nc easter bass fishing

went to mattamuskeet for the easter weekend. it was a most unusual trip.
on saturday with wind gusts at 25 mph, i got caught in a snow flurry.
weird, weird weather. about as normal in april in hyde county as a
rainshower of frogs. as you'd guess, the bass bite was off.

on sunday, figuring the bass fishing wouldn't be worthwhile, i decided
to venture into the juniper bay marsh creeks in the morning. still cold
and windy, but sunny. caught a nice 15-16 inch flounder, but it bit me
as i was unhooking it and i suffered a gashed and bloodied my
thumb...hmmm. so, on the way back to pecan grove landing, i thought i'd
pull the boat to the bank and check out a canal in the refuge that i'd
noticed on previous trips. it was muddied up, but pulling a spinnerbait
along the bank yielded several bass...one a nice 3-4 pounder... well,
heck, this might turn out ok after all. then, about a quarter mile down
the canal, while concentrating on my short casts along the bank i was
walking, intent on the water, an unusual smell. sniff, sniff...hey,
what the fu**? yikes!! i almost walked into an... well, last 2 photos
tell the story. a memorable easter. hope y'all had a good holiday
weekend as well. (photos follow)

jeff

those white specks are snowflakes. this is just as i'm taking the boat
out. it snowed hard on my way back down the rose bay canal... didn't
get a bite in the hour or so of fishing before the snow storm...the
suddeness of the clouds and the winds made it look like there might be a
tornado. in a few hours, the sun was out.

mattamuskeet has remarkable sunrises and sunsets. took this sunset
photo on my way across the lake.

On Sun, 08 Apr 2007 19:02:00 -0400, jeff wrote:

mattamuskeet has remarkable sunrises and sunsets. took this sunset
photo on my way across the lake.

Beautiful shot.
--
Charlie...
http://www.chocphoto.com

one of mattamuskeet's better fishermen...

the pumping station at lake mattamuskeet

easter sunday bass. caught these in a refuge canal near juniper bay
that i accessed by pulling the boat to a bank and clambering over a bit
of land. walked along the canal bank pitching a spinnerbait. i got real
intent on the fishing and almost walked into...(see next pics)

alligator!!! this was a huge gator for nc...at least 8-10 feet (my
conservative guess...but, then i was hyperventilating a bit at the time)
nose to tail, very fat. he was snoozing in the sun...eyelids closed. i
was walking the bank, paying little attention to anything but the water,
trying to place casts close to the bank 10-15 feet in front of me.
suddenly, there was an unusual smell...it was so unusual that it caused
me to stop and look around. i thought there might be a dead
animal...then i saw it. about 20 feet in front of me. my jaw dropped,
and i ran as fast up the grassy bank as any geezer hoping not to wrestle
with a gator on an easter sunday. i've no experience with gators up
close and personal, so took these two photos and retreated. he never
moved. i don't think he even woke up...

On Sun, 08 Apr 2007 19:25:16 -0400, jeff wrote:

alligator!!!

Shoot Jeff, that little guy is barely big enough to make Wayno a pair of shoes
and a belt. g
--
Charlie...
http://www.chocphoto.com

jeff wrote:
alligator!!! this was a huge gator for nc...at least 8-10 feet (my
conservative guess...but, then i was hyperventilating a bit at the time)
nose to tail, very fat. he was snoozing in the sun...eyelids closed. i
was walking the bank, paying little attention to anything but the water,
trying to place casts close to the bank 10-15 feet in front of me.
suddenly, there was an unusual smell...it was so unusual that it caused
me to stop and look around. i thought there might be a dead
animal...then i saw it. about 20 feet in front of me. my jaw dropped,
and i ran as fast up the grassy bank as any geezer hoping not to wrestle
with a gator on an easter sunday. i've no experience with gators up
close and personal, so took these two photos and retreated. he never
moved. i don't think he even woke up...

Maybe the gator was dead, might explain the smell and it not moving

I can't remember ever smelling a gator that smelled like rotting meat

--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Mojo SpecTastic "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread,
Nutri Shield insect repellent. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, and the EZKnot
http://www.ezknot.com