Winter Walkabout

In winter, I like to visit the boat launch and fishing sites in my area.
    It gives me a chance to see the water levels, and to take note of any changes since the last time I was there. Over the last two winters, I haven't done my usual reconnaissance, however, thanks to work commitments and my wife's losing battle with cancer.
    Lets just say I was preoccupied and leave it at that...
    But now I'm officially "retired," and I'm reminded of a few words from another "retiree," Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, from his work, 'The Art of Dying Well'...

"Being now free from Public business and enabled to attend to myself, when in my usual retreats I consider that which suits me..."

    As the name implies, Bellarmine's work was about living one's life with the end in sight. See my closing thoughts on that topic.
    And while that IS on my mind, I'm not morbid...because I'm excited about the immediate approach of this seasons fishing!
    And being now, "free from public business and enabled to attend to myself..." I hit the reconnaissance trail once again.

Come along on this montage to see what I found.

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SITE #1 - Cedar Ramp

$3 to launch, but don't park here 😁



Water down - all will be once more under water by March

SITE #2 - A-Park Ramp

Price increase - 10$ to launch, now
You can park here, however, so a kayak or float tube is an option.
But....



Same site - barely improved launch.
Not real excited with this one.

SITE #3 - Striper Ramp

Public ramp, managed by the power company.
FREE.. and worth every penny! 

Foggy Day at Striper Ramp

People always ask, "What color is the water?"
Right now? Coffee Latte 😀

SITE #4 - The Point

Another FREE site, also managed by the power company.
This one is picturesque, has excellent facilities,
and it includes primitive camping.

The results of FREE primitive camping options....
Trash Baboons and the garbage they leave behind.



2nd load of Trash Baboon garbage



3rd load of garbage... or was it 4th?
I lost track.



PS Wear gloves when picking up after the Trash Baboons...
You never know if they'll leave a knife in their garbage.
Yes - I cut myself.

Will fish live in these branches and roots
when the water comes back up?
Leave your comments below



New fish habitat falling in all the time.

Lots of these guys in the water...I'm thinking shrimp for bait.

SITE #5 - Clouds Landing

One of my favorite sites, also FREE.
The development around the lake, however, is a curse
on all of us anglers.

Water, 3 feet down.
This is an excellent shore fishing
site when the water rises.

SITE #6 - Hares Creek 

Looking up the creek at a popular, "unmanaged site."
A favorite location of mine for years,



Down the creek at the same site
Development is encroaching on all sides, however.
I give it 5 years before it is off-limits.

Trash Baboon Power Cell - dumped at the bridge.
Taking it to Walmart for recycling.

A little bit of useful "trash."
I find so many floats, I'll never have to buy another.

    I like fishing of course. And I like catching just as much.
But a good walkabout paves the way for those two activities to come.
    Thanks for coming along.

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Writers should always strive for a job well done... even half-baked ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

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Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

CLOSING THOUGHTS
    I do not use this medium as my personal spiritual pulpit - for that you can go to my OTHER blog page, linked here: "Catholicity"

    But with both my wife's final two years, and now Bellarmine's, "Art of Dying Well ...," fresh in my mind , I will beg your tolerance just this once.
Thank you.

To Beat Death
        As much as we may try to avoid or “cheat” death, it will come knocking at our door soon enough. It is inescapable in this world and so the question is not IF we will die, but HOW we choose to meet death. 
    To respond to this question, St. Robert Bellarmine wrote a small book in 1619, called, "The Art of Dying Well." 
    In it, he details the key to preparing for death - not when death is imminent, but most importantly, when we are in good health. That is the only tool we have in our bag to beat death.

    He explains, “...It is a most dangerous thing to defer till death's door our conversion from sin to virtue: far more happy are they who begin to carry the yoke of the Lord ‘from their youth,’ as Jeremiah said.
    We can not put off turning our lives around until we are old, but must begin doing so today."
    Bellarmine reiterates this fact by saying, “This first great truth now remains established: a good death depends upon a good life."

    To read Bellarmines book, "The Art of Dying Well," you can download it in about any format possible, at this link: 

https://archive.org/details/TheArtOfDyingWell 

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2024