's property contains some monster catfish and bluegill, and also some decent bass. That's my friend Ricky in some of the pictures, holding the biggest fish of the day.
species caught:
Channel Catfish, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass
Lake Fork is a bass fishing mecca just east of Dallas, TX. Something like 60% of the top 50 largest bass caught in TX came out of Fork. This includes the state record 18.18 pounder. My dad and I caught a lot of fish. No monsters, but plenty of 2 pounders.
species caught:
Largemouth Bass
This tiny creek, roughly 5 minutes west of Charlottesville on Barracks/Garth Rd, is one of the smallest body of water I have ever attempted to fish. Despite a few holes here and there, reaching depths not exceeding 4 feet, most of the water I traversed was less than a foot deep. All of that said, the creek was incredibly productive in terms of fish abundance and diversity. Shallower sections are loaded with fallfish which will strike at anything you toss to them but which also attempt to defecate on you once caught. Deeper holes are loaded with smallmouth bass, redbreast sunfish and an occasional largemouth bass. Considering the limited habitat, I was astonished at the size of smallmouth bass I caught.
species caught:
Smallmouth Bass, Redbreast Sunfish, Fallfish, Largemouth Bass
This section of river (Rivanna?) is right down the street from my house. Smallmouth bass prefer the fast moving water below the dam, whereas the slow section above the dam is largemouth bass territory. To catch either, you will inevitably hook a plethora of small sunfish which brazenly strike lures clearly designed for bigger fish.
species caught:
Smallmouth Bass, Redbreast Sunfish, Green Sunfish, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass
Padre Island, Corpus Christi, TX
My dad and I went fishing with Captain Len (whom I recommend highly for anyone in the area) in late September 2012. We had good success fishing the channels (spots most people pass on the way to 'good' fishing spots in the bay) around the many beach houses/mansions in the area, and ended with a large cooler full of delicious fish. A few big surprises came when I caught a Pompano and my dad caught a Lane Snapper. These offshore species may have become lost in the channels during the severe weather preceding our fishing trip. The highlight of the trip for me was a long fight against a ~7 lb Black Drum.
species caught:
Speckled Trout, Lizardfish, Pinfish, Ladyfish, Black Drum, Mangrove Snapper, Lane Snapper, Red Drum, Hardhead Catfish, Atlantic Croaker
This is the small pond in my backyard. I caught the 4lb12oz bass, shown in several pictures below, on 9/3/12 after having spotted it cruising the shallows thirty minutes prior. I am grateful to my housemate, Whitney, for quickly arriving on the scene with camera in hand after I frantically called her requesting (I think I said something like "Big fish, pond, hurry!") that she do so.
species caught:
Largemouth Bass, White Crappie, Bluegill, Warmouth
