A Little About The Numbers in 2015.......75 Days on the Albemarle..........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

As most are aware I keep very detailed fishing logs mainly used to look back on for planning purposes.......It has been another rewarding season on the Albemarle which included another successful family vacation covering from May to late June this year.  Not as hot as recent years but has come with an abundance of rain and I won't complain when many folks would like to see just a little rain at this point.......not a lot of tropical activity to date but we did receive over 4" last Saturday when the system that turned into Tropical Storm Claudette went through.........that took us over a foot of rain for the month of July but not enough to turn over the marsh and subsequently kill a bunch of fish.......So from the first of May through yesterday the 14th of July I have boated 2,626 sunfish with 1,012 at or above the 10" milestone that I seek most often.  This was a mix of Fliers, Warmouth, Redbreasts, Redears to 12", Coppernose and Seeds.  Pop, Dan and I caught 1,607 during our family fishing adventure which is competitive with recent years.  They departed on 6/19 and I have landed 994 since then mainly on trips by myself......not as fun but I consider July peak on the Albemarle and I already have caught 692 this month with half of July in front of me.......Compared to 2014 which I had tallied 3,619 sunfish for the year on the 1st of August, I sit at 3,096 today and need 523 to match that by the end of this month....That will be tough with more work than fun left in July but it has still been great for sure........Here's a few highlights from the last 75 days.........A toad from the 9th of June......

Another shot of a really nice gill.....

June the 11th was a special day and here was a classic Daily Double from that trip.......

Never get tired and the white jigs have been great this season......much better than recent years.....

Glad that Pop and i could share the Bluegill hole together yet another year!

His and Her Daily Double from the 16th of June........crazy day.......

A Big gill in my right hand and a Beast in my left........

Grand Daughter Myla gets into the action this year....she's a hoot and ready to fish!

This beast hit 1.3 pounds back on the 19th of June........

Heavier than the 1.3 pounder but all beat up and blind in one eye.......I froze this one for future endeavors..........

A big round one from the Father's Day outing...........

A crazy looking hybrid as well........

Good Dynamics on the Pasquotank River

Never get tired of these Coppers.......my quest!

A toad from late June.....

This bloat was one of 262 gills caught and released on the 3rd of July.......incredible day!

This has been a bonus season on quality Shellcrackers too.........

 Been cracker crazy this month.......

Good dynamics last weekend.........

I will update throughout 2015 but it has been a good time and I look forward to the rest of the year to see what's in store.........Hopefully we avoid a major storm this year which will allow our fish to prosper..........

[carl hendrix]

excellent catch Jeff !  be sure to bring your quill floats to the rendevou !  you just might want me to re-do them ! I have 3  made up in the size you prefer;; and look a lot better  than the ones I sent you !

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

These look great Carl........the ones you sent me have been working great now for several years.......haven't lost any and I'm very particular when I get hung up with them.......I treat them delicately to not mess up the eye or the finish.......

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Couple nights below freezing recently have driven surface temps down to near 50 degrees but the bite was still good in a few winter basins earlier today.........51 gills total on jigs tipped with live minnows or pinched crawlers..........14 of the gills were 10"" or greater with the big one today near 11"...................a good time and that takes me to 5,245 for 2015 with just 87 needed to tie last year's total for gills...

[dick tabbert]

Simply an awesome gill Jeffrey.

[Jim Gronaw]

Outstanding! I hope to get back at 'em by Tues or Wednesday with possible record highs. My total fish count on the year is 5,336...about 90% being gills. Hope to catch a few more citation-sized crappie before the new year. Great job and beautiful fish Jeffrey!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Jim.......you've had a great season too and good luck on a few more slabs for 2015.......Matching last year on the Bluegill number would be amazing to me because I fished two to three times more a month in 2014 but many of those trips supported my personal best crappie season......I've done real good on crappie this year too but still over a thousand fish below last year's 4,000 plus crappie total........I've released a large amount of pound class fish this year and I can just hope that some of those gills double in the next few years..........it remains an exciting time to be fishing the Albemarle with good quality and numbers of Warmouth, Fliers, Coppernose, Redbreasts and Shellcrackers............If it is truly down around here I hope it peaks in a few years when I turn in the "work" hat for a fishing retirement........that would take the cake!

[carl hendrix]

JIM!!!!!!  you caught over 5000 fish also ???  wow buddy !  those numbers are amazing !  a big ;; congrats to you and Jeffery for outstanding catches !

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Carl........Jim is a great angler and I'm fortunate to have shared the water with him.......hopefully he can get back down during the Spring/Summer real soon.........we had a great time in pretty raw conditions in late October 2013........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Ready to make the same noise in 2016..........edging all so close to take off in the shallows.......

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

I'm following this pattern now and having very similar results.........May through July is just special around here as long as we dodge any tropical systems............fishing has been above average for the last ten to fifteen years now on the Albmarle...........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Time flies......I'm currently in the same period that this snapshot was taken back in 2015........don't seem possible.......