Well….on Thursday there was more wind than the RNC and DNC combined, but we decided to hit the water in Mike’s boat anyway. Didn’t actually ‘catch’ anything but I do have a story about the one that got away- we were at a slow drift and I had cast downstream with a plug. I was reeling it back in and it seemed strange as there was no resistance AT ALL but my line wasn’t slack so I knew the lure was still there. This puzzled me and I kept retrieving until I got about 10 feet from the boat and my pole bent over and the line shot under the bow of the boat! I yelled and reached to flip open the bail and let it run, sure that my pole was about to snap, and before I could hit the bail, the line went slack; it had broken. I cursed myself for using the smaller of the three poles I had out that day which was lined with 8lb test.

This all happened about 50 yards downstream of a bridge, by the way- this is important because we continued downstream and then came back up. When we were in the same area as the break, I cast upstream and began to retrieve. At first, I thought I had a hit until my lure came out of the water, hung in some fishing line. I brought it up and Mike pulled the line in- it came from under the bridge…and had the LURE I LOST on it! Unfortunately, that was the only action we saw that day as it was so windy Mike had a terrible time with the boat.

Today, we went to the property that Mike owns on the trout stream and we cut some downed logs and did some work (we changed plans from a float trip). After we cleared a log that had fallen (thank you, Mr Beaver) across the stream with the chainsaws and cut some other stuff up, we grabbed our fly rods and hit the stream. It was a pretty good day on the water; I caught a 19″ Rainbow you can look at on the
Greasy Creek Gallery here. and another 15″ to Mike’s four ranging from 15 to 19″.

We’re tentatively planning a float trip for next weekend on my raft.

I am taking Thursday off this week and Mike and I are going to hit Claytor Lake to see how the Walleye fishing is…purely a research trip; no fun to be had…yeah, right.

Then on Saturday we’re hitting the New River in my raft- just shaking it down and checking on the fishing; we promise not to have a good time in any way- just simple research and lots of hard work.

It’s a tough job, but you sit back and relax- we’ll do all the dirty work so you can have fun!

I’ll let you know how it all works out…

Well, the ice is slowly going away- mainly due to the wind; it’s still been frigid here. We are expecting temps in the mid forties today though.

I spent all of yesterday in the freezingly fresh air and put the platform on the trailer. I am not 100% done yet as I still have to put the indoor/outdoor carpeting on, which will require warmer temps for the glue, and I still have some other odds and ends. I did have a Virginia State Trooper come out and witness the VIN# on the trailer too, so I am ready to register it this week.

Anyway, I have the boat loaded on and am ever so close to fishing! We may take it out next Saturday. As the temps warm up, people will be making their reservations so if you have dates in mind give us a call.

Here it is:

We got a nasty ice storm last Tuesday; branches down all over the place and near misses on the house and our van. All in all, the damage was 100% to the trees, but it was a night with very little sleep. The parkway looks like a war zone with all of the downed branches and trees that couldn’t stand up to the weight of the ice.

I took some pictures of the ice on our property and posted them to our gallery. You can view them here: http://www.blueridgebedandbreakfast.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=7

This weekend we are supposed to get some warmth (30-40 degrees) that will hopefully melt the ice off for us.

Been too cold to do much outside the past few weeks, but hopefully with the weather warming up this week, I will have the trailer completed by the end of next week and be ready to fish! People are starting to call and reserve trips daily so start marking your calendars and get your dates confirmed!