Mr. Sassafras Catches his first Striped Bass!

You all know by now that Nate & I are pretty passionate about Columbia's rivers!!  We haven't missed a weekend of paddling in the last month.  It is just so freeing to be out in nature, on the water and taking in all that God made around us.  It really is a spectacular world out there if we take the time to notice, enjoy and experience it.

This last occasion was a successful fishing trip with a striped bass at the end of Nate's line.  Striped Bass are known for their ability to live both in freshwater and saltwater.  Columbia has quite a population of stripe bass that live inland year round.  Most come up the rivers to spawn then head back to the saltwater....but here in Columbia they have adapted to the year round survival in the rivers and man do they get big!  On another occasion we saw some hardcore fisherman pull in an 8 pounder that was 26 inches long.  It was exhilarating to watch.  The state is particular about striped bass and has seasons when you can catch and release them....which is right now, other times where it is illegal to bate them at all (probably during spawning), and a time where you can catch, keep and eat em'.  When you can keep them they have to be at least 26 inches in length or you are supposed to throw em' back in.  With that being said....you can probably guess there are some really big fish swimming out there in the river.

On this particular occasion, the excitement was in the fact that this was Nate's first catch of a Striped Bass ever.  Man was he pumped.  He was casting up and down the river.  Then bam, he took a hit on his line and excitement ensued!  Woooowheeee, what a blast!

 I was off taking pictures, exploring the shore, watching turtles sun themselves on logs, listening to the osprey squeak as they fly above searching for their next fish.  I even got a little video of a muskrat swimming across the river.  Thank God for the muskrat video (my 1st ever video on my I-Phone) it had me all prepped up and ready to video Nate's catch and the excitement.

 When Nate got a hit on his line, it was all I could do to get the camera ready in time to capture the moment as my boat kept drifting farther down stream from him!  Remember it's a river and it is moving.   I got a quick take then paddled up to the boat to see the little guy.  It was beautiful, and Nate couldn't have been prouder or more ecstatic.  I couldn't have been happier sharing in this moment in delight.  I hope y'all can feel a little bit of our experience as I post my first videos on this blog. I also hope it inspires you to get out there and enjoy the beauty that is around us every day.  These are the moments that make this life soooooo worth living!