Spring break fun

This has been a pretty good spring break. I got some quality time with both boys one on one and together, and I got some time on the water with the boys and a couple friends.
The other day my youngest boy Wyatt asked if I would take him fishing, he really had to twist my arm to take him Ha! Ha! I loaded the backpack with a few jigs, water, and a couple cookies. We only had to walk a few hundred yards down the road to the honey hole on the creek. There was a down tree at the waters edge that made a real nice seat, Wyatt called it Mother Natures chair.

From Mother natures chair he had a blast catching the White Bass as they make there spring run up the creek to spawn. He wore the fish out and the fish really wore him out.

We caught so many fish together, we had to call home to ask my wife to pick up two fishy guys with a stringer load of fish. He was super proud to show off the catch to his Momma.

I sent a text to a friend and told him they are biting, hurry up and get over here! Brian made it over and up the road we go back to Mother natures chair but this time a five gallon bucket to haul back the catch a little easier. I dont park the truck down the road because I have permission, but if I start parking there it will invite trespassers. Brian had fun catching and he hauled his limit home too, I think its been awhile since he cleaned 25 fish at one time.

We caught a lot of fish and made plans for taking the kayaks out the next day.

The next day Brian and I hit the creek to chase the White Bass again, but this time for Kayak Wars points not the freezer. Between the two of us we only had to catch 20 White Bass over 12 inches long, then we would max out that species for that month for the whole team. I done it last month by my self, I teased them and told the team they better get on the ball LOL!

 Brian started off with putting on a bait his wife picked out, I told him she should have gotten two because it will probably catch fish since she really does not have a clue on what a fish might bite. Well sure enough it caught the fish that day. I made sure to get the bait in the picture so he will have prof she picked a winner for that trip.

The fish was still in the area but not wanting to bite like the day before. We still caught a lot of fish and met the quota for Kayak Wars.

You would think after catching a couple hundred White Bass a fellow would be tired of catching them. These fish for there size really put up a great fight and even more if there is a good flowing current. We like to use ultra light gear with 6 to 8 pound line and 1/16 to 1/8 ounce jigs or spoons style baits. Its only once a year they run up the creeks like this and it is a great way to kick off the spring fishing season catching lots of fish that really does not require a lot of tackle.

Then on Saturday I slept in late and it felt good. My hands where sore from the fishing the day before, and I really was not planning on hitting the water. By lunch time I got to thinking about my oldest boy not getting out enough in the kayak. I asked him if he wanted to go the past few times but he always pasted it up and wanted to play his video games instead. This time instead of asking I just nicely told him to get dressed and help me load up both kayaks, he did not argue at all. Dalton is still very green at the kayak fishing game but he learning fast.

We caught a lot of the little yellow bellies also, they do get up to 14 inches but it seems that 4 to 6 inches is way more common. Yes he likes that hair long, I dont mind as long as grades are up and good attitude. Dalton had a tough time with line getting tangled and using a brush grabber for anchoring. He laughed a few times about it too, I told him we all have days like that and you are doing the right thing by laughing it off. He is also learning on removing treble hooks from the fish, and the little ones are not easy sometimes.

Dalton caught some for the freezer and I showed off by stocking the freezer HA! HA!

We all had a fun time making great memories together that we can look back on and pass on to the next generation.

Kayaking with friends

The weather and water is warming up and even tho I fish year round, I still get excited every spring. For me its when the White Bass and Crappie start to run up the creeks and rivers from the main lake to spawn. The White Bass are great fighters and really fun on ultra light gear. Lake Arlington is ten foot low, it has been a dry winter. For a couple weeks after work I would walk down to the creek and wet the hook for a few. One evening I caught a good mess of Crappie, I called up my buddy Brian with the news that it has begun. We got together the very next weekend, we tried for the Crappie with no luck for hours. Brian's kitchen pass was only good for a few hours and he was running out of time. I told him my honey hole should be in the shade by now, so we gave it a shot.

That's a smile!

The honey hole paid off at the last minute, we caught over 20 fish together in 30 minutes time. I think Brian was thinking I was nuts saying the fish hiding in a small tree in 2 foot of water, but after back to back catching he had a blast.

A stringer full of Crappie to break in his new Jackson Cuda 12, great way to end the day. Brian has some relatives coming in and he wanted to have a fish fry for them, so he was happy to bring fish home for the freezer.
A week later I was trying for Crappie after work again and caught a White Bass, I was excited and let a couple buddies know. We got together for a quick trip up the creek, Brian, CudaDude, Dalton, and CudaDude brought a friend.

We all caught fish and had fun shooting the bull and goofing off. A cold front came in and I hope the White Bass have not started the spawn yet. Mostly all males was caught , so I don't think they are done. The weather just teased the fish, but that's Texas and mother nature for ya.

I have not been doing a good job keeping this blog updated, I will try to do better with that. I have been keeping very busy with family, work, and of course kayak fishing.
Things in my life have finally started turning around for the better. Thanks to my family and great friends for the moral support.

One of the awesome things that happened is I was asked to join the pro staff fishing team for Kayak Instruction out of Dallas. They are the number one Jackson Kayak dealer in Texas. Thanks to Mark, I'm sure he put in the good word for me. I looked and paddled a lot of kayaks at get togethers and done lots of reading. Jackson's kayaks stayed on the top of the list all the way, and once I had my pennies saved up, it was a tough on which Jackson I was going with, I liked all of the Jackson fishing kayaks. I even lost sleep thinking on it lol. I went with the Jackson Cuda 14, it fit my needs and wants over all. I have been taking my sweet time getting the kayak rigged up with pole holders, fish finder, and installing the rudder. This yak has a lot of storage from end to end, and it is making it fun with all the options and ideas. I have only been out half a dozen times or so, this kayak is very comfortable, stable, and fast in my opion.

Been a few weeks.

Ok, it's been months since I posted. I did not quit fishing that's for sure, but I did take a few weeks off because I got back to the blacksmith thing. I just had to start swinging that hammer again, I mostly was worried about my hand. I was hanging a new light fixture at work and started to fumble it and when I caught it the metal edge cut the pinky and ring fingure at the base on my right hand. Since I have no insurance due to the high cost and since I'm not sitting on a pile of cash, all they can do is clean it up, sew it up and see ya. The down side is the tendons in my pinky figure was cut and I can not bend it in any more so it's almost useless. Losing that grip is a major pain with major pain at times. With my pinky alway sticking out I don't feel fancier LOL! So far my pinky has been shut in the truck door, burned and cut since the main injury because it's always sticking out but I did find a little tape around the pinky and ring fingure keeps it out of they way and helps with the swelling when working. I have laid of the catfish on the past few trips out and focused on panfish. Big Blue Gills and Crappie sure do taste good and a great challenge. The water levels are still so low and some of my best crappie holes are out of the water. That's one of the many things  nice about kayak fishing is other fisherman in the big boats are not real threaten by kayakers and don't pay much attention, yet. I guess they think we yakers ain't real fisherman ha, ha, the joke is on them because I'm always paying attention to other fisherman and there honey holes. I do try to respect the honey holes and keep a tight lip on the locations, because if it is a man made honey hole they worked to make it a honey hole. I don't mind telling folks to fish the point and ledges just because it's kinda common sence and almost everyone knows it. If someone puts a fish feeder on there dock, well it kinda like throwing a sign up that's says fish here.
We did have the kayak anglers get together back in September, and with the cooler temps and rain it was a lot of fun. The kayak wars is still going till December and I have not posted any fish in a long while, I think my team gave up or just could not get the time to get on the water. I have not quit, more like I took a break from chasing big fish and just happy to just go and catch a few for dinner. The cooler temps kinda stink since I hate the cold, but since the darn fish won't hibernate I have to brave it. Here in this part of Texas the winters are a cake walk compared to most of the country, so yes, I'm a wussy and if it is below 70 degrees I'm cold LOL! It's worth it to fish on a cold day when you come home with a big stringer or at least a picture, but you have them days is that the only thing caught was a runny nose, cold feet, and hopefully dry.
I've got some pictures to share once I figure out how to post them up from the iPad. I don't think I have much if any folks really reading this but pictures can say a lot.

kayak fishing during a full moon.

Last night was great! I got on the lake later than I wanted, but had to get the chores done first. The wind calmed down just a bit after sundown, it was just right for some drift fishing. I set out two poles with santee cooper rigs and cut shad. I began to drift on a point at 7 to 8 foot deep, I drifted  for about 200 yards and nothing. I paddled back and started at 12 to 15 foot deep. I did not get 30 yards before the pole got slammed, and he put up a good fight. I got the cat in the yak and it was around 17 inches. I made a few more drifts from 12 to 25 foot deep and only got a couple strikes, so I figured it was time to move. The wind was starting to pick up a little but not to bad, I was trying to make up my mind where to go. I was not for sure how much the wind would pick up and the weather service is only half right most of the time LOL! I decided to hope for the best and hope it would not be a bugger bear fighting the wind back. Once I got to spot I really wanted to be at, I pulled out a cold Coke and a couple cookies out of the cooler. While enjoying my snack in the bright full moon, I could see the fish chasing bait here and there. I started my drift again using the drift sock this time at around 15 foot deep. After a 100 yards I decided that the cut bait just might not producing tonight so I changed over to some fat Grub worms I dug up before I got on the water. Using the grubs work great, but a small bluegill can rip those grubs off quick. You have to re bait after and little strike, so take lots of them if you plan on using them. Once the grubs were on the action was great and fast. I brought home 9 nice cats the smallest at 15 and the biggest at 19.5 inches. All of them were very healthy and had lots of spunk, only one that I caught had a belly full of eggs so she was released after a picture for the Kayak Wars tournament. After a couple hours of catching fish I figured it was time to head back to the boat ramp and the wind was getting a little more gusty than I really wanted to fight. I was not dragging them fish back so a paddled to the nearest shore and loaded them up behind my crate. The paddle back was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was a great night catching fish with grubs in the moon light.

Back in the day

Blog? Sure why not. I like to share stories about almost anything. When it comes to fishing and  kayak fishing I could go on and on. I will give this blog thing a shot and see where it goes. To start off, I have been fishing since I was old enough to hold a pole. I was blessed that my Grandparents lived on lake Granbury since the early 70's. I can remember catching them bluegills all day long on canned sweet corn, and the carp are a blast to catch if they did not wrap around the dock poles. My Grandfather called them bugle mouth bass LOL! Back then there where just a few houses on three canals, so I would spend my days fishing the banks until my Grandfather got home from work and done his famous loud whistle. You could hear him whistle across the lake, I knew it was dinner time and I would run back to the house eat dinner then I was gone fishing again till almost dark. My Great Grandfather lived with them also, till this day I think he knew it all about fishing. At least once a week during my summer visits he would take me down to the marina to catch some Crappie. It was so exciting for me to tag along, and listen to my Grandmother scold him as we left to take extra care of her Grand baby. My Grandmother is the best, I can't count how many trips I made into the house carrying mostly some big carp as long as my leg so show off my catch to her dripping fish slim all over the place. She would smile, giggle, and tell me how good I did while getting me and that fish out of the house. I still bring it up to her every now and then and she still giggles. Since they moved off the lake a few years ago Lake Granbury just ain't the same, but I have over 30 years of very fond memories on that lake with family. As you can see I have been fishing for a day or three! Fishing is almost a way of life to me. I will try to add pictures as I go along with this blog thing if I have them.