Twas the week before Christmas...

Big, hooked nose, fading colors, nearing the end.... Twin sons of different species!





 
Camping was fun. Snow Fri. night just as we arrived, so we stayed  in the back of the truck and listened to the snow pelt the cap. Sat. morning tried below Pineville and some likely seams with little action for the first three hrs.  Not a soul to be seen. . Went up river, and with some warming sun on the south shore... Yippeeee, went 4 for 10, lost some good ones due to an inadvertent reel dip that caused a balky drag. One went 30-40 yds into the backing in under 15 seconds with alot of pressure on. It rolled, I saw it, it ran to the fast water and snap!,  the air turned blue for about 5 minutes. The usual for me. Hot pink flies  in both egg and worm patterns  was the absolute ticket. All other colors did zip. 750 was very fishable.  Fellows in the drift boat were using  hot pink  sacks and hooking up regular. I followed suit with the color and it was game on. Kudos to the guys  in the upstream boat in the pic . I had several fish run in front of them and they were very gracious and cautious to give me a chance to land my fish. Good dudes.  It's humorous to me, that 2 drift boats went by and asked me where the wife was. She was out getting me some coffee.  She netted 3 of the 4 fish, too. Sun morn. was chilly and we showed up at the LFZ lot to take a look in the dark and was blown away by what I guessed was  way over 1000. I soon found out it was 1800. Went to the wire hole  and used chuck and duck with nymphs and eggs in the soft edges to try and dredge one up. I snagged  a sucker.   It was a beautiful morning anyway. I kept at it for 4 hrs. . At least I know I can still chuck weight if I have to. Not time wasted. Can't wait til the next time. Maybe gonna head out Christmas Day and fish the 26th. I'm sure if I looked on SC there will be reports of going 42 for 68 with the smallest coming in at 10.3 lbs. , but this rank amateur had a great time with the fishies I got to play with.
 
 
Charlie

Fichy, great report and THANK YOU for the photos.. It just makes my life all that better right now. I was going to post some pic's of why I'm not fishing but none of that matters anymore after yours..
Looks cold out there but really looks like just another winter steel season about to begin.. Folks who don't like cold weather have been lucky this year for sure.. Just remember it's the friggin North East !! lol..

Hope Nancy had fun as I'm sure she did.. That coffee run can break up a cold day.. You are a lucky man & she a lucky woman ( to stay sane ) lol..
Think by chance those driftboats are lurking the forum and just knew you would be in town..lmao.

Thanks again Bro.. Soon we will meet again !!!

P.S Edit>
Clint, thanks for pic's.. I see now

Great report charlie; 4 for 10 is a banner day in my book... thanks for the pics and the report... gives me an opportunity to live vicariously for a minute or two...lol...

Glad u stuck it out--had back to back games that ended at noon--had the stuff in truck ready to go,but the 2nd game went a lil long and the wife had to bolt w/ #1 son and daughter(for lax game)---this left me w/ son#2 covered in sweat and not dressed to stand on shore and watch me fish :(

Thanks guys. I did a little test. One day of Stanley's ice off paste - one day of Pam spray. I may be prejudice because I like women, but Pam won.  A little more messy (I'm going to put it in a different applicator bottle, I think. ) , but to me,  a little more effective. I also had a Rio switch line that was on it's second day of use, break in the running line. I'm contacting Rio and telling them my severe displeasure of how cold seems to affect this line. It shattered! We'll see how customer service is. If it was Orvis, they would hand me a new line.
 
Charlie

Have to give that a try, Drake. I've used it on deer hair bass poppers, never thought to try it on guides. I have tried car wax and silicone grease without much luck.  Maybe you've suggested the magic snake oil.   I can take the cold, but  I do get frustrated with the iced up guides. Much easier to clean with the recoil oversize snakes on the new rod, though.
 
Charlie

http://neverwet.com/index.php
 
This product is suppose to be out in retail spray form the middle of next year. Spraying your fingerless gloves and guides will make life so much more pleasant on the river in winter. Unless it's ridiculously expensive, I think it will be a winner.  It's basically  twice as hydrophobic as Rain-x!  Spraying reels may save idiots like me who insist on dipping them in  the water from snapping fish off.    Unless they find this product when fed to rats, in quantities that would bloat a blue whale,  caused cancer in .0001 percent of the test subjects.  I'm hoping it makes it to market.
 
 
Charlie

I used Suffix Pro Mix (lemon green)line last year in -14F and never had to clear a guide all day. I am wondering if the ice that was on the line didnt melt from fricition because the guides were so cold or the line actually shed water. I never got the little snowball buildup at all...........next time I use it in 0F-32F weather I will let you know if I had a different outcome.