Adventure Files: Too Hot To Fish? NEVER!

Cole is ready for his first trip
 to the salt.

Tomorrow, we leave for the sequel to this trip with the idea that we will try to win some scholarship money for Cole.  We plan to target flounder.  Who knows if success is in our future, but the adventure awaits!  We'll see what happens...


As most trips do, this one began with frustration as I scoured the house time after time, snapping at anyone who wasn’t helping me look for my sunglasses.  My 10 year old son, Cole was excited and had already loaded the truck. He was ready to roll.  Once we finally got on the road, we ran into traffic caused by an accident.  We re-routed and ran into more traffic.  After stopping for drinks, ice, and sunflower seeds, we eased our way out of town, headed south for Port Mansfield, TX.  My nerves calmed and Cole and I settled into what was going to be a great fishing trip.

After clipping the north side of Corpus Christi, we headed south on Hwy 77 and stopped at my favorite Dairy Queen south of Robstown (it’s my favorite because I only stop there on the way to go fishing with my brother), we settled in for the last stretch of the drive through what was and to some extent still is the King Ranch.  I told Cole that when I was a kid I could remember seeing a sign that said something to the effect of “No fuel next 100 miles”.  He was astonished.  I was too, as I learned that civilization apparently moves in at a rate of a mile per year, because there is still a sign, but 35 years later it reads “65 miles”. 

After making our way through the mesmerizing windmills dotted along the road east of Raymondville, we arrived at my brother Chuck’s little weekend getaway cabin.  Chuck was working on his boat trailer when we got there.  We made short work of finishing that off, went to the harbor to pick up the boat and got it ready for the weekend of fishing we were about to be blessed with.

As we went to bed, Cole asked me “Dad, do you think Uncle Chuck was serious about waking us up at 5:30 to go fishing and I’m going to get to drive the boat?”  He was elated to know it was true!

Saturday began at 5:30 AM with a knock at the door. Cole shot out of bed like rocket.  He was dressed and ready by the time I stumbled out of the bathroom. A quick ride to Poco Loco Marina and the boat was in the water.  Cole was behind the wheel under the watchful eye of Uncle Chuck!  Our live bait of choice was croaker, and there was no croaker to be found in port, so we knew there was a cast net in our future.  As we got out of the harbor and throttled up the boat, we began to encounter a choppy bay and Cole yielded the wheel.  Though he didn’t want to admit it, he was a little scared.

Morning run out of Port Mansfield, TX

We stopped along the South Padre Island shoreline of the East Cut to throw the cast net.  After a few throws, a couple boats went by. I looked back to check on the boat which was adrift about 10’ off the shoreline where we beached her and headed further out despite the Power Pole.  We all ran back, Cole was the first one there and decided that he was not going to be a hero when he took three running steps into the water and was chest deep.  Being the second one there, I swam after it and was immediately reminded of how difficult it is to enter a boat from the water without a ladder.  

MENTAL NOTE… All of my future boats will have a ladder (just like Chuck has carried a set of pliers with wire cutters on the boat since 1985, but that’s another story).   

With bait in the baitwell, we headed out to the jetties.  There was a boat where we wanted to fish, so we eased further down the jetties and caught a few White Trout and moved on.  We headed toward the North Cut and flagged down a croaker boat along the way.  We circled him for a few minutes as he was dealing with some issues on board.  We bought a few dozen croaker.  The exchange there was a little dicey with the choppy condtitions.  The larger vessel swamped us with water, but the Mosca Flats Raider handled it with ease.  Cole however was not so sure about that sequence of events. 

Cole fighting his first speck

Finally, we eased into the North Cut after a rough ride and Chuck got us set up.  He told Cole to cast upstream into the current and feather out line giving it a little bounce as it drifted and before he could really finish, he said “Look, see the line going?  There is probably a fish on there.”  He let it run for a few seconds and set the hook.  Cole reeled it in and there was his first Speckled Seatrout.  It was fun to see him learn just as I did from my brother.

Soon he was baiting his own hooks, making his own casts and catching his own fish.  But, as it goes with a 10 year old, inevitably he started doing his own thing and we would have to get him redirected. 

After about 30 or 45 minutes, and a few redirections, Chuck said “Let’s try something different”. He took a rod with a baitcaster and began tossing a 3” Pearl White Gulp! Shrimp around a nearby dock and let him reel it up showing him how to work the bait.  This went on for a few minutes and ultimately Cole got snagged on the dock.  They waded over to it, got the snag out and began fishing from the dock.  At this point, Cole was basically fishing vertically.  He would just drop it in and bounce it off the bottom and walk along the dock so he didn’t have to cast.  A minute or so later, he thought he had a snag.  As he pulled it up, he realized the he caught his first Flounder.  As they landed it, the fish flopped along the dock just ahead of Chuck trying to pick it up. Cole laughed and said “Are you taking my Flounder for a walk?”  Within an hour he caught his first Flounder and his first Trout

As the day wore on and Cole continued to experience success (when he did it the way he was told) and failure (when he lost focus and began doing his own thing), I was amazed to be witnessing the learning curve taught by success and failure.  Even more amazing to me was that this did not keep the distractions at bay.  I guess when you’re 10 years old, casting and reeling is just as fun as catching.  Trying to experience it as an adult through the eyes of a 10 year old is a strange dichotomy. 

Cole's first Flounder

Day 1

We worked several trout holes and probed for flounder along the way. We moved on up the North Cut to a channel that must have been cut for an oil well years ago.  We were attempting with no real luck to sight cast for Redfish.  After that we worked our trout holes again on the way back. 

We had steady success and ended the day with eleven trout and one flounder. We also caught an assortment of the usual hardheads, gar, and skipjack.  After splitting the duties of cleaning fish and cleaning up the boat and getting it ready for day 2, we had some Sausage and BBQ for dinner and relived the tales of the day. 

Day 2 began much like day 1 in that there was no croaker to be found.  So, with our trusty cast net, we headed straight to our trout holes along the North Cut.  As we were pulling into our first spot, a local guide pulled up right behind us and began fishing the same honey hole that all the guides take their clients to fish.  Chuck and Cole headed out to hunt baitfish while I stayed and got a head start on fishing with a Gulp! Shrimp.  I skipped it up under and around the dock we were next to hoping a nice doormat sized flounder was ready for breakfast, but no such luck!

While Chuck and Cole caught a bunch of bait, I landed a dink trout that needed to grow a little more, so I threw it back.  I could hear the guide giving his lessons and directing his customers.  About the time Chuck got back with the bait, the guide lowered the motor and took off.  I switched to live bait and put the first trout in the box on the next cast.  We joked that the guide saw he was about to take a butt whoopin’ from us and didn’t want to be showed up by a redneck with a cast net in front of the family that just bought bait and paid him $500 to put them on the fish.

Day 2

We put 7 fish in the box in short order.  I know, because I counted.  I think that jinxed us though, because the bite slowed after I counted, so we moved on.  We fished the middle of the cut, the mouth of the channel we fished the day before and further up the west shoreline of the North Cut.  

After a couple hours of coming up empty there, we came back and set up in our favorite trout hole and finished out our limits.  We stayed catching and releasing as the bites continued.  We never got a real total, but I figure we must undersize or over our bag limit. 

have had 15 keeper trout and we probably released 10 that were either

As the day was moving along quickly and we still had a long drive back to San Antonio, we left the trout biting (something I have never done before) and made about a 40 minute run to the jetties at the East Cut to see if we could hook up with Mr. Redfish.

31" Redfish

We pulled up to our spot and put lines in.  Almost immediately I started getting hits.  I slowly bounced my live mullet and the hits got harder. Finally, I had a fish on!  I set the hook and started reeling.  Before I had two cranks on the reel the drag started screaming.  That fish had me running laps around the boat, which is not easy with a 10 year old on board that just wants to see everything. I chased and he kept taking line.  As I got him close to the boat, off he went and thus began Round 2.  This time, he took a little more line and I let him run a bit.  When he got back to the boat he wasn’t ready for round 3.  Chuck, however was ready with the net and I was glad because I wasn’t sure I had a round 3 in me either.  This was my PERSONAL BEST Drum at 31” in length and weighing about 11 pounds. I must have put on a pretty good show, because the guys fishing from the jetties were cheering for me as I took my spot on the deck at the bow of the boat for a photo op. Poor Cole never got his line in the water before all that broke loose.

After we got Cole fishing, I baited up again and tossed it out and began working it back.  I got a few hits and jerked one out of some unsuspecting fish’s mouth.  I guess I was still a little punchy after that fight. The next cast I reeled in a slot red which put up a good fight, but nothing like the first one. About 10 minutes later, I hooked up again and the fight was on!  Again! 

41" Redfish and release  #CPR

This one, I knew, had to be bigger.  This fish took what seemed like endless amounts of line.  I recall Chuck wondering if it might be a Tarpon. He had me running laps again for awhile.  Then Chuck suggested I let Cole fight him for awhile, so we exchanged rods and I reeled his up and grabbed the video camera.  As I was taking video, he said “Take it.”  I put down the camera and watched him a bit longer as the fish kept taking line until he said “Take it” again. I took the rod back and the fish took me to the stern and tried to get me tangled up with the motor and the Power Pole.  Then back to the front and back around again.  I finally got him close to the surface and he swirled and went back down.  It looked like a red, but we didn’t see the tell tale spot, so we were thinking maybe this was a Black Drum.  What ever it was we knew it was big.  I fought hard to bring him back to the surface and noticed a tiny little dot near it’s tail.  I joked later that he had outgrown his dot.  After one more dive, and several tries with the net, we finally landed this monster redfish.  He barely fit in the net. 

Again I took my stage at the front of the boat to the cheers and congratulations of the onlookers from the jetties.  One asked what its length was and I proudly proclaimed it to be 41”.  My new and current Personal Best Red Drum was now 41” and I have no idea how much he weighed.  The scale on the Boga Grip bottomed out at 15 lbs. I would venture to say it was double that.

Cole's first Redfish  27 3/4"

After releasing the biggest fish I have ever caught, I sat on the cooler and drank a Gatorade in the 100+ degree heat of August, catching my breath once again.  I was trying to recall who it was that just told me it was too hot to fish a week earlier.  Cole hooked up with his own Redfish.  It gave him a pretty good fight that I enjoyed watching, but was no match for the strong 10 year old.  Cole’s fish measured in at 27 ¾”. 

We called it a day and headed in proud of our catch, and satisfied with a great fishing trip!  Chuck cleaned the fish again while I hosed down the boat and packed up. 

We said our good byes and thanked Chuck for a great fishing trip.  Cole was already asleep by the time we left Port Mansfield which takes all of about 3 minutes.  As HWY 186 turns east back toward Raymondville, I saw a pair of White Wing Dove fly across the road in front of me headed South and realized… Dove Season is right around the corner!

Introducing Adventure Files: 46 Outdoors Adventure Series

One of my favorite photos taken by Chuck Crowsey at a
ranch in South Texas 

I once heard adventure defined as: "an exciting or wild undertaking of uncertain outcome".  That sounds like the plan for most of my outdoors experiences.  Isn't that truly what many of us are after?

If you asked me why I hunt and fish, of course feeding my family would be high on that list.  I would also argue that the meat I harvest is as organic and naturally free ranging as anything you can buy in a grocery store and probably more so.  I would further point out that these wild animals are leaner and since I process my own meat, it is void of many of the chemicals and  growth hormones found in your local grocery store or meat market, but that is a conversation for another day.  What I am really after is the thrill of the hunt. I want a memorable experience.  Not only do I want to come home safely with a cooler full of meat or fish, I want to bring home a story.  I want a memorable experience to share with my friends and family.  I want an ADVENTURE.

In the series that follows, I will chronicle and share with you these adventures when they unfold. I
have found these experiences to be fairly entertaining and at least somewhat educational. Much like my Kayak Fail a couple weeks ago... If you haven't seen that post, click on the link. It's pretty entertaining! Many of these exciting undertakings will involve my kids and the trials and tribulations of exploring the outdoors with kids in tow. Other installments will include some throwback stories. These may be some of the best of this series as there was probably more true adventure in my younger, wilder days. However, I have found that my kids can take me on adventures too. You just never know what will happen.

The essence of that is what drives me to live life in the great outdoors. How many adventures do you have indoors?  How many adventures do your kids have indoors?  I for one can tell you, if you don't tell them to put down the tablet and go outside, the only adventure they will find is a new world in Minecraft or some other ridiculous game.

My 10 year old son played 4 baseball games this weekend.  Our 4 year old son has a blast at these tournaments.  He races pebbles down hills like race cars, plays in the sand, and runs the bases after the games. They don't like to be indoors.  Their imagination runs wild when they are outdoors. When they have the chance to go hunting or fishing, there is never a question as to weather or not they "want" to go.  I think the older one would truly not be able to decide if I gave him the choice of baseball or fishing. When we are at home, they play their share of video games (much to my dismay). Fortunately, that is not at all very often.  In fact, the real issue is keeping him off the screens so he can get his homework done.

My daughter spends less time outdoors willingly.  However, sometimes she surprises me and wants to go. This may be more about the age (age 12) than anything else.  She used to like going to the lease with me to fill feeders and just poke around when she was younger. I always laugh, when we leave her at home and go to a baseball game. We almost always get the call... "When are you coming home? I'm bored!"  I like this call, I think it means we are one day closer to her coming back around. At least that's what I tell myself!

It is my sincere hope, that one of these days, I will have the time and means to produce enough content to fill a weekly series.  Until then I will attempt to fill in with throwback content...  Enjoy!

Deer Season Recap & A Plan For 2016/2017

A nice 8 point Jan. 2009

Several years ago, when my youngest son was born, I came to the conclusion that it was time to get off my deer lease.  After several successful seasons of management and letting deer walk in hopes of shooting a mature buck one day, I was now going to let someone else shoot those deer.  However, I knew that with a baby on the way, mounting bills, and the lack of time I would have to hunt, it was the best thing I could do for my family. Over the course of the next several years, I saw my friends taking bigger more mature deer than I ever have. Nothing like pouring salt in the wound!Fast forward a couple more years and now I am back on the lease.

Back in September, just before bow season opened, we invited Don Bell, creator of Top Secret Deer Scents to Twisted Oak to give a seminar on hunting the rut.  It was a very interesting, and very entertaining seminar that covered the pre, peak, and post-rut activities of the Whitetail Deer, and the use of scents and calls.  The information shared, made me think about the way we hunt in Texas (over baited areas) versus the way many other states hunt (where it is against the law to bait).  

The difference in my mind being that basically, here in Texas, we alter the deer's natural travel corridors by placing feeders to draw them to a specific spot.  We also open up wide shooting lanes along their trail which also has to have an effect on their travels.  Now, don't get me wrong, most hunters are smart enough to place their feeder and stand locations along travel routes to begin with, but not necessarily in areas where a deer would normally stop to browse.  Other times, these feeders placed in oat fields, where deer come to graze.

The way I understand it, (which is from watching TV, and I could be totally wrong here) in other states where baiting is illegal, stands are placed in locations where deer funnel into pastures to graze and browse.  Some states don't even allow hunting over standing crops, so stand locations are forced further back into wooded areas on natural travel routes; and hunters are left to hunt over scrapes and other areas deer are known to travel.  

So, my question became... Do scents and calls work with the way we hunt in Texas?  I believe it's a topic worth researching.  So, I began looking for rubs and scrapes more actively.  I have seen them before, but never really paid much attention to them.  They merely reinforced in my mind that I had placed my feeder in a location where deer were known to travel. Good info to have, but what do you do with that info?  Well, Don answered that question with some great knowledge like when to use which scent, how to apply it, where to apply it and how to change a nockturnal buck's pattern.  I would not do it justice by trying to explain it here, so check out this video.  It's over an hour in length, but as I said, he is pretty entertaining.

Sunset from the bow stand. Near Hondo, TX

The lease I am on, is small and split by a Farm to Market road.  We all have our even smaller areas that we hunt. So, the idea of hunting a specific deer or a scrape/rub line doesn't seem to be very plausable unless it just happens to be in the perfect place. A place where there are no safety concerns with shot direction, I have the right wind direction, can access the spot without spooking everything in the area, and the right buck is traveling that scrape/rub line.  

Since I am now new to the lease again, my area is one that is near the front gate, which has been hunted before, but with marginal results.  I am not sure why things have been so marginal as there is a pond nearby and many, many trails leading out of some of the best cover on the property and our neighbor's property.  This summer, you can bet there will be many scouting trips to figure out the pattern on all this and find the 2x4 walls (as Don likes to put it). 

My season this year was a tough one. Going on what little I knew from my history on the lease 5 years prior, I set things up in a manner similar to the way it had been set up before.  Why would I expect different results?  Storm damage to my blind early in the season and abundant rain keeping things growing and limiting my vision didn't help much either.  

I harvested 2 hogs in my spot on the lease and never saw a deer from my primary blind, except on camera. All of which looked to be pretty young.  I did see what looked like a pretty mature 6 point that made the hit list, but I never saw him in person. It was a pretty poor year.  Toward the end of the year, I set up a secondary bow stand where I began to see what I thought might be a pattern.  If it is then I may have been parking in an area that cut off the deer headed my way. Most of the deer I saw from the bow stand were 150 yds away or more.  I did have some young bucks come into the bow stand on the trail I set with estrus during the peak of the rut.

I was a little disappointed in the way the season turned out, but it was good time spent with my kids. In the next month, I will make a trip or two out to do some shed hunting and begin my scouting for next season.  I like a challenge and look forward to a season full of trials and tribulations next year.  With any luck, I might learn something or even better, harvest the buck of a lifetime!    

The Key To Success in Hunting & Fishing

Success is a funny thing.  There are a million different ways to define success; and probably as many ways to achieve success.  Weather it's hunting, fishing, archery, shooting sports, team sports, individual sports, or just about anything else, success plays a big role in our happiness.

Last Friday I endured my Kayak Fail.  I must admit, I was bothered by the fact that this outing didn't go well.  Not only was it disappointing, it was embarrassing, and even hurt my pride a little. Even though I'm 50 lbs overweight, I still consider myself fairly athletic and agile.  I stay pretty active by coaching baseball and softball, and now Tball again along with all the outdoors activities I do. It wasn't long ago that I was in the construction industry, loading and unloading, toting lumber,concrete, and tile around jobsites.

Having had the weekend to think about this, I have come to a new outlook. I realized that I overlooked the learning curve.  In most cases, I would have pressed on and shortened that learning process.  I would have removed all my gear and headed out to flip myself in order to figure out my limits and gain confidence.  However, given the fact that the water temperature was as cold as it was, the chill of the wind on wet skin, and the chop on the water lapping over the side. I limited myself as to what I would endure to compensate for this learning curve, and rightly so. With low water temps, choppy water, and no buddy with me, there were definite safety concerns.

Success and failure go hand in hand.  Life would be pretty boring if we didn't have to work at some things from time to time. Those of us that are hunters and fishermen know all too well that we can do everything right and still not succeed. I have also been around people who do everything wrong and still succeed.  Who among us doesn't know someone who hunts the wrong wind or is loud in the deer stand, plays video games and still ends up with the biggest buck.

Sunset in Hondo from the deer blind

I think many times, it comes down to how we define success. If we expect to limit out every day we, we will surely be disappointed.  If we always go hit the same spots where we had success before, we will again be disappointed at some point.  Without trying new techniques, new places, new baits, etc., we will never grow as fishermen.  The same is true for hunting.  We must test the things we think we know, and try things that may not make any sense to know what works and what doesn't and try to discern why.  The variables are virtually never ending, so success this time may yield failure next time.  Lately, I have been taking photos of sunrises and sunsets, and other nature photos to remind me that ultimately, I don't have to fish to eat and I'm there to appreciate what God has created.  Sort of like the old saying goes. "A bad day of fishing is always better than a good day at work."

When I was a senior in high school my buddy and I went fishing ALOT.  Our first trip together was in January of 1989.  I caught a pretty nice bass that first day and we were hooked. We fished at least 2 or 3 times per week and  had some real adventures along the way.  After a month or two of not catching anymore fish (and I mean ZERO fish), you would think we would have given up, but no, we kept going, kept trying, and kept failing.

Sunset at the Crappie Pier

For a long time, we continued doing those same things trying to catch fish. We went to the same place, used the same baits to no avail.  At some point, we began trying different things, we went at different times, different places, different lakes. Finally, one beautiful day in May right before graduation, we found a pier on Canyon Lake.  We sat there and fished around it for quite some time and finally caught a Crappie.  I don't remember if I caught it or my buddy did, but it was the start of something good.  We met a local there on the pier that told us the fishing was great at night, so we came back the next night at dusk and stayed late into the night.  We caught limits of Crappie. Over the next several weeks, we re-equipped ourselves for crappie fishing with ultra light gear, lanterns, floating lights, etc.  We went back time and again. Sometimes we caught, sometimes we didn't. To this day, I'm not sure what I learned from all that, but I know it made me a better fisherman and I love to catch Crappie to this day.

41" Bull Red

Last August, I took a trip to Port Mansfield with my son to fish with my brother.  During that trip, my son caught his first Trout, Flounder, and Redfish (he had a Texas Slam for the weekend as the Redfish came on Sunday).  I caught two personal best Redfish and we had a great time catching fish and spending time with my brother.  A week or two after that trip, my son and I went back to that crappie pier. We got blanked. Another failure to learn from.

Over the years, I have learned to pay attention to the solunar data and adjust my presentations and expectations accordingly. I have also learned alot about seasonal patterns and have been able to apply my experiences years later to understand why things have worked or not.

Success is a long term goal that is born from failure. We learn from our mistakes; and although it's hard to admit failure, we must continue; even in failure until we succeed. This is the learning curve.

Take A Kid Fishing... 6 Tips To Make Them Want To Go Again

Taking kids fishing can be frustrating for an outdoorsman.  The best thing you can do is put down your fishing rod and pay attention to them.  I must admit, I have struggled at this! I know first hand how frustrating it can be.  Here are 6 tips to keep them coming back.

 Invest some time in teaching. We have all heard the expressions that "kids are a sponge" when it comes to learning and picking up new skills.  Teach them to tie a simple fishing knot.  It's a great idea to bring several rods that are pre-rigged (we will discuss why later) Teach them to tie knots while you are pre-rigging these set ups at home.  Here is a great little tutorial on how to tie the Palomar Knot. There are plenty of basic things to teach them.  They want to learn, so teach.  The sooner they learn to do these basic things on their own, the sooner you will be able to pick up your fishing rod again.

Cast at targets.  To expand a little on the previous point, spend some time in the yard teaching them to cast at targets, not just throw it as hard as possible.  I used to sit in my boat organizing tackle or cleaning up after a trip while my 4 & 6 year olds were casting at buckets I placed in different areas around the yard.  They had a blast!  Soon it got to be a daily activity when I got home from work. When it was time to go fishing I could say "Throw it at that stump over there." and they would be able to get it close.

Do what they want to do, but leave the electronics at home. Whatever holds their interest, will keep them coming back.  If they have fun chasing the ducks, let them chase (or preferably feed) the ducks.  I've seen my kids have all sorts of fun harassing the minnows in the bait bucket or live well. Although, if you let this go on too long you will be fishing with dead bait.  Bring the remote control boat and let them play with it for a little while. Let them have their fun and then redirect them back to their fishing activities.

Don't make them watch a bobber.  While the old school bobber fishing is certainly effective, it can be boring, especially for kids.  How many times have you set your kids up with a hook, worm, and bobber and then gone and picked up a lure yourself?  Why? Because you don't want to sit there and watch a bobber either.  Boredom will certainly have them chasing the ducks or asking for the iPod.  Remember earlier we said to pre-rig several rods? Rig one with a bobber and another with a weedless swim bait of some kind.  Texas regulations allow you to be actively fishing 2 rods simultaneously. (Check the laws in your state.) Put out the worm under the bobber out and keep an eye on it while they cast and reel.  They will get more out of it if they are doing something and they might actually catch something on either rod.  I can remember my older brother just shaking his head because I caught the biggest fish of the trip just casting at nothing off the stern of the boat while he was picking out a backlash and not running the trolling motor to keep us in position.  You never know!

Take a break.  Let the kids go swimming.  Really! You can't take kids to the water in the summer and expect them not to swim!  We used to anchor up in a cove and let them swim for 20- 30 minutes.  After that, they were ready to fish again.  When I was in high school, we usually found some time to water ski in the middle of the day.

Don't stay too long.  I can't think of too many things worse than crying and whining kids.  However, I have learned that if they leave crying and whining because they want to stay; that's a good thing! If they are crying and whining because they want to go home, something went wrong.  Kids should want to be in nature... after all it's natural! But, if it's hot, they need a nap, the fish aren't biting, the ducks don't want to play, the batteries are out on the remote control boat, and everybody is cranky and/or hungry, you stayed too long. It's always a good idea for them to leave wanting more instead of wanting to go home.

Obviously, the key is to make it fun.  I saw and shared the meme above on our Facebook page.  It is  a great sentiment, but if you don't handle it right (especially these days), you could turn him or her off for good.  So, stop into Twisted Oak and pick up a few rods and reels, lures, minnows or night crawlers, and terminal tackle.  Get some great advice on how to rig them while your there.  If you don't know where to start, look for Angler Education classes at the store soon!

Kayak FAIL

My first kayak outing was a dismal FAILURE.  I have been looking forward (for months now) to getting into a kayak to fish and paddle.  I heard the White Bass are running on the Guadalupe River,  and figured a quick little trip to the calm waters of Boerne Lake would be a good idea so I could get used to the kayak and get things organized, so I could take a float trip to the Guad.  Instead, I learned (well, not so much learned as confirmed) a few things I will outline below.

I had to purchase a few supplies, so I spent about $100.00 on a life vest, whistle, small bungees, a waterproof pouch for my phone and a pair of rubber/neoprene boots that will double as my hunting boots next season.  Having procured my supplies and cleaned out the back of my truck, I loaded the kayak, paddle, crate, rods and reels, along with a cooler for some water and sandwiches.  With all the excitement of a kid going fishing for the first time, I headed to Boerne Lake with my hopes high and smile on my face.

To start with, I should probably set the scene.  It was a beautiful day outside,  the temperature was probably in the mid 70's (don't let this fool you though, the water temperature was probably in the 50's).  The wind was blowing out of the southeast at about 10-15 mph which resulted in a 6-8" chop on the water.

I think the first thing I learned, is that it's not as easy as one might think to strap all that stuff to your kayak.  Bungee cords leave something to be desired.  Although they were tight, things still slid around.  I will have to work on this.  I guess it's all the years of building things and hauling materials around, but I like things to be solid; no movement.  Also, because the kayak doesn't lay flat, it was a little difficult getting things situated.  Between the slope of the boat ramp and the kayak rolling over, things didn't want to stay where I put them; so I was left to leash, lash, strap, and otherwise tie down with one hand while I held and steadied with the other.  I know I need to get better at this and more efficient.  A boat ramp on Friday around noon is not a very busy place in the middle of February, but I would have had some folks pretty angry folks around if it were June.

Once I got everything strapped down and ready to go, I stepped down into the water with a plan.  The goal (and reason for he plan) was not to get wet.  Ultimately I had a picture in my mind that looked very similar to the photo on the left.

Fortunately, there are no pictures or video (that I know of) of the events that transpired over the next 2 minutes.  I faced the lake and headed out with the nose of the kayak in hand.  When I got out to the point where I would have filled my boots with water had I taken another step, I stopped and eased the kayak into the water floating it between my legs to the point where the seat ended up right below me.  Everything was great so far.  I sat on the kayak and immediately realized that I wasn't far enough out and the rear of the kayak was still on land.  In case you are wondering, this makes the boat flop violently right and left with every movement.  This is also the point at which I realized my plan was inadequate.

I began lunging forward to try to get the boat fully into the water.  I tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to put my feet in the boat... one at a time, then both at the same time.  Every time I picked up my feet, I had to slam them back down into the water to regain my stability.  By now, I had about a gallon of water in each boot. This might be a good time to point out that although I got them on clearance, I made a $50 investment in a pair of boots to keep my feet dry.  So, I put my paddle on the surface of the boat ramp and leaned toward it, swung both feet in the boat and pushed off at the same time.  I was finally actually on the kayak, in the water.  It was about this point in time that I realized that all the water that was previously in my boots, was now soaking its way through the small foam stadium seat that I used as a seat cushion.  It's also worth mentioning that there are two scupper holes in this boat to drain water , and neither of them are under the seat.

I gave a few paddle strokes to get away from land.  Then I began to try to get a feel for the stability by moving around a bit.  It still felt a bit unstable and therefore made me a bit uneasy.  Before I knew it, the wind caught the nose of the boat and pushed me broad side back to the concrete ramp and beached me.  I pushed off again only to get pushed back again.

At this point, I decided that my maiden kayak voyage, as short as it was, was over.  Already soaking wet, from my rear to my feet and from mid forearm to fingers on both hands, I figured that this kayak thing needed a new plan.  So, I bailed out and drug the kayak back on shore.

I went back to the truck and drove down to load it up.  While finishing up getting all my things off of the kayak, I noticed a guy getting into his truck.  I think he had been walking across the dam or in the park on his lunch break because he seemed to be changing his shoes while watching me load up all the rods and crate etc. He drove up next to the boat ramp and asked if I needed any help.  Loading the kayak is really pretty easy, so I refused.  He smiled and waved as he took off making me wonder if he had seen the whole ordeal.

All in all, it took me 40 minutes to drive there, about 15 minutes to unload the boat, get all my gear situated, put on my boots and PFD, 2 minutes in the water, and 10 minutes to load up and another 40 minutes to drive home.  Travel/prep time to water time ratio was 107:2.  I must admit failure on this one.

However I can pick out three positives this trip left me with.

1. The guy that stopped to ask if he could help had a Hobie sticker on his truck.  A fellow kayaker maybe?  It's good to know that if I needed help, he was willing.

2. I feel pretty good about my crate set up, although I need to figure out a better way to tie that down.  It took some violent weight shifts and jostling without losing anything.

3. After this ordeal, I wasn't 5 minutes from the lake before I was on the phone with Diablo Paddlesports in an attempt to get a WIDE, STABLE, kayak for Twisted Oak.  I had a dealer pack by the end of the day!

In no way am I giving up here.  I will be back on a kayak soon.  Hopefully a Diablo.  When the water warms up a little more, I will even give this kayak a shot again... when I don't mind getting wet!

Kayak Fishing... No More Excuses

If you read my "What's In A Name" post or know anything about me, you know I am no stranger to fishing the waters of Central and South Texas.  Canyon Lake, Medina Lake, Travis, the Guadalupe, Medina, Blanco, Colorado, Frio and the Nueces Rivers have all been my fishing waters along with the bays and shorelines from Rockport to the King Ranch on down to the Port Isabel Causeway.  I even have a story about alligators, deer, and a Game Warden at Choke Canyon that someday I may write about.  Of course I will have to change the names to protect the innocent (no really no laws were broken).  It's an interesting story nonetheless.  However, one thing I have NEVER done is fish from a kayak.  This week, that will change!

I have been looking (for quite some time) to put kayaks in our store, Twisted Oak Hunting & Outfitter Supply.  We are finally close to working out a deal with a company that will remain undisclosed until we get that worked out, but to say the least it has been a long hard road.  Since I began thinking about this (over a year now), I have wanted to give it a try.  It can be an economical way to get away from the crowds, and high pressure fishing that public access banks provide. In the last year I have made many friends in the fishing community and many of them fish from the yak and do well.  My excitement for this new endeavor continues to grow, but as we have not been able to get any kayaks here in the store, I have refrained from just going out and purchasing a kayak (to the dismay of my 10 yr old son) because I want to paddle what we sell.  However, my friend Brian Taylor with 5x3 and several other sponsors has graciously loaned me the use of his kayak while I am trying to get this worked out, putting an end to my wait!  (THANK YOU BRIAN TAYLOR!!!!!!)

Several weeks ago, Brian brought me his Aquaterra kayak. She is sleek and seems a little narrow for my 260 lb frame but that will not deter me.  It is a Sit On Top (SOT) model with adjustable foot pegs large front and rear hatches and came equipped with what looks like a couple Scotty Rod Holder mounts that need the actual rod holder pieces.  Other than that, your basic kayak with a paddle.

As it does not have the actual rod holders.... and the temperatures have been a bit low... and I have no experience kayaking... and I have no cold weather gear to wear on said kayak... and I have not yet purchased the all important PFD,  I still haven't put this thing in the water!  So, I have been working on an anchor trolley, a kayak crate with rod holders (I cut and flared PVC to make my own rod holders), and figuring out my general set up.  Also, it's worth noting that I haven't spent a dime yet... Remember, I said it was economical!  However, I'm quite sure I will want to change it all when I get it on the water!  Oh well!

Sometime this week, I will be purchasing my PFD and finishing up all these little projects.  Still left on my list is mountings for tools, a lid for my crate, leashes (I plan on making those too), and an anchor.  I plan to share with you my experiences good and bad about kayak fishing.  Once school is out I will be introducing my son to kayak fishing as well and relating that experience as it unfolds, so stay tuned!  Hopefully we will have a little video along the way as well.

I have been a little apprehensive about getting wet as water temps this time of year are likely in the 50's, but I can wait no longer!  Afternoon temps will be in the 80's this week, so I'm hanging out the shingle: GONE FISHIN'!