The family and I are headed to WV soon, so I wanted to get out and fish for smallmouth on the James River as a teaser for the wild New River. While my wife will be whitewater kayaking in WV ( I plan on sampling a bit myself), I am looking forward to kayak fishing for smallies in the New River and Summersville Lake.

Jumping back into fishing recently has been awesome. It has been soo long since I fished as a kid, that it is like experiencing everything anew. I wanted to get on a river and test out smallmouth bass hunting before West Virginia, so the family and I loaded up the canoe and headed for Scottsville, Va. It was a good chance for me to patrol my James River Association RiverRat section of the James River.

It was a beautiful day, with 82 degree temps and a slight breeze. We put the Jackson Kayak Hi/Lo Seat in the middle of our canoe and my 23 month old daughter settled in with her popcorn-filled snack cup.

We put in and the river was running at a pretty good clip. My awesome wife offered to pilot the canoe while I fished for river smallies. Yes, I am a lucky man.

It wasn't long before one of my river-ripple directed casts hit it's mark and bam! The tiny little smallmouth on my line put up a decent fight. My first smallmouth bass since I started fishing again. I had cast a spinnerbait in chartreuse with a grub bait trailer into a little ripple on the western side of the James River. It was very cool!

My daughter was unimpressed with the diminutive size of my bass. My wife caught one a little later, she was convinced hers was bigger, of course.

We found a little eddy to swim in on our paddle. We were floating Hatton's Ferry to Scottsville. It is a nice stretch of river to run with small children as it does not take too long.

 That section comes in around 3 miles, on pretty flat water. It's funny though, when it comes to family trips, even the shortest paddle can seem like the most amazing journey. I love spending time with friends and family, outside. At the very core of what we do at Appomattox River Company is that sentiment. Just get outside.

Laugh, love and paddle. Laugh, love and climb. Laugh, love and run. Laugh, love and hike. Laugh, love and play outside. That is what I want on my marker,

'He laughed, he loved and he played outside. You should too.'

We got home that night and my wife and I caught ourselves saying the same thing over and over again.

"That was a lot of fun."

It was a great day to be on the river. Have a good weekend everyone. Get outside! ;)