Ivey
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Everything posted by Ivey
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It would never fail when Stretch went to the river he got in the water, without a doubt didn't matter how cold it was Stretch was going swimming. Normally just before we left and he had to get one last swim before he would get into get in the truck. During the warmer months it wasn't to bad because I would tell him load up and in the back of the truck he went, the colder months were different he'd ride in the cab of the truck with me. There was always a towel in the truck because I knew I'd need to dry him off. There was one day it was cold out and I had forgotten a towel so I decided Stretch was not going to go swimming today. We pulled up to the dock and I grabbed Stretch before he could get out and put his leash on him. Now if there were ever a better dog on a leash I haven't seen one. the first time I took him for a long walk off the farm I put him on a leash. The leash never pulled tight unless I pulled it tight, I would tell him heal give the leash a slight tug and he never left my side. This one day I led him to the truck and put him in the cab before he could get in the water. After backing the truck and trailer down the ramp I told Stretch to stay, so he sit there in the truck while I loaded the boat. When the boat hit the trailer I guess it startled him and he jumped and somehow kicked the truck out of gear, down the ramp it went. Luckily the trailer went to the side and bumped against the dock stopping the trucks quick decent down the ramp. It had only gone about half way into the water so I quickly I jumped out of the boat and wadded up to reengage the gear. Now I'm wet and Stretch is dry. After a little doing I got the truck and trailer pulled back in position to load the boat so I hopped out and Stretch was right behind me. Not thinking to tell him to stay I guess he thought time to make a break and that he did. I loaded the boat out and pulled the truck and trailer up the ramp, got out and started tying down the boat. By this time I'm wondering where is Stretch, I looked for him around the ramp thinking he was probably out doing his business. Not a chance, about 30 yards out in the river here came Stretch, huff ,huff, huff swimming back to the bank with a short piece of rope that had fell out of the back of the truck and started floating away. That day Stretch and I both rode home wet.
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I've always had my best luck there. I did get a 6.13 below Guntersville dam once but there's not the numbers of big fish there like Pickwick. I went with a friend one night last June and I caught 13 SM over 4 pounds and I didn't count the smaller fish. My friend had 8 over 4, it was a good night.
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I've never fished below Pickwick Dam, heard a lot of good things. My truck automatically stops at McFarland park in Florence AL.
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When I was a Young boy I lived in a medium sized city in north Alabama Called Huntsville Al, a city Situated just off the Tennessee River and surrounded on three sides by the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. My father was born in Huntsville as was his father and the father before all the way bak for seven generations. My dad and his lived in a section of town called Five Points, an area where five roads came together in one of the older parts of town. The houses in five points were close so together you could stand between them and reach both arms out and almost touch the sides of both houses. This didn’t really bother me that much when I was very young but the older I got the more I felt I was being swallowed up by the closeness of everything. My Mom and Dad had a like feeling and when I was about eleven we moved out to then the outskirts of town, about two miles from Five Points, at the foot of one of the larger mountains in north Alabama named Monte Sano mountain. Monte Sano was an old Spanish name tagged to the mountain years ago the meaning in Spanish Mountain of Health. Way back in the 1800‘s saw yellow fever, diphtheria and cholera in high proportions of the population in the area and in need of a healthy retreat. The top of the mountain back then was isolated and several degrees cooler with very clean limestone filtered water flowing from many of the cracks and crevices on the mountain. This encouraged the building of an old rail road track from down town Huntsville up the side of the mountain and a health resort at the top. This Rail Road and the health resort saw much use for many years but sometimes in the early 1900’s the resort burned down and with that the rail road was abandoned. When my family and I moved to the foot of the mountain I discovered that old rail road bed and started exploring. When I was young I didn’t have a lot of friends and never felt just right living in the city and found exploring the side of the mountain was a lot more my style than anything found in the city. Mornings would find me up early easing out the back door headed stright for the mountain, I’d follow the old rail road bed up the mountain through the switch backs over and through the creeks that ran down and through the mountain. Spending most of my time on that mountain I soon found nature was my best friend. I’d spend time wading the small creeks catching crawfish and climbing on the big Limestone formations found all over the mountain and for a while I was satisfied but always missed something. I missed having a friend to explore with me and started thinking of a dog. How I’d love to have a dog to run the side of the mountain with and longed for many years for that companionship but my parents didn’t have a lot of extra money and I just never saw a way to satisfy my longing. When I left high school I decided the city life was no longer part of me so I left Huntsville the home of many generations of my family and moved everything I had, which was very little to a small wide spot in the road in south central Tennessee. There i found a gentleman farmer in a spot called Hot Rock he offered me work so I moved to small model home close by, I had found my love and life. The gentleman I met, Dean, owned an 800 acre cattle farm and was glad to have a young strong boy to help around the farm. After time Dean offered to sell me an acre of land with an old house, used now as a hay barn, first built in 1893 right in the middle of his farm. Half way up one of the rolling hills I rebuilt the old house and called this home. over several years I went off to school and finished longing to get back to Hot Rock and the old house, the smell of fresh air and solitude of the Tennessee hills. There I met my soon to be wife Suzanne and was married and settled down to raise a family. After my son was born I got to thinking about how I had always wanted that k-9 friend so I decided to look around for a new pet partly for my son and partly for myself. One afternoon an old friend of Suzanne’s called her and happened to mention her family was raising Chocolate Labs and had recently had a litter of pups. She said they were having a tough time selling them all so Suzanne told her we would come over and take a look. When I pulled up I saw all the puppies, nine in all inside her gate so I went over to take a look Well there was this one pup that caught my eye. I opened the gate and went in while Suzanne went to the door to meet her old friend. This one pup came right up to me like he’d known me all his young life, he sit right down on my boot and was satisfied to stay right there surveying all the other pups running around the yard paying us little attention. This really struck me and while talking to Suzanne and the owner, for a while the pup just sit there on my boot. The owner finally ask” you found any of these pups you might like, I answered I think one has found me, and so it was, that was the pup we left with. when we got back in the truck I handed Suzanne the pup and she held it for a couple minutes but soon put it down in the floorboard of the truck. The dog didn’t whimper or make a sound, it laid down and yawned real big curling his thong then stretched way out, tail wagging. Suzanne saw this and quickly tagged him, that’ll be his name, Stretch and Stretch it was. Stretch grew, I spent much more time with the dog than my son, he would meet me every morning ready for the day working around the farm always in the back of my old 69 Ford pickup anywhere I went. Training was a daily thing we would spend a couple hours a day Sit, roll over, lay, shake hands, fetch, all the commands most dogs know. One day a friend and I went out dove hunting, I tried to leave Stretch at home but he was having none of that jumped in the truck bed so off we went.. I just knew the first shoot gun blast would send him back to the truck with his tail between his legs but it didn’t. He looked intently up the barrel of my gun when it was raised, shot rang out a bird fell and Stretch stood there looking at me tail wagging. He looked where he saw the bird fall then back at me then back to the bird . Thinking what the heck I told Stretch go get the bird and pointed, off he went, as he looked I shouted bring me the bird, bring me the bird and in just a minute there he was back with the bird all intact looking at me wagging his tail. We shot several birds that day and by the end I would, shoot Stretch would look I’d say bird and he was off. We shot several dove that day and without any training Stretch would go get the birds and bring them back. When we left the field that day my friend ask how ”long you been training that dog, he’s one of the best retrievers I’ve ever seen,” ‘well” I told him “started this morning”. My friend was dumbfounded as was I, the only bird he missed that day was one that fell way out to one side of the field. I walked out to get it and of course Stretch beside me, I’d say go left and walk that way say left and walk that way Stretch picked it up and started working left till he found the bird. The next day I thought I’d expand on this so I took two buckets out in the yard set one on one side and one on the other side of the yard. I put one of his toys a piece of rope on top of one bucket and A squeeze toy on the other. We went back to the house I told stretch go get you rope, right, off he went. I’d say toy left he’d go get it. This went on for an hour or so and before that day was over Stretch knew his left from his right. One day we went down to the river where I’d throw a stick, Stretch would jump in and bring it back. There was and old man, sitting on a bucket, fishing just down from us and one throw Stretch lost track of the stick. I was standing there shouting go right, go right when I noticed the old man looking at me like I’d lost my mind. Stretch did go right and found that stick and brought it back. The old man got up off his bucket walked over and said ”I’ve never seen a dog that knew it’s left from it’s right. He stood there for some time watching me and the dog and said “ you’ve really got a good friend there, don’t you”. I told him if you only knew I looked for this friend for years. Stretch lived with us for 14 years and when he finally passed it was like loosing an old friend, Heck I did loose an old friend my best. Sometimes I think back about Stretch, the way he would look at me and turn his head sideways like he was listening and knew to everything I said and wonder, is there a place for Stretch in Heaven. I can only hope when It’s my time to go Stretch will meet me at the gates lead my right and left and be by my side again. Funny a tear rarely comes to my eye about anything but I’m wiping one away right now thinking about Old Stretch.
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Love to see a photo, I tie also
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I saw your photo and knew those were Pickwick fish, know you can tell me if I was right.
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If your fishing current and structure I'd go with the "stupid tube"
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Actually I caught that fish while night fishing Pickwick lake in June, my jig ticked a rock then a thump.The hook set made me think I was hung up for a second, then it was on. The fish ran under the boat and jumped on the other side, it was a fiasco. but somehow I lead it back around the front and after a couple more spectacular jumps and a couple long runs I netted this gorilla. I've caught three at 7 pounds on Pickwick, a boat load of 6's and even more 5's. Pickwick is a great lake and I get down there as often as I can.This is the first 7 pounder I got there on Columbus day several years ago.
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New to site old to Smallmouth fishing, I've been fishing sallies for over 40 years, mainly Pickwick, Wilson and Wheeler in Alabama but I live on Tim's Ford lake Winchester Tennessee. Some good fish here too. My personal best is this 7.3 caught on Pickwick.
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I'd lay off the jerk baits until the water temps. are above 50. If you can get your hands on some Black bear hair jigs tipped with a trailer like a zoom tiny chunk, fish slow keeping just off the bottom. I've caught lots of SM in small rivers and creeks with this rig. On warmer days fish just above sholes and then the deeper pools below
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try barlowstackle.com they carry a lot of lure making items
