Good Friends, Good Fishing, Good Times

Despite all the work that seems to go on around here, we do take some time off to relax and charge our batteries. There is no better way to do that than having friends and family come for a visit. Neta and I love to host and enjoy our time spent catching up, sharing meals and just showing our place off. This past weekend was no exception.

Our friends Kevin and Mandy McCoy, from Colorado, stopped by a few days ago for a long weekend. I've known them for over 30 years, since my days in the Navy, and they are some of the nicest and easiest to please folks you'll ever meet. They wanted a relaxing visit and a chance to leave behind the cold temps and snow of Colorado (it was in the 20's and 30's) for some warm Georgia sunshine. Oh yeah and...Kevin, being an avid fly-fisherman on the rivers and lakes north of Denver, wanted to see what our pond had to offer. He was looking to catch a nice largemouth bass. He was in for a surprise.

Kevin & Mandy McCoy...of Colorado fame.

So Kevin and I headed to the pond just after the crack of dawn the very first morning.

Photo credit - Kevin McCoy

Okay...actually the first morning we decided to sleep in a bit and eat breakfast first since they were tired from traveling the day before and all of us having stayed up late catching up. So we got out to the pond around 10.

Kevin let me use one of his fly rods and he gave me a quick tutorial on how to cast.

Now it was time to get fishing. Kevin caught the first fish, a bluegill. He was quite impressed as you can see.

Judging by his reaction they apparently don't grow them that big in Colorado. Kevin started catching bluegill after bluegill and he appeared to be having a great time.

A while later he switched flies to something that would sink a little bit and he began to catch some crappie. He was equally impressed with their size as well.

He was having a crappie time!

Later Mandy and Neta came down to the pond to see how we were doing and Mandy got in on the act reeling in her own Bluegill.

A Scottish Lass with her first Georgia fish!

It had been a while since Neta's dad, Terrell, had been down to the pond and fished. With all the heat and temps in the 90's since since mid to late spring, who could blame him? But when Kevin was started breaking out his rods and flies, Terrell got interested again...real fast. It helped that it was in the mid-70's that morning. He worked his way around the shore with one of his spinning rods and caught several before relaxing in the shade and watching Kevin and me.

The Old Man and the Sea.

Unfortunately, Kevin never got his bass and the fish eventually stopped biting around lunchtime so we headed up to the house for our own bite to eat. I told Kevin that he'd given me a gift...he taught me fly-fishing, a type of fishing that is both peaceful and artistic. I really marveled at trying to land the fly in just the right spot, watching it sit on the water and seeing the fish come up and strike at it (mostly) and swallow it (sometimes). It is a fascinating and enjoyable way to fish.

We tried them again early the next morning. This time it was just after sunrise. Kevin caught a few, but I had no luck. We quit after an hour or so, came back to the house, got cleaned up and spent the afternoon and evening in Savannah.

We really enjoyed having Kevin and Mandy here. It was a fun, relaxing weekend filled with good friends, good food, good laughter and good times that we won't forget. We can't wait for their return.

In the meantime, if you need to find me, check the pond first.

I'm hooked!