Recent Trip From Boiling Springs To Slabtown

[The Kayak Kid]

Floated from Boiling Springs to Slabtown over the first weekend in November. Took the boy, so he could conquer another river in his kayak. Camped 2 nights on the river. The second night, we were hoping to camp where Paddy Creek enters the river. Lo and behold, the only humans we saw the whole weekend....were sitting right there. Turned out to be a blessing, as a large gravel bar was just downstream, but far enough to be out of site (and sound). The folks at Boiling Springs are great. Not the first time they have taken care of us.

Curious if anyone has been fishing this stretch. I've caught plenty of nice fish here in the past. Of course, I had to manage my expectations for a November float-fishing trip. Fished all the usual fishy holes, no luck. Not even a bite. Temps were up, too. Windy, but warmer than par. Well, we stopped at a small gravel bar to simply eat a snack and let the boy get out. Casted to a spot I normally would ignore (middle of river, basically). Ended up with the only fish of the whole weekend...a 18+ incher that was nice and fat. Probably a good 3 lb's. Thank goodness the boy had been practicing his camera skills lately.

Great overall stretch of river, but wow, can it be slow. I call one stretch "Lake Geneva". Even though I've paddled this stretch before, I seem to always forget how long some of the pools are!

One of the guys who shuttled my vehicle commented that folks have been saying the middle of the river has been more productive, than the usual holes. Interesting, I thought. Or maybe I should expect this pattern of behavior in late Fall...?

Anyway, here are a few pics. Had a bald eagle fly very close to us.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/69582903@N04/

Flickr Photos

[Smalliebigs]

Nolan,

Dude those are some sweet pics and one hell of a smallie. Kudos to you!!! taking your son on trips like that are something so special it's hard to put it in words how sweet they are to someone who wasn't there. Your son won't be able to thank you enough in years to come for the experiences you brought his way, great job!!!!!!! You have an Al Agnew in the making there

Smalliebigs

Scott

[Gavin]

Looks like a great trip!....notice where you caught it....winter pattern spot.

[stlfisher]

sweet pics. That is a great fish!

[ColdWaterFshr]

Well done! Nice father-son trip.

[woodman]

Great pics.... I'm jealous

[fishinSWMO]

Nice pictures! Looks like a great camping trip to remember.

[The Kayak Kid]

sweet pics. That is a great fish!

Thanks! Probably the latest-in-the-year smallie I've caught. Ever catch any in December? I've tried a couple times...with no luck.

[The Kayak Kid]

Great pics.... I'm jealous

Thanks. Hey, that's one heckuva yak in your thumbnail photo. Wood strips?

[hank franklin]

Beautiful photos. How old is the boy?