Day on the Bayou!

When we went home for Easter, we decided to bring our boat back with us so we could go fishing on hubby's day off. Back home, we spend a lot of time on the water.

We started out the day with our boat in tow on our way to the Muddy Mississippi. When we finally made it to the river, it was super windy! We went ahead and launched anyway because there was a bayou up the river a few hundred yards we could fish in and it'd shield us from the wind.

We went up into the bayou and saw the craziest thing. Fish were hitting the top of the water everywhere! They seemed to be swimming along on each side of the boat and everywhere else as well. I thought this was a good sign... DH kept traveling up the bayou to see if he could find a place he wanted to stop and fish. We come upon a log jam! That was the end of the road for us! Hubby breaks out the rods and reels to fish. Fish are still hitting the top of the water everywhere, but we weren't sure what it was yet. It was finally discovered! They were alligator gar! This bayou was FULL of ALLIGATOR GAR! For anyone that fishes, you know this is not a good thing! They are not edible (well I wouldn't recommend eating them) and they will eat everything in the creek! With the number we saw (in the hundreds) we decided we'd leave this fishing spot on the quest for a better one.

We come back out to the Mississippi and head South on the river. The wind is at our face. Water spraying everywhere and was just flat out miserable so we made a decision to leave. Oh boy, were the boys disappointed! They were not happy nor understanding why our "fishing day" was turning out so badly.

DH had been eying a fishing hole since we've been here in Mississippi so we ride by this small "creek like" bayou called Little Bayou Pierre to see how it looked. Hubby wanted to stop and fish that second, but I felt we needed to go home and drop off our boat and get a couple of things. He wasn't happy with me, but he obliged and we headed home..

We were driving down Natchez Trace Parkway when we saw a huge timber rattler on the side of the road. Hubby was shocked at the size and wanted all of us to see it and possibly get a picture. He starts to back up in the road, forgetting that he had his boat behind us. At first it was going straight back but than and it started to jackknife off the side of the road. The road is on top of a hill. I hollered for him to stop! He slammed on breaks and the tires squeal! We're just lucky he stopped when he did and the boat didn't start rolling down the hill backwards. This could have turned out very badly, but it all turned out okay..

He pulled us back straight and backed up again (this time with the boat in mind). The only picture I was able to take was taken without my camera chip in and it didn't save it to my camera because the internal memory was full.. :( It wouldn't have been a good one anyway because he was already headed for his descent off the side of the bridge.. lol I really wanted a picture!

Anyhow, we drive back to the rv park, dropped off the boat, got my camera chip, get my beach towel, and we head back to Little Bayou Pierre.

We get back to Little Bayou Pierre and head to the water through bushes, briars, and MUD! Good ole Mississippi Mud! The boys were having a blat slipping, sliding, and bogging down in that mess. Hannah slipped down on her behind! hehe I just didn't want to get muddy nor ruin my camera I had hanging around my neck! That was all I was worried about. lol Hubby disappears to start fishing while my son Elijah is helping me by letting me hold his hand (and sometimes head) to help me down this cliff of Mississippi Mud. We must have really wanted to go fishing huh? I'm used to being dragged through unspeakable places in search of a good fishing hole. lol

So we get to the little sand bar. I spread out my towel and they start fishing and the fun begins!

This was Elijah's first big catch! He was so proud of himself!

No sooner than I get Elijah on camera, Isaiah runs up with a smile on his face that can light up the world! :)

Hubby decided to walk upstream to see if we could find a better spot to fish. On our walk up the "bayou" the boys see a snake crossing the "bayou" and stops at the waters edge. Of course I had to take a picture of it, especially after missing the timber rattler earlier in the day..

I later found out that it is a RARE "Pygmy Ratter!" The snake is really short! Smaller than any I've ever seen before I'm not sure if this one is full grown or not, but I could see it being full grown if it's a Pygmy.. Pygmy anything are always short! lol

So we walk on further up and find the honey hole where we remained the rest of the afternoon.. Well till we ran out of bait. :)

We celebrated on every catch! They seemed to be catching them left and right! As soon as the hook hit the water, they were reeling them in..

Hannah had to be able to say she caught ONE.. So here's her proof! lol

Isaiah was on the log fishing and he got a bite.. He went to reel and the reel froze up on him.. DH was yelling "grab the line, grab the line!" Isaiah went to reach for the line and lost his balance, fell in the water, and grabbed the fish! It was so funny cause it appeared as if he wanted the fish so bad that he jumped in to catch it. lol He had the fish in his hands and DH asked where his pole was. In all the confusion, he hadn't even thought of his misplaced pole. I chime in, "It's on the other end of the fishing line!" Hubby said, "Whatever you do, don't let go of the fish!" lol














We all laughed and had a great time!

In the last 3 hours of the day, they caught a total of 21 fish! I wasn't able to fish because I don't have a MS fishing license.. :( Boohoo! This problem may have to be resolved! :)

They fished till the last of the 100 crickets we bought were completely gone! We than packed up our things and headed for the truck..

On our way out, they were talking about how much fun they had. All in all, it was a GREAT family day! ♥