Morning saw us sleep in, which was unfortunate because Dave had gotten up early to make us a good breakfast of biscuits and gravy. Even though it had been on the stove a while when I got up it was delicious. Kari and Dave live on several acres with a creek running along the back property line banked with hardwood forest. The only point to cross is on a sandbar directly behind his place and has allowed him to fill many, many deer tags in his own backyard. Deer are a passion for him. In the morning we checked the garden out and the orchard, the greenhouse and the like and popped down the road to visit Lee. Lee's was originally born in Ohio and has been around the place, but spend quite some time in Louisiana before settling to central Illinois. To an Australian Lee and his family are good ol' boys in bibs, talking slow with that southern drawl and southern slang. They were relaxed and Lee's two visiting grandkids near wore me out as I chased them around the yard, while picking blueberries and rasberries.
When we got back it was time for lunch and we dined on baked rainbow trout (caught by Dave) and several member of the family came to visit including Jessica's grandmother and cousins. It was a good lunch with relaxed conversation. While the adults were talking, Natalya and Nathan played a video game of boxing on his Wii. Natalya had a great time, although I'm not sure she quite understood what was going on.
Natalya and Nathan boxing
After lunch it was time for a quick trip out to the pond. We trailered up and headed off to pick up Lee and headed to the water, which was less than five minutes away. Dave's boat is a sweet little rig and the two them have an easy system at the ramp. The boat is launched and off in less than a minute or two. There's even a triangle in the bank from the repeated bumping from the bow which now serves as a perfect site for loading up - these guys must fish this pond alot!
After lunch it was time for a quick trip out to the pond. We trailered up and headed off to pick up Lee and headed to the water, which was less than five minutes away. Dave's boat is a sweet little rig and the two them have an easy system at the ramp. The boat is launched and off in less than a minute or two. There's even a triangle in the bank from the repeated bumping from the bow which now serves as a perfect site for loading up - these guys must fish this pond alot!The rig at Lee's place
We fished for a couple of hours and I managed a bluegill and a largemouth bass, and Dave and Lee each got a bass each. They weren't huge bass but plenty of fun. We mainly trolled but also cast to the bank. As we got back the girls were off to the fireworks so I jumped from the truck, into the car and off to the fireworks with the family. It was a long show but and I felt it was too long and the space between fireworks was a bit long. Still it was pretty good. Natalya was actually a bit scared this year, but we were VERY close to where they were being launched. When we got back we sat up pretty late talking but I knew I had to be up early to head back out on the lake.
We fished for a couple of hours and I managed a bluegill and a largemouth bass, and Dave and Lee each got a bass each. They weren't huge bass but plenty of fun. We mainly trolled but also cast to the bank. As we got back the girls were off to the fireworks so I jumped from the truck, into the car and off to the fireworks with the family. It was a long show but and I felt it was too long and the space between fireworks was a bit long. Still it was pretty good. Natalya was actually a bit scared this year, but we were VERY close to where they were being launched. When we got back we sat up pretty late talking but I knew I had to be up early to head back out on the lake.Lee with a little bass
I was up at six but the guys were already up. Jessica's uncle Charlie had slept outside and had prepared a breakfast of waffles. He'd also made a fancy topping thing (sorry I don't remember the name) but it tasted fantastic! It had strawberries, rasberries, blueberries, orange juice and Captain Morgan Rum. After that we had a quick trip to pick up some greenhouse glass for Dave and then off to the pond again. We got onto quite a few bass and once done we came home and I joined the girls visiting their grandmother, before meeting up with her other grandfather to drive over to Danville and meet up with Uncle Jim and his girlfriend, Debbie.
I was up at six but the guys were already up. Jessica's uncle Charlie had slept outside and had prepared a breakfast of waffles. He'd also made a fancy topping thing (sorry I don't remember the name) but it tasted fantastic! It had strawberries, rasberries, blueberries, orange juice and Captain Morgan Rum. After that we had a quick trip to pick up some greenhouse glass for Dave and then off to the pond again. We got onto quite a few bass and once done we came home and I joined the girls visiting their grandmother, before meeting up with her other grandfather to drive over to Danville and meet up with Uncle Jim and his girlfriend, Debbie. Apparently it's a tradition to meet up on Saturdays for a buffet. I had never met Debbie and it was a pleasure to meet her. Jim was as happy and relaxed as I've ever seen him (and he's a pretty relaxed guy). Jessica's grandfather also seemed to be a good mood and lunch was a good time.
Saturday evening involved us sitting around talking but we did get up to some fun. After Pierce went to sleep Charlie, Kari, Natalya, Jessica and I fired off a few firecrackers. After a few problems we ended up firing a swag of smaller ones over Kari's cedar shingled roof, which had us a bit concerned for a while.
The guys were again up early and on the lake. This time the bass were schooling up and pushing the minnows up against some steep banks, so you'd see bass crashing the surface in small schools (similar to small tuna schools). It was hard to predict where the fish would be but when you were close when they erupted you'd be assured a fish or two, but they would disappear as quickly as they'd arrive. We had a great morning and kept ourselves a good feed. Back at Dave's we filleted the fish then headed down to Lee's on the quads for a fish fry. You just don't get much better than that!
Once we got back to the house the kids went for a swim and then Lee brought his grandkids over to join the fun. We then headed back over to Jessica's grandmas to visit, headed out for lunch at a seafood place and then grabbed some frozen custard, which Natalya loved. We didn't get away for the drive home until late Sunday but at least the kids slept pretty much the whole way home, even though Jessica and I had trouble staying awake. All in all it was a good trip that we managed to fit quite a bit into.
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