I took my first fishing trip of the year to Pocahontas State Park about two weeks ago. I haven’t been fishing in a while, but luckily, one of my friends decided to invest in a boat and I finally made it back into the game. There is something very relaxing about fishing. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I am always perfectly content doing nothing other than tossing my fishing line into the water.
The morning started off a little later than we would have liked, and we didn’t get onto the water until around 11AM. As most people who fish can tell you, early morning or late afternoon is the best time to catch anything. This didn’t really matter as much because even if we didn’t catch anything, we would still get out on the boat for a little while. Pocahontas does not allow gasoline powered motors which was okay for us because we had an electric trolling motor. Once we got into the creek, we took a tributary which brought us to a large open area with what looked like millions of lily pads in bloom. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera with me on this excursion so I missed quite a few beautiful picture opportunities. We decided to cast our lines in this area since we assumed the fish may be taking cover near the lilies during the hottest part of the day. Long story short, we picked a bad time to go and only had one nibble on our hooks in about two hours. I did manage to loose a lure by casting just a little farther than I would have liked. Turns out a tree branch won’t reel in as easy as a fish. We decided to head back around 1PM before it got really hot outside.
In spite of not catching anything, it definitely was not a wasted trip. We got to see the park from many unique locations and it was a great morning to get away from the stresses of life. If you do not have a boat, do not worry. Pocahontas rents canoes, kayaks, and rowboats from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I highly recommend taking advantage of these opportunities and renting a boat to take a “water hike” around Pocahontas State Park. It will be an experience you will not forget.