The boy rolled into town Thursday night. He has one more semi-week off before his return-to-pitch protocol starts. Naturally, he drags me to Cabella’s on Friday for some gear and then back to the river.
Just as we are walking in, a bald eagle flies over, so that was pretty cool.
My first cast, I’m retrieving a white chatterbait with a white trailer. Maybe 20 yards from me, I drag it across a rock and the bait gets absolutely blown up by what was clearly the largest smallmouth I would have caught in my life.
And then I watched it swim away with my bait in its mouth.
Snapped me off.
Brendan’s second cast? A 4 lb. smallmouth. His personal best.
I can’t tell you how bitter I am.
Pack the ’Pack
I’ve mentioned a couple of times recently that our BCTCares Foundation is raising money through our annual Pack the ’Pack campaign.
This past Saturday, we had a group of folks riding motorcycles from our Ashburn LPO and Charles Town office, ending at Harvest Gap Brewery in Hillsboro.
Thank you to everyone who came out, supported our community champions, and helped us raise funds for children facing food insecurity throughout the communities we serve. We're continuing to work toward our goal of raising $105,000 this year.
Market Notes
Knock on wood, but we had a decent week, with mortgage rates reaching their lowest levels in three weeks.
Early in the week, the market improved as oil prices fell amid easing tensions in the Middle East and increased prospects for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The rally continued Friday after the non-farm payroll report showed the economy lost 23,000 jobs in July. Expectations had been for a gain of roughly 80,000 jobs. May and June were also revised lower.
Poor job growth can be a sign that the economy is slowing, which generally favors lower mortgage rates. This certainly gives the Fed some room to keep short-term rates where they are for the time being, although that will depend heavily on upcoming inflation data.
Speaking of inflation, we will get our July consumer inflation reading on Wednesday, followed by wholesale inflation data on Thursday. Last month’s numbers were not as encouraging as many had hoped, and expectations are similar heading into this round of reports.
Buckle up, and let’s hope for some good news on that front.
Looking Ahead*
Hope you had a great weekend. Whether it's back to the river or not, I need to brush off the disappointment and hook into a big one soon.
In the meantime, if we can assist with a quick preapproval or any mortgage related question or need, please feel free to call.
-Steve-
*All loans are subject to credit approval and program guidelines.