Windy Saturday

I was stuck in the Woodlands all week so Tracy & I decided to do some exploring on Saturday. We took a drive to Big Boggy National Wildlife Refuge and Matagorda beach.

It was cloudy and windy when we left home but the weatherman promised that clearing was on the way.

We saw some birds and I got to scope out some future fishing holes.

Big John at Big Boggy


Some folks were fishing in spite of the wind.


Seagull at Matagorda Beach


Brown Pelican Close-up


View from under the Wing


This tern was moving!


Shore Birds on the Jetties


Avoiding the Spray


Formation


Jetty Rock


Gliding Gull


The Dive


Looking for Lunch

After getting blown around by the high winds, we had a nice dinner at the Waterfront in Matagorda Harbor.

I found a book, Tricking Texas Trout, by Captain Kevin Cochran, a Baffin Bay fishing guide who also writes for Gulf Coast Connections magazine.

So far I like what I've read so I'm going to keep an eye out for his new one, Waters Wild which was recently released.

Lake Conroe

I attended our annual Management meeting this week at the Woodlands Conference Center this week. One day there were activities planned like golf, tennis, and FISHING!

I somehow volunteered to help organize 40 fishermen on 7 pontoon boats. The weather turned out great and we were on the water for a few hours during the afternoon.

Our boat caught a total of 10 fish - freshwater drum (Gasper Goo), channel catfish, and blue catfish. We caught some nice fish up to 19" but didn't win the prize. On the other boats some caught several hybrids and one guy caught a 21 1/2" catfish.

Here I am with a 17 1/2" freshwater drum:



Here is Mark D with a nice catfish.



Proper Catfish handling technique:

The moral of the story -

A slow day on the water beats the meeting room every time!

Fish for Supper

It may be cold outside but it's warm in here!

I thought I would provide a low fat alternative to those of you who think the only way to eat fish is fried.

First, heat your oven to 350 and chunk up some white russet potatoes. Spray with vegetable spray and season with your favorite seasoning. (Tony's)

While the taters are cooking, light some Kingsford charcoal on the grill and get it nice and hot. I like to cook up some veggies before the main event.

Tonight is zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and red & green bell peppers.

I cook the fish fillets in a basket. Fresh fish is hard enough to keep together and without any significant oil or butter they will stick but if you are careful taking them out you can keep most of it together.

To top the meal off I put some asparagus and mushrooms under the broiler for a few minutes.

With just a few sprays of Pam you have a great tasting low fat meal that's just the ticket on a chilly evening. Add a salad with low fat dressing and some frozen yogurt and if that doesn't fill you up I don't know what will!

Night Fishing in the Yak

After a nice walk with Tracy at Brazos Bend I was eager to head to Palacios and wet a line. The wind had been calm all day and I still had the boat on the Tracker from my trip to Evans Lake.

I arrived at about 8:30 pm and launched at the boat ramp.



I was using my LED headlight and a C-light on a mast.

I think I'll find another light for the boat as the C-light was pretty dim and the batteries didn't last as long as advertised. It will be fine to have on my PFD but I need something a little brighter and long lasting for the boat.

It was pretty cool being on the water at night. I stayed close enough to the piers to be seen but far enough where the long casters could not reach me with flying lead and hooks.

I found some trout at the light along the seawall by the Baptist Encampment. Catching them from the kayak is a totally different experience. I got splashed and slimed and got to see the fight from water level. I had to manage the line and keep the fish away from the anchor line. It was exciting and added a whole new degree of difficulty!

I caught four keepers and lost another one at the boat that I think was the biggest of all. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

As usual, I stayed out too late and by the time I got home, cleaned fish, took a shower, etc. it was time for some shut-eye.

We're having fish for supper!

Brazos Bend Walk

I took Friday off to catch up on some things and to spend some time with Tracy. I had a couple of appointments with my favorite health care providers but it was a pretty day and there was time enough for a walk before the Braves game and my evening lesiure activity (you know what).

We headed out to Brazos Bend park and were expecting to see lots of people since it was a holiday weekend. That assumption was correct but we were able to find a trail that was pretty quiet save a few bicyclers. Here are some pictures of the trek.

We hiked the White Oak Trail to the Bluestem Trail.

I think they should have called it the Fire Ant Trail.



We stopped at the big oak for some pictures.



About this time I was thinking about a snack.



Wait a minute - I have taken survival training.
There must be food here somewhere.



What's this - a low-fat snack!



Yum. Now I'm ready to forge on through the rest of the trip.

From now on just call us Lewis & Clark....


We did have to take a breather later to wach the pollywog races.

And finally Tracy spotted this cottonmouth in the place where I had commented: "There should be some snakes here".

At various times along the trail we would hear a distinctly familiar sound. Kind of a busy, humming, sound. We finally located the source high up in a tree.

This is where bees belong - not in my rafters!



We had a great walk and made it back just in time for the Braves game.
Too bad they lost!

Kayak, Flyrod, and Calm Water

I worked at home today and knocked out a bunch of what I stayed home to do. Unfortunately it was a beautiful day and by 4:30, I had just about had all I could take of the keyboard.

The wind was pretty calm so I threw the boat on the Tracker and headed to Evans Lake to try fly fishing from the yak.



I had some success however modest.



Better to have fished and caught somehing then to not have fished at all!

New Rod Review

I love Daylight Savings Time.

After a full day of work I thought I was going to get away in time to give the GC 7wt a try in Evans Lake. I stopped to help out a co-worker who had a flat in the parking garage and got into the heart of rush hour.

Despite heavy traffic, I still made it home in time for a great supper and had an hour or so before full dark.

I first decided to try a light streamer I had designed last year - the "Cone-Head-Rubber-Legged-Bunny.

Ok laugh if you must but when you get done chuckling, check out what happened after the second cast:

This guy was right where he was supposed to be - in front of the small cypress tree with the evening primrose wildflowers in the background.

After a fair fight and a few jumps the "Green Trout" came to hand.

There were several bass still on the beds and I had a great time sneaking up on them along the shoreline.

The new rod performed with style, casting with and against the wind and was fast enough to cut a fair sized streamer through a 5-7mph breeze.

I picked up a couple more on the bunny and then switched to a #1 Cone Head Muddler Minnow. I spotted two bass "tailing" in the bed like redfish grubbing for crabs and after a couple of adjustments dropped the CHMM right into their space. Needless to say they took issue with that and the fight was on!

The GC 7wt has found a place in my heart and got "slimed" pretty good for the first outing.

I fished until the light ran out and headed in. Fly casting in the dark with trees behind you and a weighted streamer can be hazardous to your health!

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

My first fly fishing outfit was a birthday gift from Tracy and the kids many years ago (1999?)

It was a 6 WT two piece Hobbs Creek setup from White River (Bass Pro's fly line).

That was a great rod to start out with and I fished with it in Arkansas, Utah, Texas, and many points in between.

After I got used to casting I realized a couple of things:

1) I wanted a shorter lighter rod for fishing small fish and brushy trout creeks
2) I wanted a faster rod for punching through the wind and for distance
3) I wanted a four piece rod to travel with.

Last year I was able to purchase two rods:
A great 9' TFO TiCrX four piece 5wt

And

A sweet 6'9" three piece White River Classic 4wt.

I love both of these rods and use them for specific reasons. The 4wt is not just for brushy creeks (although it is perfect for that application). It can hold its own casting relatively small bugs even in the wind. I ended up putting an Orvis Barstock reel on it and a nice 4wt WF fly line. Like most things you learn as you go along - buy the best fly line you can afford.

The TFO is very fast - just what I wanted and can cast a long line in tough conditions. I use it for bass and trout and it can handle the big streamers and poppers with ease.

I also experienced a dilemma last year when my trusty 6wt Hobbs Creek rod "threw a shoe". The ceramic guide liner popped out of the stripper guide and I took it back to Bass Pro. They didn't have a replacement Hobbs Creek rod but they did have an 8'6" Classic 4 piece 5wt. I made the trade thinking that I would find a time to use the shorter 5wt instead of the TFO. Wrong!

I had never even taken the 5wt Classic out of the tube when I got a great idea.

I have been hitting the salt water for the past few months and have even been tying some flys to try my luck on a speckled trout or a redfish. I have no doubt the TFO can handle anything I'm likely to catch - it has a lot of spine for a 5wt rod.

The problem is that many saltwater flys are tied on a large hook and must be cast in some pretty windy conditions. I have been limiting myself to hook sizes 4-8 but want to try some clousers and decievers in a size 1 or 2.

I visited Bass Pro Shop this weekend and as my good fortune would have it, they were on the last day of a fly rod and reel combo sale. They had a Gold Cup setup marked down $100 off retail. I decided to see what kind of deal I could swing with some horse trading for the Classic.

They offered to give me full price for the 5wt Classic which was another "Benjamin".

I finally negotiated the final deal for the 7wt Gold Cup 3 piece rod, Gold Cup large arbor saltwater reel, fly line, case, rod sock, & reel cover for less than the original price of the rod itself.



The midnight blue IM-8 graphite rod uses Fuji silicon oxide guides and a premium cork handle.



The large arbor saltwater reel is anodized machined-aluminum construction and has a zero-reverse bearing and carbon fiber disc drag.

It's not a Sage but I would say not a bad deal for a nice, functional, saltwater outfit.

Lord willing, I will catch a redfish on a fly this year!

Saltwater Bling

I have slowly but steadily been assembling an arsenal of saltwater flys. I normally convince myself that I'm buying them for "patterns" thinking that I will tie some up myself.

While most freshwater patterns are subtle combinations of natural materials, many saltwater creations are glittery, shiny, and flashy.

As Paul Jr. would say - just the thing to attract a Redneck.

I have been trying out some patterns here and there but since we got hit by heavy thunderstorms this weekend and I couldn't fish or work in the yard, I decided to pull out the tying bench and get busy.

Here are some of the creations I came up with.

This first one looks like a redfish killer to me. It is a spoon fly / crab-shrimp I saw in Bass Pro Shop. A local tyer had left one out on the bench and it really caught my eye. His had glitter embedded in the epoxy but I went with the clear look. After tying on the rubber legs and dumbell weight which will cause the hook to face up, you build a frame out of wire (I used copper) and coat with 5 minute epoxy. You need to rotate the spoon while the epoxy sets up and the result is a spoon shaped body.

I also tried this technique on a Mylar Minnow. I think this one needs some work.

These are called spoon flys. They are supposed to resemble a Johnson Spoon and are very popular. I tied these using materials cut from a sparkly pinwheel Tracy bought for me at Wally World. The light colored one is made from glow-in-the-dark tape. I stuck two pieces together and cut out the teardrop shape. I like things that glow....

This is my version of the gummy-glow-glass minnow.

This is what it looks like in the dark. I have high hopes for this little guy off the pier in the dark.

These are another "hot" bait in saltwater flyfishing - the gummy minnow. This guy is made with Sili Skin a silicone product that is made in silver, scale, mother-of-pearl, and other cool colors. It is stretchy, transluscent, and sticky. I moulded it over a form and added some eyes for a fishy look. The light colored one is moulded over the glow tape.

I call this one the "Luggage Tag". It is another glass minnow immitation that uses a clear rubber cord that comes with 3M self laminating luggage tags made for business cards. The body color comes from the Krystal Flash material you can see on the tail. I wrapped the hook shank before adding the clear rubber cord above. This is an unweighted fly which can float on the surface film or sink very slowly. I'm also expecting this to be good for the night time speckled trout under the lights.

Last but not least are the assorted poppers. These are designed after the East Cut Poppers which are sold locally for $3-$5 each. They are easy to make with pre-cut popper bodies, a little Krystal Flash, some eyes, and some glitter nail polish or epoxy.

I had a great time and learned some new techniques. Now I need to get them wet!