82 Days on the Albemarle.........a view from the Bluegill Chariot

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

I decided on a recent trip that I would look back and reflect on a few of the memories of the 2013 season to date....If you have followed me at all on BBG you know that I traditionally count down to Good Friday as this usually marks the end of Winter and our water temperatures begin their slow crawl toward the 60s as we wait impatiently for our beloved Coppernose gills to become active..........Within 75 miles of my residence I have 12 river systems and over 50 creeks that regularly produce quality bluegills which I label as 10" or greater....When It's time to tear April off my calendar I get the chills knowing that May has arrived again and my three best months of the year are finally here.......I have checked every pole twice, retied again and again, put the battery tester on a half dozen times and written list after list to prepare for this moment, as the next 82 days will be a blur on the Albemarle........I have settled down in recent years so that I can really enjoy these moments with friends, family and gills.......I read in a local study that the grass shrimp hatch is one of the best ever and many may think, "well I'll never get a bite with all that forage in the rivers", but I think just the opposite.....it's very important to match the hatch and to fish with live grass shrimp and baits that resemble them.......Of course Doug has nothing to worry about at the local bait store as I have still been responsible for the purchase of 86 tubes of crickets since the first of May....A few local ponds near my neighborhood are producing quality grass shrimp and I go every couple days to fill up my aerated buckets with new specimens.....It would be abnormal to not hear the hum of dueling aerators in my garage this time of year.......I have big plans this season as several new anglers will join me on the Bluegill Chariot including friends from BBG.com and my grandsons also join me for the first trips for us together from a boat.....Twelve anglers fish with me during this 82 day period and 11 of them catch at least one personal best...It's both exciting and rewarding to provide friends and family with this great opportunity that is fishing........Folks from as far away as Louisiana join me in coastal North Carolina to pursue the big gills of the Albemarle.........During this period we experience three full moons and all are very productive and predictable........We have been unseasonably mild through April and the forecast is for more of the same in May.....But I have so many bugs and jigs to try and so little time to get it done......testing is fun and you never want to tell a guy or a gal that their  bait doesn't catch fish!  But when great imaginations are coupled with my bluegill addiction, big things can happen and in the days ahead I will document 82 days on the Albemarle Estuary between the first of May and the 21st of July..........2013 has been special as I have already topped 1,200 Crappie and 4,100 Sunfish.........If you get one thing from this blog, just remember how important it is to enjoy fishing for what it is and indulge in the memories as they happen....it creates bonds that are not easily broken if ever! Thanks to all the guys and gals that have got out with me this season and allowed me to share my addiction to the beloved Bluegill......I'm too old to change so you can rest assured that I'll be somewhere chasing gills or preparing a feast of those mouth watering fillets........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

A beautiful morning was forecasted for the 18th so we packed up and headed east to the Carolina side of the Northwest River.......it turned out to be over a hundred fish day and here's a few pictures to capture the morning....

Heading east in the Carolina marsh just minutes from the Atlantic Ocean.....

Dan tried to apply pressure right away with a nice copper before our boat wake settled.....

I was still getting things in order when Dan celebrated another big bite......

Might as well go for the hat trick so he did!

Pop steals some of Dan's early trip thunder with a nice copper on a River Critter......

A close-up of a great gill.....he took the pink/white hair jig from the River Critter collection......

Dan plucks a Flier from the shallows....

We're fishing a beautiful region with quality fish and great numbers.....

Water temperatures in the middle 70s and the fish were very active.......

Gills love to establish colonies in these little nooks and pockets......

Dan said enough of the scenery....back to the gills would you......

Nice gill while Dan lands another one in the middle of the boat.....He's calling mine bait as he brings in his guppy!

Here's some bait for you Dan......we were having a blast on the back waters.....

Nice bull Dan.......

Dan displays one of many bass on the day.....

We sat here and caught dozens of big gills around these cypress trees......

We wound up catching over 125 sunfish with more than 30 fish over 10"......an incredible morning and it's not peak season yet.......

Got home and cleaned them up and what do we have here......the beautiful bounty from a great morning with two great anglers, my dad and nephew Dan! What a day this was!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

With an approaching front and heavy overcast and breezy conditions, we voted to get on the Pasquotank before the front with dark waters and normal levels things looked good leaving the launch on the 17th......This day turned out to be very memorable and I got some great shots of the memories made......

Dan and his Gronaw hackle had first fish honors and this was a slight clue of things to come.....

Dan stuck a beast on his very next cast and I called out for anchors so we could park on this spot.....

Pop added a nice one and we shared the feeling of a special day......

They asked me to leave my poles at home but that wasn't happening.....business just kept getting better as the morning aged.....

Almost every cypress held solid fish on this day.....bumping cypress as we call it down here.....

The Monarchs continue to arrive alongside the chariot......

Dan and I snagged a solid double as the bite picked up even more........

Pop gets into the action too........

Dan shows me a nice one as Pop brings another solid copper to the surface on a pink/white Gronaw hair jig....

Pop displays a really fine fish that pounded the cricket tipped hair jig.......

I finally had time to pick my pole up again.....

What's not to love about trophy gills in numbers.....

The Gulp Alive pink waxies were a hit today for tipping.......

Stuck another beauty.......

Look at that dark tannic water......

Many doubles on this day and even a triple......crazy good bite!

Although 73...pop says this is some of the best gill fishing he has ever been a part of......

Late in the trip I set the hook and the drag zipped out.......no surprise when I got him in....big copper!

This put the wraps on yet another great June day on the Albemarle.....55 gills total but more stunning, 23 are over that 10" threshhold and what an amazing time it was to share with my nephew and my father.......talking about making memories........

Kept enough for a great fish fry as tradition has it in the Abney household during the summer....that gave us time to reflect on a instant classic on the Pasquotank River.....what a day!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

We were blessed with great weather on the 16th and we decided to make the tract to the coastal marsh and we had a great morning in one of our reliable haunts......Here's a few shots to show you how it felt on this day....

A nice early morning calm greeted us as we entered the strike zone.....

These areas are blanketed with these marsh reeds which hold millions of prey items for the fish....

A Swamp Shellcracker gets things started....

A couple warmouth followed the cracker........

Then we found a few coppers and the show was on..........

Another chunky Warmouth.....

We also wrestled seven largemouth to the boat.......

We caught some nice dark knights in water temperatures steady in the high 70s.....

Dan added a few solid fliers to the creel......

Dan takes control of the boat near the end of the trip to check out a few favorite creeks......

We kept a nice mess of gills out of the 76 caught on this morning.....all the bass were released too and we are settling in to a great month of June......Love this stuff!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Finally the day my dad has waited a year for......our return to his favorite bluegill destination, the North River....It's no wonder why.....great fishing in a remote location with lots of wildlife and peaceful settings.....We hit it on the morning of June 15th and here's a few shots that captured the day......

Flying west on the Coinjock canal on a beautiful June morning......

Flooded cypress and reeds are the ticket on this body of water.....

Pop was happy to get things started....

Dan wouldn't let papa get too far ahead.....he's just like that! LOL

A quality body of water holding great fish......

Dan snags a beautiful Coppernose....

Dan with another...is this going to be his day?

Not so fast my friend......

Pop concentrates on his next cast.....it can be difficult with so much beautiful water.....

A North River monarch crushes the jig tipped with gulp alive pink waxies......

Another shot of a great fish.....

As the morning progressed.....the big coppers continued....

A pink jig....imagine that...

Just a beautiful place to fish and relax with family....

Can't have this much wood without a few Warmouth.....

Dan finished the day with some sort of hybrid......

As the heat sets in we put the wraps on another great trip together and today's tally read 73 gills with 13 over 10", several largemouth and a few yellow perch......This is truly what it's all about folks.....sharing the outdoors with friends and family...

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

On the afternoon of the 14th.....we decided it was time to get the little guys out for a while so Dan and I loaded up my grandsons and we took in an afternoon on the Little River....Here's a few shots that captured the memories....

The boys are ready for blast off.....

Dan starts right away exciting the boys......

Grandson Owen snagged this one as excitement filled the boat.....

My grandson Cody couldn't be left out......

Cody checks out a nice gill that he landed.....

It was tough, but I talked Dan out of sending this one to Tim Overbaugh warning he might end up in the mouth of a muskie replica......LOL

I knew it was a bass pretty quick so there wasn't as much disappointment with this catch.....

Dan took a liking to the Gronaw Hackle Jigs and here the metallic green shines through on this wet jig.....We had a nice time with the boys and caught 27 gills and 7 largemouth......best part was getting out together...

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Finally the count down for my vacation was over and the 14th arrived along with some high winds.....Pop decided to rest up a little more for the weekend ahead so Dan and I hit Beaver Creek to seek shelter from the winds and here's how it went.....

Dan breaks the ice with an olive Gronaw Grass Shrimp......

He immediately follows up with this coppernose beast and murmurs "I could use some help Uncle Jeff".....

With the pressure on.....I was able to respond with a solid coppernose.....

I had to snag another to worry Dan a little.......

Dan had reason to worry as our morning trip was nearing an end.....

We fought the morning conditions and boated 31 sunfish, a few largemouth, a single Crappie and a small chain pickerel.......we headed back for lunch because the plan was to get my grandsons out for a couple hours this afternoon......

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Weather continues to be great after Tropical Storm Andrea blew through just days ago......water temperatures are stable in the high 70s to near 80 which is prime time on the Albemarle.......We debate where to go but decide to stay close to home since it's just an afternoon trip.....I got home from work on Tuesday the 11th and we headed out for the beloved Pasquotank River and this is how it went.......Dan was starting to talk smack so would today be just another beat down or would the youngun' make some noise.....

Water levels were at optimum levels and the water was clearing up from Andrea.....things were definitely looking up!

Dan fell behind early as I landed a "Tank" monarch......

And I quickly added a Redear to the mix......

Dan jumped into my spot as I was unhooking my Redear to take one of his own....alright.....we're playing dirty!

Got back on the Coppernose with a pink Gronaw Grass Shrimp......

Dan displays a nice copper that Pop added....He thanked us for letting him in on the action.....

I began to leave Dan behind as he experimented with a few baits.......

It was going to take a mammoth come back for Dan on this afternoon....I'm not seeing it!

Dan takes another nice one but it may be too little too late.....

I start looking for a concession on this fish but Dan was stubborn......

Getting later but Dan is still determined.....

He adds another but I have a fish on immediately after this shot.....

We are nearing the end of a great afternoon as Dan extends the competition into the next trip......LOL

Dan snaps this picture reluctantly as I send a couple nice ones back.......great afternoon with family.....we catch 50 sunfish, a crappie, a yellow perch and a few small bass......

The sun sets on another great June afternoon in coastal North Carolina......

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

When I got home Sunday afternoon I got a surprise call from my mother stating her and the rest of my family would be in earlier than planned as my nephew had convinced my dad to push through and make it to North Carolina early Monday......I got everything together for an afternoon trip on the day of their arrival and this is how our family fishing began on the tenth.....

Nephew Dan wastes little time to tie on a newly designed River Critter from the Gronaw collection and he boats the first copper......

I quickly match his catch with one of my own on a Celsius Jig tipped with a live cricket.....Our competition is officially underway!

Dan is excited as his River Critter strikes again.......

Pop was feeling left out until this nice copper took his plain cricket offering....

I show Dan what we're looking for in case he had forgotten....LOL

Dan caught one that survived the attack of a Great Blue Heron or a Water Turkey....we set this one free since he was a survivor......

And Dad followed that up with an old straggler paper mouth.....

Dan took advantage of the Estuary versatility when he snagged a nice summer perch......

I threw on a pink jig and the action continued.....

Dan adds a shallow dwelling shellcracker that was hanging out in the bluegill colony.....

I had last fish of the day honors as we had a nice ice breaking trip for 2013....We took 34 sunfish of various species, added a nice Crappie and finally a solid Yellow Perch......Things are off to a nice start and I haven't started my leave yet.......

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Appreciate it Tooty and truly hope the boys have the memories that I have of fishing with Foster Abney and Monroe Sharp.....my two granpas who fed my love for fishing early on.......this blog will go through the 21st of July 2013 but takes time to put together.....I'm caught up through the 9th of June and soon our family vacation of 2013 will be on display.....enjoy!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

It's now Sunday, the 9th of June and Andrea is long gone after dumping several inches of rain and a little shot of wind on the Albemarle......as typical behind the storms.....it's hot, humid and sticky but the urge is there to get out and see how things are......water temperature hovers around the 80 degree mark.....I blew out of the hole in the Pasquotank Harbor and headed for the Stables.......Here's how it turned out.......

Waters were a little high and a bit stained......but the June gills didn't disappoint and the splash jig was getting hammered right out of the gate.....

With the family set to arrive in just days now.....I fish along relieved that we had been spared a set back and things look great in the coming weeks......

The blood spots are a sure sign that these big males are working the nest hard and the bite is indicative......

I begin to bake in the heat and humidity but I remain hypnotized by the awesome bite on the heels of Andrea....

The bite remains fast and steady.....

Six solid largemouth couldn't resist the action.....

The big gills that the Stables are renowned for continue to crush my baits and provide lots of fun.....

These beasts completely pound the paint off a Celsius jig.......

It was time to tie on a modified Silent Stinger from the winter of 2012 and man I'm glad I did....Tooty had added a few rubber legs to a classic pattern and it was working great.....

Several trophy gills agreed on this day.....

The rage continued to almost noon as I began to wrap things up......

There was however time for a 76th gill which just so happened to be the 15th over 10 inches on this morning....

The Ebbtide flies north on the Pasquotank River back to the harbor of hospitality......excited that June is well underway and the family arrives next weekend just before the full moon.......Three Cheers for June Gill fishing on the Albemarle Estuary.......It doesn't get any better on public waters!