Field trip to San Antonio

I went on a field trip today. Well, a field trip with my son's 4th grade class to San Antonio to visit the Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) and the Alamo. I like going on field trips with my kids. It was also a very pretty Spring day for a trip.

The ITC is a small but fascinating place to learn about all the cultures that had a hand in shaping Texas. Besides the Spanish, there were French, German, Polish, Czech colonies and eventually Swiss, Japanese, Chinese, Lebanese, Scottish, and other immigrants from the world that made Texas their home. Lots of fascinating facts about contributions by each of these immigrants can be found at the ITC. Neat place.

We had lunch nearby under the 750 foot Tower of the Americas and I took this photo of it between some oaks up into the clear blue sky. We didn't go up into it though as going to the IMAX theater to watch a 45 minute movie about the battle of the Alamo was our next destination.

The IMAX theater is located in the Rivercenter Mall along the San Antonio river and within walking distance of the Alamo. The movie was fine and reminded us of the sacrifice by brave men that set in motion the eventual independence of Texas from Mexico.

After the movie we walked over to the Alamo for a one hour visit before getting back on the charter buses for the return trip home. Although the Alamo and surrounding buildings are small, it was interesting to visit it and also to be reminded that it is a shrine to the fallen heroes of the republic.

Being a native Texan (4th generation), I love this state. I love the history, the land, the people. I've visited other countries and not surprisingly, I usually introduce myself as a Texan rather than American. It was good to be reminded today of it all again. I really wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

A morning on the San Gabriel river

This morning my wife made a delicious breakfast of breakast tacos filled with potato and egg. I'm glad I had a good breakfast since I didn't know it but it would give me the energy I'ld need to traverse the San Gabriel river.

I put-in just below the low water crossing at the end of the San Gabriel City Park in Georgetown. This is the same area I had some nasty surprises last year. This time the water was flowing quite well, probably around 100 cfs, and fairly clear. The temperature was in the low 60s so I donned my breathable waders.

It was a pretty easy float down the river thanks to the increased water and flow. Still, it was difficult finding anything but small bass, tiny brim and small carp and gar. There weren't large numbers of fish. I however caught a couple of small bass and brim just to avoid getting skunked.

I encountered lots of rapids in places that usually don't have water. I floated down about 3 miles and since the fishing wasn't as outstanding as normal I made the trek back upriver. Boy, that was work as it took me about an hour to get back to the put-in. Usually, it takes me only about 30 minutes. I think the increased flow also made it more difficult finding fish in areas where it's usually a fairly calm pool but instead is flowing fast. I'm sure the fish were right up against shore cover.

Eventually, I made it out. I think I will check the flow on my next trip out and hopefully hit it when the water is slightly warmer and the flow is below 60 or 70 cfs.

I do have to say that even though there weren't many fish caught and it was work going back up river, it was a beautiful morning and the river was beautiful. I hope the next time out, it's equally pleasing and relaxing.

Quick camping trip

We decided to do an overnight camping trip on Friday given the nice weather with mild night temps in the low 60s. I loaded up the family SUV with the tent, sleeping bags, cooler, portable grill, etc. and of course the family and headed out to a small park on the shores of Lake Travis.

I set up the camp quickly on a campsite we all agreed upon and while putting up the tent I had a little vistor scamper up the side. It was a small Texas Tree Lizard. My son loves lizards and has a terrarium in his room with a Green Anole and Bahamian Anole that he takes care of. The little Texas Tree Lizard blends in really well with oaks and is really fast on the ground but on that tent he was fairly easy to catch. We studied him a bit and then let him run off. These little guys are one major reason why Texas roadrunners run so fast.

We had hot dogs and beef fajitas for dinner and took one of the trails down to the lake to watch the sunset and skip rocks on the water. I think the best I could do was get 4 skips on the water. I'm not all that good at skipping rocks.

Once back at the camp, I lit the Coleman lantern and we went into the tent to basically just goof off and then fall asleep under the clear sky and stars.

In the morning, I made some pancakes on the iron skillet then went down to the lake to cast plastic worms in the water for a little while. Even my wife cast one of the spinning rods for a short while. I got only one bite so after a few minutes we did some exploration of the trails around the park. I did note that with all the recent rain, the lake level has risen dramatically. While it's still not full, it's now only 2 feet below the average for the month. I also noted the water was quite clear. I think I'll be out there in the kayak one of these weekends for some night fishing.

Since my oldest daughter has to ride a horse we lease several times a week, we decided to go back before noon so she could go ride. I packed everything back up into the SUV and we went back home. My kids acted like we were on our way back to the civilized world though I can tell they really enjoyed the short, camping trip. Next time, we may head to Bastrop State Park to camp there one weekend.

After work pond fishin'

I left work early around 4:30pm and went to a nearby park that has three retention ponds and a small spring fed lake. I brought along my TXL 2wt since the target was going to be brim.

There was quite a bit of algae in the retention ponds but I could still see some brim and occasional bass moving about. I was able to catch a couple dozen redbreasts and greenies up to about 6" and caught a few small bass up to about 7". I walked around the larger pond and saw several larger bedding bass but none would take anything I dropped in front of them. I also saw some really large brim but only managed to hook one which I lost on a log.

As the sun was setting I walked over to the main lake and cast about the shore until I got to a bend and start getting hit after hit by fingerling to 6" bass. The area must have been loaded with them because for the next hour it was almost a hit on every first or second cast. The longest I went without landing one was four casts. I must have caught 40 small bass on a #14 bead head nymph.

I did determine that while the TXL is great for short easy casts up to 30 feet, it was a chore casting that weighted nymph on that 2wt line farther than that. Luckily all the baby bass were pretty close to shore hidden among the algae.

During a point where I was unhooking a small bass, a really big bass made a wake up to shore possibly chasing some of the fingerlings for a snack.

I ended up leaving them biting which was a good feeling in a way. Next time I need to take the TXL on a trip to the San Gabriel river and find pools with bigger bass to test it on.

A day at the zoo

The family and I went to San Antonio today because my wife had put together a baby shower for my sister-in-law who lives there. I decided to take the youngest two kids to the San Antonio Zoo rather than just hangout at my inlaws house.

One thing about a zoo like this one is they have man made ponds and streams throughout it full of fish. In the case of this zoo, they have catfish and lots of tilapia and carp/koi everywhere.

What I wouldn't do to be able to bring a 6' 6" 3wt and some pellet flies! This place would be a blast but alas I would probably get booted out the front gate or arrested. I had a great time with the kids though. Lucky fishes!