A Summer in the USA - The Deep South

 Covid was finally winding down, and it was time to start travelling again. Alex and I had been wanting to explore more of the US and it was shaping up to be the perfect summer to do so. Our Rav4 was still semi-reliable, so we took off with the ultimate goal of visiting every state in the lower 48. The trip would be split into four smaller trips, to line up with my shifts at work. This first part is about a 2 week journey to the deep south.

Alex still needed to try working remotely, so we kept it simple and headed off without much of an itinerary. First was a very quick stop in Virginia to meet up with fellow lifelister Hunter for a little bit of Sculpin fishing. For some reason, I've developed an addiction to freshwater sculpins so I knew I had to make a stop when Hunter told me he knew of two species very close together. By the time I arrived at the spot, it was midnight and the temps were down around 0C. That didn't stop us from making an effort and I ended up catching one of the target species, a Kanawha Sculpin!

Kanawha Sculpin

The other sculpin, the Blueridge Sculpin, never showed up despite our efforts and it was getting pretty late, so it was time to crash for the night. We slept in the next day before continuing south to the Little River Canyon in Alabama. A beautiful drive with some pretty epic river views.

Little River Canyon

Most of the rest of the day was spent driving south, and it was dark by the time we got to our destination. Alex got ready for bed, but the sound of the river was calling me so I had to jump in the waders and test out the spot. That ended up being a good decision because I caught 4 new species; Swampland Longear Sunfish, Warrior Bass, Blackspotted Topminnow, and Banded Sculpin.

Banded Sculpin

Blackspotted Topminnow

Warrior Bass

Swampland Longear Sunfish

I ended up catching nicer specimens of the bass and sunfish the next morning, which are the ones in the photos above. There's something pretty nice about sleeping right on the water for free.

We regretfully had to leave our camping spot and continued to do a bit of unsuccessful spot hopping before Alex needed to see some clients so I was "stuck" on the water for a few hours. This ended up being the best move ever because the fishing was slow but a lot of species showed up once I had time to really pick the spot apart. I never caught my target Cahaba Bass, but all the photos below were lifers!

Alabama Hogsucker

Blackbanded Darter

Largescale Stoneroller

Mobile Logperch

Speckled Darter

After Alex finished up work, we went back to spot hopping and I switched my focus back to black bass. It was still March so conditions weren't ideal, and I missed out on most of the Redeye Bass I was looking for. That being said, I did catch some nice Alabama Bass and even an invasive Spotted Bass at the final spot of the day. Oh, and we drove all the way to the panhandle after all that fishing.

Alabama Bass

Spotted Bass

We woke up to an incredible, crystal-clear river, and we had it all to ourselves! This was a great start to our trip in the panhandle, which quickly became my favourite part of the sunshine state. Alex needed to work again, and of course I had no issue with being stuck here. I went for a swim, checked out all the cool water snakes and other wildlife, then switched my focus to fishing. There were a ton of suckers around, and I ended up with a Spotted Sucker but no new species.

Chipola River

Spotted Sucker

We eventually moved on but the views in the panhandle didn't cease to impress, the next spot was just as beautiful! And, it did produce a couple new lifers, which is never a bad thing. It was a topminnow hotspot and I caught both Baded and Russetfin Topminnows.

Topminnow Hotspot!

The routine continued much the same for the next couple days, spot-hopping and then pausing for Alex to see a few clients. You guys are probably sick of it but I just couldn't get over the scenery in the panhandle. I also added on Marsh Killifish, Sheepshead Minnow, Blacktail Shiner, Weed Shiner, Choctaw Bass, Longnose Shiner, and Redspotted Sunfish! I won't bore you guys with all of the pictures but here are some favourites:

Sheepshead Minnow

Weed Shiner

Blackwater River

Redspotted Sunfish

Choctaw Bass

Eventually, the spot hopping slowed down and we switched to some more "normal" tourist activities to visit New Orleans. We quickly realized why we avoid urban areas and it was definitely one of the dirtiest cities I've visited. However, the highlight was the boardwalk at the Barataria Preserve. A side trip to the USS Alabama Memorial Park in Mobile was also pretty interesting.

Being a dumb tourist...

USS Alabama

Western Louisiana ended up being a lot nicer than the urban area around New Orleans. Highlights included free camping right on the beach, and my lifer Bantam Sunfish! I had previously gone out of my way for Bantam's at two other spots so it was great to finally nail this one down.

Oceanfront free camping!

Bantam Sunfish

Other than some quick stops for micros on our way back north, we made one last major fishing stop. I didn't know exactly where to try, but I knew I wanted to fish below a dam on the Red River. I just ended up choosing the closest one and hoping for the best. That decision worked in my favour and I soon hooked into something that was seriously pulling drag. Unfortunately, it was a fal-hooked Paddlefish, but it was still incredible to see such a unique animal in person. I also caught my lifer Smallmouth Buffalo shortly after :)

American Paddlefish - Fal-hooked

Smallmouth Buffalo