Early morning on Lake Travis

Since the rivers are still not ideal for traversing, I thought I would try the lake early in the morning. I headed for Lake Travis just before 5am.

When I got down to the boat ramp at Sandy Creek Park, I found a car and a pickup truck parked near it. It looked like a couple of people were asleep in the bed of the truck. It seemed uncomfortable so I tried not to make much noise unloading the kayak to launch. It's likely it was some teenagers that came out to the lake at night to party. It hasn't been the first time I've encountered partied out teenagers. They're harmless enough.

I was hoping to fish one of the green lights located in front of a floating house but apparently there was a party going on that must have started the night before. Dang! So I tried a few lighted boat docks and didn't have any luck.

The wind was still and the air was slightly humid but not uncomfortable. The bug repellent was doing the job keeping the mosquitoes away which I was thankful for.

Since I wasn't having much luck I decided to wait for sunrise so I could see better. While lying in my kayak looking up at the sky, I caught sight of three shooting stars (meteorites) in less than an hour which was pretty cool. I also heard the flapping of ducks flying overhead in the quiet morning. Strange that I couldn't hear the frogs after a while just as sunrise started to show.

I continued looking for fish around submersed vegetation. My sinking line would occasionally get tangled in the underwater brush. I switched to a yellow Gurgler fly that the sinking line could suspend below the water line and would bob as I retrieved it. I had fish follow it but no takes. I also had small bluegill peck at it but the size #2 hook was a bit too big for them. I also saw lots of fingerling bass but no adults.

I paddled into the back of a deep cove lined with trees along its steep banks. I finally got one bite which I promptly pulled the hook out of the fish's mouth. I headed back out just before 9am since the morning was starting to warm up and I had had only one bite all morning.

All in all, it was good getting out for a paddle. I need to paddle some more as I think lack of a weekly paddling has gotten me out of shape!