Labor Day Weekend

Friday
The fair weather was holding up even though there had been some showers in the area and some predicted for the weekend. We made it to the condo-on-wheels in time for some R&R before supper. There weren't any takers for my topwater until after we had eaten.


This was a nice first addition to the ice chest.

These big predators are built for speed and can attack baitfish with a vengence.

God designed these creatures to be beautiful, efficient, and deadly all at the same time.

Saturday
We were up and on the water early enough that we needed the running lights on the boat. The river was slick and the ride up to Selkirk was smooth and uneventful.


This was Tracy's day to catch fish. She didn't score on a keeper on Friday off the bank or off the pier but this day was a different story. She let her first speck go as it was barely the legal length. She next caught a nice speck and then it was a free for all.


When you tie into a 23" redfish, you know you have something. This guy tested Tracy's skill at manipulating her line around the boat and anchor line. The guide got sloppy and almost lost the fish in the netting process but somehow we got him into the ice chest.

Not all Tracy's fish were keepers but they were all pretty special. This multi spot red was a good fighter and pretty flashy to boot.

My catch rate wasn't nearly as good as Tracy's to say the least but I managed my own little red for this nice early morning photo.

Tracy kept on catching quality fish like this nice speck.

Soon all the fish in the box were hers. This is a 70 quart ice chest so you can get some perspective on the size of the fish. She caught four nice trout and the big red. I managed one speck....

When we returned home for lunch I threw the topwater and connected with another big girl off the rocks. I love to catch trout at midday on topwaters!

After lunch we headed south down the diversion channel towards West Bay to the spot we had fished last week. We didn't see any fish activity and soon realized that either the fish weren't there or they weren't hungry for live shrimp.

The stormy weather was beginning to build and we moved back closer to home and fished the shoreline just south of the locks. We found some ladyfish and other small stuff but no keeper specks so we decided to head back up river to see if Marie was up for a little boat fishing.


Maree connected with some ladyfish and a small red. Do you think she is having fun?

I had fun passing shrimp to her and Tracy as I was manning the baitwell while Maree kept us laughing with her great sense of humor. I can't wait to see her with a big fish on the line!

The Second Honeymoon earned her keep this day and seems to be holding up to the frequent trips with ease. We headed back to Needville on Saturday evening so I could prepare for class on Sunday.

Sunday
We had a great morning of worship and study with the church in Rosenberg and after lunch we returned to Matagorda.

Our neighbors arrived and were talking about the beautiful water at the beach so we packed up and headed out for an evening of chasing fish in the surf.

The water indeed was beautiful - blue to the beach - and we even managed to catch a few fish.

Monday
The temps finally have started to moderate (low 90's) so we decided to head out in the kayaks early Monday morning to see if there were any redfish in the marsh. It had been a long spell since we had paddled and we were both anxious to get back to this form of fishing.

Click the video to see a paddler in action.

Early morning on the way to McNab

We paddled the whole lake and this little red was all we had to show for it.

We had some company as some of the locals got out ahead of us in a small aluminum boat with an outboard. They had to run pretty hard out through the channels to keep from getting hung up and I think any fish that might have been in the channel were spooked. I did see some flounder jumping out of the water chasing small shrimp. That was a thrill and a nightmare all at the same time as they would not bite anything I had to offer.

The catching had better improve or I might have trouble convincing Trcy that all that paddling is worth it even if just for a few nice pictures.

All in all it was a great weekend to enjoy God's blessings and to spend some time together on the water. The summer crowds are thinning and the heat of summer is almost gone. Looks like it's going to be a good fall!