Maiden voyage on Brushy Creek Lake

Brushy Creek Lake is a small lake located in Cedar Park near the town of Round Rock. Before it was opened to the public by the city of Cedar Park, people used to trespass and fish the lake illegally. There were rumors of big bass in it and when it first opened, I was there with other fisherman and indeed some large bass were caught (but not by me). I did manage to catch some decent bass, crappie, catfish and even carp there but after a while it seemed "fished out" and it got significantly more difficult to catch a bass though folks on occasion still caught some decent bass over 16".

Due to the small size of this lake, lack of any significant current and lack of motorboats, it seemed an ideal place to take my son so he could continue learning how to maneuver and fish from a kayak.

We got there fairly late in the afternoon. We carried our kayaks to the canoe/kayak launch and then paddled out to a particular spot I wanted to stay in that is popular with a lot of folks.

My son worked on figuring out how to position his kayak and set anchor. I fished close by but let him figure things on his own and explore. He found a small island with what looked like bird houses set aside for owls. There was a mayfly hatch and the sunfish were going crazy but we were here for the bass so our hooks were in the 3/0 size.

We hung around for a while, not really catching anything but enjoying the water nevertheless. As the sun was starting to quickly set, we started to paddle back to the launch in order to get home for dinner. On the paddle back you could hear some classical music, Bach's Brandeburg Concerto I believe, coming from the nearby golf course. The water was glassy smooth and the air was cool. A great way to end the day.

Quick trip on Lady Bird Lake

This afternoon I continued my quest to find a spot I could fish with my son and this time drove to downtown Austin to check out Lady Bird Lake (previously known as Town Lake).

I parked near the high school and launched from the canoe launch and headed downstream to the entrance to the spring fed Barton Creek.

The water was fairly clear and flowing nicely. The day however was windy. I worked my way upstream and in one location I had a bass trail behind my fly but no bite. That was actually the only fish I was able to see. I kept moving upstream avoiding the inexperienced folks that were trying to paddle the rented canoes from the canoe/kayak rental shack upstream.

I spent some time fishing along a large drain emptying into the creek but without any luck so I started my paddle back since I wanted to get on my way long before rush hour started.

I am considered just going with my son tomorrow to a small lake near our house that I rarely ever fish called Brushy Creek Lake. That's right, it has the words creek and lake together. It is a place I once caught a 16" crappie on the fly there. However, it was heavily overfished and so I stopped going there. Like Lady Bird Lake, it is a motorboat free lake and so kayak friendly. We'll see how this trip works out.

Quick trip on the San Gabriel River

I am officially on vacation this week so I am trying to catch up on fishing as it has been quite some time since I have been out.

With the rain we have had lately, I decided to head out to one of my favorite spots on the San Gabriel river. I wanted to check it out to see if it was good enough to take my son out on a subsequent trip. I got everything loaded in my truck and left around mid-afternoon.

When I got to the low water crossing, I noticed the water was indeed high and flowing fairly fast. It took some careful planning to get in at the low water bridge and start paddling upstream.

I got to a narrow section in the river with a bend and had a hard time crossing it so I had to beach and drag my kayak a short way over to some slower water so I could continue upstream.

I saw some backs popping up which were obviously carp feeding but by the time I got within casting distance they all disappeared. I thought I had been quite stealthy but apparently not.

I continued upstream towards the rapids and the current was quite strong to where I simply couldn't get close enough so I started drifting back. As I drifted, I cast along promising spots.

I passed a section where a small creek was emptying into the river and decided to try here. I let my fly drift and felt a hit and I had a fish on. Unfortunately it came off after a brief fight. I am positive it was a catfish from the way it fought.

It was a quick drift downstream with the increased flow. It didn't give me much of a chance to fish many spots. I only caught one small sunfish on the way before I finally ended up back at the low water crossing.

All in all I fished maybe for just over an hour. I decided to try a different spot the next day as this spot, while plenty of water now, was a bit risky to bring my son along.

Traditional knives

Case XX 6332 Stockman (circa 1940-1964)

I came home feeling I should write about something yet I haven't been out fishing since my last trip a few weeks ago. We have thankfully been getting rain almost every other day so I am sort of excited to see what the rivers will look like soon. Maybe I can finally get out to target some wily carp! But until then I think I can talk about another favorite subject of mine, pocket knives.

Much in the same way that some time ago I gravitated from conventional tackle to fly tackle, in recent years I have gravitated from the one-handed "tactical" knives to the more traditional type; slipjoint knives to be more exact.

Case XX U.S.A. 6318 stockman (circa 1965-1969)

Nothing wrong with one-handed knives but just like there is a indescribable satisfaction to casting a fly and then some close quarter combat with a fish that just ate it, there is a satisfying feeling in using a traditional multi-bladed carbon steel slipjoint to, let's say, handle a mundane task such as slicing up an apple. The patina that develops on those blades along with the natural handle materials such as jigged bone also gives the knife a sense of "soul".

When I was 10 or 11 years old my dad got me my first pocket knife, a small Buck stockman. I loved that knife and one day I broke the main blade in half trying to use it to dig out some dirt clods.

Several years ago when we moved my dad into a retirement home, I ended up with the last pocket knife he carried which was an Schrade Old Timer 8OT stockman he purchased in the late 1980s. I cleaned the old knife up being careful not to remove the dark gray patina, sharpened and oiled it and placed it in a knife box for safe keeping though I have carried a couple of times for nostalgia sake.

I have several production traditional slipjoints from makers such as Queen, Case, Schrade and Great Eastern Cutlery. Most are three bladed stockman knives and some other patterns like trappers and canoes in carbon steel and one or two in stainless steel. All are users. I am also on the waiting list of a custom knifemaker now to get my first custom slipjoint made. I can't wait!

Charles May FireAnT fixed blade knife

Being outdoors when I can, I have also seen the need for a good fixed blade knife. I have had a couple of them but I recently received my first custom from a great knifemaker by the name of Charles May from Mississippi. I was looking for a small, high quality pocket sized fixed blade knife for every day use as well as for attaching to my lanyard. He had a model called the FireAnT that was perfect. I communicated some of my requirements (such as S30V stainless steel for when around saltwater) and waited over a year for my turn to come up. Besides being a great knifemaker, Mr. May is known to be a great outdoorsman, hunter and fisherman. I highly recommend his well thought out knives.

My hope is that one day I will pass on some of my well loved traditional slipjoints to my kids or grandkids and hope they experience the satisfaction of carrying and using a lovely old tool.

Grateful for the rain but ...

I was in South Texas this week to visit family and get some fishing in. I spent Wednesday in Harlingen visiting my parents and then in the evening drove up to Corpus Christi to meet up with my cousin to prepare for fishing on Thursday and Friday.

I woke up at 3am to the sound of heavy rain. By 3:30am there was thunder and lightning. At 5:30am when I got up to head out with my cousin to pick up a friend who was going with us, it was still raining.

We kept watching the radar for a break in the weather. By 9am we headed to the boat ramp. It was still raining but no thunder or lightning. No other trailers at the boat ramp either. This was either foolish or we are hard core.

Since my cousin is a USCG certified captain, I trust him when he said the rain would let up in time for us to fish and that in case it didn't, he knew what to do if the weather got worse.

After an hour of being out on the water, the rain eventually subsided and I took off my rain suit. The afternoon was fairly nice with cloudy skies. The bad part is that we threw everything but the kitchen sink and only ended up with a couple of small trout to show for it. We think all that fresh water getting dumped into the Laguna Madre did something to the fish.

I was hoping to fish some on Friday from the kayak but the morning ended up with more rain and so I headed back home earlier than planned. It rained all the way back to Austin.

I am grateful for the rain but wish it would have rained the week before or after I took vacation to go fishing. I'll get those reds and trout next time.