A New Adventure

The other day I had some free time on my hands and nothing to do so I decided to go on a little adventure. I wanted to find river access and just fish from the bank. So, I drove to Chester and tried to go to Dutch Gap Conservation Area. But apparently it is now a construction site and not open to the public. So, I had to figure out my next move.

         I headed all the way down to Colonial Heights and went to White Bank Park. It is a beautiful large park with a boat ramp on Swift Creek.

         I walked down to the boat ramp and there were two piers next to the boat ramp, both with “no fishing from piers” painted on them. From there it wasn’t easy to find access to the water.

         I walked through the park and found a trail down toward the water. I found really the only small stretch of bank open enough to possibly cast a line from. It was a wooded bank with some shallow gravel pits. But I was just happy to be fishing finally.

         I casted a rooster tail up and down the bank. On my third cast or so in the shallow water I saw a fish hit my bait and had him on. Excitement immediately set in and I started reeling fast, but pretty quickly he came up to the surface, jumped, and came off.

         I saw the whole thing in the shallow water it was just a small bass. But I wasn’t disappointed I was just excited they were biting.

         About two casts later I had a bite and quickly pulled in what I thought was a minnow. It had hit my bait with some tenacity but once it was on, I got it in within a few seconds. I pulled up a fish that was probably two inches long if that and only weighed a few ounces. But as I really inspected the fish and got the hook out of it’s wide (for its small body) mouth I realized it was a largemouth bass.

         Definitely the smallest largemouth I have ever caught and I have caught a lot of small ones. But this one couldn’t have been born more than a few weeks ago. If you got bragging rights for catching the smallest fish instead of the biggest one, I definitely would have had them that day.

         I threw him back and kept on fishing hoping maybe his momma was around.

         A few casts later I caught a little brim. And then a few casts later one more.

         I worked my way back and forth in really the only three spots you could cast from. I thought I might have found a honey hole since I had caught three fish in such quick succession.

         I kept fishing and working my way back and forth between my three spots. Casting down the bank and occasionally out toward the middle of the creek, hoping to maybe just catch a fish cruising. But after my hot start I really had no more luck. I suppose I had caught the only three fish there.

         I walked through the park searching for another spot you could get to the bank and cast but there weren’t any. The rest of the bank is very steep and full of trees so there really was no option.

         I came back to my three casting spots and just enjoyed being out there fishing even if I wasn’t cashing in on much.

         After an hour and a half or so I did something we have all done when fishing a heavily wooded area. I casted my bait and wrapped it around a branch that was out over the water. I shook it and pulled it enough times to know for sure that it wasn’t coming off. So I cut it off and decided my fishing day was done.

         While I love fishing the spots I know and am confident I will catch fish, it’s always nice to just see something different. That is the thing about the outdoors is there is always somewhere else you can go and always something else you can try. There are a lot of new adventures waiting out there for you.