How The Last Three Months Stack Up On The Albemarle.........2016

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

As we close out what I consider to be peak on the Albemarle region of coastal North Carolina for Bluegill fishing, I wanted to take a glance back over the last three months and see how things went. Here's what I discovered for 2016:

 In May I fished 15 times for a total of 1,024 gills.........the largest creel was 120 and the lowest was 25........That worked out to an average bluegill creel of 68 for these fishing adventures in May.........I personally rate MAY as the third best month in my region........

In June we had our traditional Abney Family Fishing Vacation which included two weeks off for me but that only equated to 17 fishing trips for a total for 1,229 gills in June.  The highest creel was 116  and the lowest was 17........This gave me an average of 72 gills a trip during this period..........June is the second best month on the Albemarle in my opinion......

Finally I closed out July earlier today with my 15th trip for a total 1,146 gills.....the highest creel was 146 and the lowest was 16.........this gave me an average of 76 gills per trip in July..........Heat can be a factor and negatively impact the month of July but with more than 20 years of recorded data I have topped 1,000 in 16 of the last 20 years and caught a personal monthly best total of 2,102 in July 2003, the year I retired from the Military and took the entire month off.........

This remains a great place to live and truly a bluegill angler's paradise.........I'm going to work a few more years and I will then spit my time between the Albemarle and Pamlico regions of coastal North Carolina.........dreams are part of a healthy balance........when they come true it's a great thing..........

[carl hendrix]

SEEING ALL OF THESE PICS AGAIN JEFF;;  VERY REWARDING TO SEE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY; SHARING A LOVE OF FAMILY; FRIENDS; AND FISHING !!    IT DONT GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT !!

[carl hendrix]

JEFFERY;; I STILL THINK YOUR DAUGHTER;; CAUGHT THE BIGGER ONE;; BETWEEN HER; AND JOE;; LOL !!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Here's a few from the 2016 Abney Family Vacation back in June......

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Here's a few more nice ones from May 2016.........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Carl.........it's useless trivia for most but the devil is in the details.........I couldn't talk enough about how often fish activity matches previous years with similar conditions.......I still enjoy the challenge of figuring out the bite on a particular day but I also trust the history that I've documented...........

[carl hendrix]

QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT JEFFERY !  CONGRATS ON ALL OF YOUR YEARS CATCHES !

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Leo.......my fascination with statistics began at an early age when I participated in migratory game bird surveys with the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries department while in grade school.......I still have handwritten records of my family's game bird hunting exploits dating back to 1972........By many estimates my family documented the largest woodcock harvests in the state during the 70s when up to 90 percent of the North American population would winter in southern Louisiana........I can remember going on a combined Bobwhite quail and Woodcock hunt in the morning during December and go fly fishing for Goggle-Eyed Perch during the afternoon.........I became addicted during those days ............

[Leo Nguyen]

Well done for the fishing year. Looks like those counts will continue to rise with more time on your hand to enjoy.

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Kelly..........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Well Jason I think you know a little about me now........we've gotten you a few personal bests now the goal is to set the bar higher........lol