Halloween stew and kayak bass fishing

Not too long ago, my buddy's and I floated the Duck River. You may ask, what is floated? Well around here the technical definition is...to float down the river, in a boat while fishing from one destination to another, float. The crew included Buttermilk (Jeff Loudermilk) and Duck Master (Tim Oldfield). Duck Master knows this river like bananas know yellow. The weather was a typical fall day with the wind blowing lightly and about 60 degrees. Lucky for us, the leaves were just starting to fall from the trees, which was good because we didn't have to worry about leaves getting tangled in our lines. We actually paddled up stream and floated back down.

Here we have Buttermilk giving Duck Master, in his banana boat, a shove off to start the adventure. The water was amazingly clear for this river. Our plan was to fish for about four hours and catch a few bass or anything that would bite and paddle back to camp for a hot bowl of Buttermilk's Pumpkin Stew. More about Pumpkin Stew later! 

Right off the bat, Duck Master catches a small largemouth bass on a silver artificial minnow crank bait. Notice that smile, even catching small fish makes people gitty.   

Duck Master relaxing in his kayak. What a great day to be on the water with friends! As I always say..."Life is short, Get away from the big screen and get on a big stream." If more folks would do this, then there would be a lot more happiness!  

While paddling over to a nice spot to cast, I heard a loud sound. It actually sounded like my neighbor raking leaves at 6:00 am in the morning, next to my bedroom window. I looked up the steep bank and spotted a very chubby animal. It even looks like my neighbor. It was a woodchuck, also known as a groundhog or land-beaver. Luckily he was only foraging in the leaves and not chucking wood. 

Fishing was a little slow, but we did manage to catch a few more small bass. Here comes "Fancy Paddle" also known as Buttermilk. The reason I call him fancy paddle is because his paddles cost more than my Kayak. No kidding, they're a piece of art.   

Well, there is always an adventure on the Duck River and Duck Master found it. While paddling up fairly swift water he turned sideways and the banana boat leaned into the water and capsized. Not only did Duck Master get wet, he has a bruised banana (boat). We did find his fishing pole, bait box, etc... I'm sure glad it wasn't 30 degrees!

Do you feel the warmth? After the Duck Master incident we hurried back to base camp. Checkout our fire! There is nothing like a warm fire on a cool fall day, especially if someone is wet. Notice that large back log. Perfect for radiating the heat, in fact it was so hot I had to rotisserate to keep from getting burned. Stay tuned because we are fixing to eat. I know, you may ask what is fixing? Fixing, a southern term which means "ready to do something."

The perfect end of a fishing trip, Halloween Stew. Before we left, Buttermilk had prepared a pot of Halloween stew, dutch oven style. I asked Buttermilk what is Halloween stew and he said that he carved the carrots like little pumpkins. Hmmm....I'm not sure about that. Anyway, why does food taste better near the water after a full day's adventure?

Amazing, check-out those little carved pumpkin carrots! Hope you enjoyed the post.

Hey, check-out my treasured lake house maps. I got an idea, hang a lake decor map of the lake in the lake house!

Here's what my customers say:
"The  map looks great! Thanks so much.  We are visiting my brother this weekend at Lake Chautauqua and I know it will be a great addition to their new lake house.  Are you able to do waterways that are not listed.  My husband and I own a cottage on a lake in Maine and would love a picture like this."

"Larry, We  hung the map above our bed at the lake house. We absolutely love it.  We have a water ski headboard and the map works perfectly. Plan to enjoy it many years to come!

Anyway, paddle over to my website, LeoLakes.com. I paint beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. 

Oh yeah, I hide things in the lake waters, such as a tiny mermaid/fish. Folks love to search for them. Also, you can personalize your lake map with a star where your lake house is located.  I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a great gift for the fisherman, lake lover, lake house. Add beauty with lake cabin decor, lake decor, lake cottage decor, or buy as a lake gift.  

As you can see, my lake maps make a great gift.  Orders pick-up during the holiday's, so order soon. Click here www.LeoLakes.com for more information.

Remember: "Hanging a Leo Lakes Treasured Map in a lake house, is like christening a boat with a bottle of champagne!"