"It's Like a Box of Chocolates"

That's how Ron Ameika described the North Landing River in his latest email to me, and I couldn't agree more. You just never know what kind of fish you're going to be looking at after you make a hook-up, as will be evidenced in the following narrative and photos.

Ron hit Pocaty in his kayak after work Friday and pulled this 15-inch, 1-lb. 12-oz. "little fatty" from the murky and debris-filled water. The fish succumbed to his XTS.

I couldn't help noticing the note he included about his Friday afternoon adventure. In his words, "It was cold!" I wasn't fishing, but I went to West Neck Friday, where I met and jawed with Skip for a spell. I'm here to tell you that I was anything but disappointed to climb back into my van after being exposed to those cool temps we had Friday.

Yesterday, Ron decided to go to Oakum Creek. It got clearer the farther back he went, but the best he could do in that back region were two tiny pickerel, one of which is pictured here.







Then came the point in Ron's day yesterday that prompted him to draw the comparison of North Landing River to a box of chocolates. He had left Oakum for the main river in pursuit of table fare. "Very murky but surprisingly calm," he said, adding, "I think I caught the wind shift. It almost was flat at 2 p.m."

While trolling the XTS and a Cotton Cordell Redfin near some downed trees just outside Oakum, Ron's rod suddenly doubled over, and he felt sure he had snagged one of the trees. He soon realized, however, that he had hooked a big fish.

"I was thinking striper," he said. But, alas, he was disappointed to learn that his "big fish" was nothing more than the 26-inch, 5-lb. 7 oz. bowfin pictured here.

Ron concluded his email to me by saying he had a trip planned to Albright's today. Unlike his previous trip, though, in which he peddled the 4 miles from Old Pungo Ferry Road, he said he was going to hike in today from Blackwater Road, adjacent to Old Carolina Road. "Should be interesting," he said.

I feel sure I'll find out later today and will share it with all of you.