Fishing, four wheeling, UFOs and fireworks

Last week, I spent Thursday and Friday fishing in Corpus Christi. I actually got there on Wednesday evening so we went out in the kayaks to do some fishing in the Laguna Madre underneath some lights.

Of course it was windy so it was a bit difficult to cast with my 6 weight and so I spent most of the time with my casting rod. We were catching trout on almost every cast though most of the fish were undersized "schoolie" trout. We did manage a limit but we also had to fight a strong current, sea foam, lots of grass and wind. Not to mention, I got two really nice birds nests on my casting reel and I dunked my fly rod in the water but recovered it before it sank. All in all, it was worth it.

The next afternoon we went to clean the fish at the boat launch and just as we finished up one of the area's best guides came in with four clients.

As it turns out, my cousin knows this guide fairly well and stayed to chat with him. The guide is named Captain Bill Sheka and he is truly a living legend among the guides on the Texas coast. He's been showcased on a few TV fishing shows and guided TV personalities and other celebrities. He's a real nice guy to boot.

Anyways, after a photo of the catch with his clients, he and my cousin were talking and one of the clients asked if the truck parked nearby belonged to my cousin. It was and he asked us to pop the hood open so he could show us how we could get three, four or more miles-per-gallon better mileage out it. Bill introduced his client as Steve Gehrlein. Apparently, Steve is a mechanic's mechanic and owns a very successful auto shop in San Antonio, hosts a radio show on identifying and solving car problems, and also wrote a book on tips to avoid getting ripped off by bad mechanics called Save $$$ on Auto Repairs. So, of course we listened and let him show us how!

Steve proceeded to tell and show us a few modifications to allow additional airflow into the engine via the air filter housing that would do the trick along with cleaning the throttle body. In the process of showing us, he cut his finger pretty badly on the sheet metal though it didn't stop him. He was pretty enthusiastic about showing us how to get that extra gas mileage out of the vehicle.

My cousin asked me to take a photo of him with the celebrities. Since I didn't have my digital camera with me I used my camera phone and the photo didn't come up too bad. Left to right in the photo are my cousin Captain George Garza, Captain Bill Sheka and Steve Gehrlein.

That night we went looking for a way to get to a remote location on North Padre Island that my cousin wanted to fish and we followed a trail that had been created by some four wheelers. It really required a four wheel drive vehicle to get back in there since it was mostly fine sand trails with deep ruts. We almost got stuck twice. It was worth it though as the area we fished was beautiful though we only caught one keeper 20 inch trout. We promised to come back the next night to do some gigging for flounder since there were several small areas in the back that looked promising.

One thing that did occur that night while we there looking up at the starry night was my cousin caught a glimpse of a small white flash high up in the sky and then I saw it too. It blinked a couple of times and then showed up east of where it was again. It flashed a couple of times then showed up farther east almost above us. It flashed a couple of times again then showed up east behind us. Amazing! We knew it was not a jet since nothing travels that fast! It also made no sound. It wasn't a satellite either since you can typically see the object constantly as it travels. It also wasn't a meteor since they stream across the sky and disappear in a flash. It had to be a UFO. I've seen some odd things out there before but that was a first for something like that. I am totally serious when I say that was really freaky seeing that.

The next day, July 4, we came back to do some flounder gigging. After watching a beautiful sunset and it got pretty dark, we walked maybe three miles through the water and only came across two small flounder. All the time there were fireworks exploding all along the beach and across the bay. It was really cool! We packed it up around midnight and headed out. A friend of my cousin's had come along in his four wheel truck and got stuck in the sand just as we were exiting the area. My cousin towed him out and we had a lot of laughs at his friend's expense since that was the second time my cousin has towed him after getting stuck.

This was a most memorable trip and I did bring back some trout as well. I'm going to do some freshwater fishing for a while but will try to get back out for a salt fix in the fall.

Here kitty kitty!

Today I took my 10 year old son on a guided fishing trip on the San Gabriel river. I was the guide of course. This meant I brought no tackle along for myself. My son brought along his spinning combo, worm hooks, bobbers and, of course, some big fat nightcrawlers.

We paddled to a pool where I was sure we could catch some bass as that is what he wanted to catch. The first fish to strike was indeed a bass but came off. We then went to the end of point of a gravel bar that was adjacent to deep water and tried our luck there. He caught a catfish! A good one to. He then caught another one. And then another. On the third one, I got jabbed by the spine in the pectoral fin as I was taking out the hook and the kitty twisted about. It wasn't a bad jab but enough to hurt and draw blood. This was a good time to teach my son about being careful of those catfish spines and to always carry a small first aid kit which I had in my bag. A little alcohol swab and a bandage and I was fine.

Now, at this point, I was sort of stunned as I have never caught a catfish from this pool. I have caught some nice cats upstream from here. He continued trying to catch a bass (or a carp which he saw splashing about) but kept catching catfish or got hits but no hookups with whatever it was. In less than 2 hours he caught 7 catfish with the largest going over 4 pounds. The largest one gave him a good fight and we took a photo of it and released it. Actually, in the photo it looks as if he is holding the catfish up but just out of camera range above his hand I am holding the line since the catfish was a little heavy for him to hold up that high.

We had a good time on the river and while he didn't land any bass, he did enjoy catching those catfish. We also saw several herons and a large hawk fly over the pool. I am thinking I need to get him his own kayak because the both of just barely fit in my kayak. He knows how to paddle but I may need to tether his kayak to mine when paddling upriver as it hard work sometimes. We'll be back for those bass some other day.

Back from Walt Disney World

I didn't get any fishing in last weekend or this one since I spent a wonderful week with the family in Buena Vista, Florida visiting each of the Walt Disney World parks. It was a memorable time and I probably took at least a couple of hundred photos that I won't post here except for this one of the iconic Cinderella's castle.

It rained just about every day and the humidity made it feel somewhat uncomfortable at times. Of all the parks, I think my youngest kids like Magic Kingdom the best while my wife and I really liked Hollywood Studios. The world showcase section of Epcot is pretty cool and Animal Kingdom is a very neat park but you are outdoors far more than in the other parks.

This was our second trip to Disneyworld Florida in four years. Next time, we may stay at the Port Orleans Disney resort since it has a fishing pier with a lake stocked with brim and catfish for catch and release fishing. They actually have guided bass fishing trips and bass fishing tournaments at the lake at Magic Kingdom. So, I may take my 5 weight with me next time and maybe I will be able to post a fishing related report then.

Rivers of Texas Rally

This weekend brings probably over 50,000 motorcycle enthusiasts to the Republic of Texas (ROT) Rally here in Austin. While all those bikers were heading into town, I headed to the San Gabriel river instead with my kayak and 6wt and it turned into a rally of sorts there as well.

I got to the low water crossing at Highway 29 and CR100 around 8am and found three fisherman there. Two were loading up kayaks and the third was wading and casting with a fly rod. I went up to the first two to say good morning and then put together my stuff and started paddling towards the third angler.

I greeted him and started talking with him for a bit. As it turned out he belonged to the Austin Fly Fishers club. It turns out we both knew some of the same folks. One name I mentioned was a fishing pal of one of the guys that had launched their kayak before me. It also turned out that they all worked for IBM. Wow, small world since so do I. I wished him well and paddled upriver.

I came upon the second fly fisher in the kayak and told him I knew, actually worked in the same department with, his best pal. Apparently the guy we mutually knew moved to Boston not long ago but he still keeps in touch. After chatting for a while I headed upstream passing a couple of guys fishing from shore.

At the pool above the rapids I encountered a man and his son bowfishing for carp. For those not familiar with this sport, one uses a regular bow but with an arrow with a special tip that folds back when it penetrates the fish and opens back up after it goes through. The arrow has a line attached that is wound on a spool with a reel that is attached to the bow. The carp is reeled in sort of like when using a rod and reel. The only obvious difference is there is never such a thing as "catch and release" with this method. Although you can eat carp, typically they are ground up for fertilizer.

I continued paddling upstream avoiding to get near the bow fishing duo. After reaching my destination a half mile upstream, I cast a sort of wooly bugger looking fly that is really meant for redfish and caught the bass pictured above on that first cast. I caught several more small bass and lost one that was really nice and was putting a nice bend in my 6wt. After a while I noticed a couple of kayaks downstream so I put my gear up and started paddling back downstream.

It turns out that in one of those kayaks was an angler that frequents the forums at texaskayakfisherman.com so I stopped by and said hello and chatted with him and his wife for a short while. We talked about how nice and peaceful it was fishing in that section of the river. I mentioned to his wife that I had seen a large raccoon on the paddle upstream before it retreated into the woods. After a while I bid them good luck and kept going back downstream.

I fished the next pool for a while catching yet more bass and other sunfish and then I saw one of the fly fishers approaching. I went over and he was stalking carp. He had caught one below the rapids and was looking for another in the pool. We tied on a damselfly nymph and while I was making my way through the rapids he caught another carp! I need to tie up some of those flies!

On the way out at the low water crossing, I found the first fly fisher that had been wading earlier in the morning and he was waiting for his buddies. They weren't all that far behind me and while I was loading up my gear in the truck we talked for a bit and he invited me for a cold beer after they loaded up. I told him I had to pass. Can you imagine if I get home and my wife smells beer on my breath? Oh no boy!

I haven't had so much social interaction on the river like this in a long while. It was kind of nice. However, I am glad that I didn't find 50,000 anglers in the river this morning. I would still be there saying hello to everyone.

Another Bass Sunday

I set off once again this morning to my favorite hole on the San Gabriel river. The target species would be bass so I took along my trusty 6wt and some bass flies I have tied.

I got there around 8 a.m. and started paddling upstream to find a fly fisherman wading in the river. We talked a bit and he said he had caught a couple of bass on poppers earlier. I told him I was heading upstream and wished him luck.

About 400 yards upstream, I ran into a kayak angler and he hadn't had much luck yet. I told him a few spots to try and wished him luck as I continued paddling upstream.

I finally reached the rapids and proceeded to catch small largemouth and Guadalupe bass. I saw plenty of carp and tried several times for some of those but was rejected. Besides bass, I did manage several red breasted sunfish.

I also lost a lot of flies today; mostly to overhanging trees. I may have to start tying some of the last of the ones I lost, such as the black Zonker Bonker I broke off.

On my way back out, I met up with the other kayak angler who had done well catching bass on one particular timber laydown.

It was another good dayto be out on the river. One good thing about fishing in a river like this when the sun is hot is you can fish in the shade of the large trees growing along the shore. Getting in the water to wade is also refreshing. It's much nicer than fishing on a large lake and I'll be back again though I will likely try one of my other spots along the river next time.