Great Blue Heron Rescue

I absolutely despise and loathe trotlines/juglines/throwlines.  I don't think it's really fishing; people forget where they put these unmanned lines spanning creeks, rivers, and other water body areas, not to mention a line may not be longer than 600 feet, have no more than 50 hooks, and spacing must be 3 feet or greater per hook.  Whoopie! some restrictions there.  

In early 2020, Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission did change the regulations requiring anglers to check their unmanned lines every six days instead of every 10 days, so that's something, and in 2024, 15 specific water bodies and all community lakes cannot have trotlines.  There is so much bycatch entrapped in these lines, that this method of catching should be outlawed.  Pick up a rod and go fish for goodness sakes.

Being outside and on the water, fly fishers are invariably conservationists, as well, which also means, knowing how to reach a Game Warden when needed.  Fortunately, TPWD publishes its Game Wardens and their contacts by county.  Skip 911; skip the state park; skip the operator; instead, access the Game Wardens by County webpage before heading out for a day's fly fishing excursion, and take a screenshot of the warden(s) in the county with their contact phone number.  That list is available here:  Game Warden Contact Info by County.

Regrettably, we needed a Game Warden recently, as we discovered an injured Great Blue Heron who had become entangled in an abandoned trotline or throwline.  We were able to free the bird, who did move to land on its own, and contacted a Game Warden, after phoning and leaving messages with three others, who did not return our call.  We do not know the status of the bird, who was in definite need of human assistance, as we had no idea how long it had been entangled.  We never saw a Game Warden arrive, though we had been told it would be awhile before he could make it to the area, but that he would come that date.  Even with the "improved" six-day maintenance, I don't think the Heron would have survived.  This line was old; the hooks were rusted; the bird was a victim of inane fishing practices that offer zero accountability.  

The Dodo YouTube Channel posts stories like these often across social media channels, and though we have seen many, this was the first encounter we have ever had.  Hopefully, we did some good by freeing the majestic bird, who suffered a wounded left wing, a wound to its neck, and hopefully by freeing its left foot, which it did start moving in the water, it did not lose the use of it.

Birthday Fly Fishing

 Every year, I ask to go fishing around my birthday, and this year was no different.  After much prepping, a new trolling motor battery, and several dry runs, the boat was ready.  We loaded our fly rods, boat bags, fly boxes, and planned a day of catching.

Not long after we got out on the lake, we began to experience a engine problems.  Being the handy person that he is, Cody had our engine problems solved, and off we continued.  Seeing and casting to fish, and then having them chase the fly is oh so much fun.  Cody had more fun, as he caught fish; first of the day, a Gasper Goo.  I had followers but no takers.  Then, Cody caught a rather nice Bluegill.

Gasper Goo

Having targeted all the fishy spots and shady spots, we moved locales.  I missed much of the trip as I needed to change from floating reel to sinking spool, and make a better fly choice.  Cody continued catching, adding a Blue Catfish to his list.  Finally, I was able to add a Largemouth Bass, not big, but I was thrilled I wasn't skunked.

Penguin Photobomber

Moving locales, we found our attention was needed.  We then set out to purposefully catch very small Sunfish, which Cody succeeded.  My job was to keep them from escaping the net, I almost executed my duties completely, but Cody added Green Sunfish and Bluegill.

Sacrificial food source 

We moved again, and though the area looked incredibly fishy and fish lit up the fish finder, we both left the area with no catches.  Cody let me pick the next area, and Voila! it was teeming with some of the biggest Sunfish I've ever seen in our boat.  I kept getting hits, while Cody was catching...and weighing, yes, weighing Sunfish.  Upon examining my well-fished GirlieBugger, it had NO HOOK!  Yes, that's right, all the teasing hits, and the well placed casts with a 350 grain sinking line was for naught.  Somewhere in the evening, I had a particularly enthusiastic hit that blew up my fly.  Mollified that I wasn't as bad an angler as I had believed because I couldn't set the hook, I was disheartened because I waited so long to inspect the fly.  Meanwhile, Cody continued catching a weighing Sunfish, all of which exceeded 3/4 of a pound, with one being an ounce away from weighing a pound.  These were P-I-G hogs!  

1 oz. shy of a pound!

We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset-to-dusk-to-night ride back to the docks glad to be here celebrating another trip around the sun.

Charleston, SC

 It was a brutal day fly fishing South Carolina, as the 35 mph winds blew in from the north-northeast, and muddied the waters.  There was not much sightcasting, but we did get to target some fish.  We had told Fab #5 to practice in windy conditions, which he did, but as this was his first saltwater outing, casting in winds that destroy a backcast was a first.  Pat, of Redfin Charters, did a great job of offering tips and pointers and even came off the polling platform and demonstrated a way to cast to help protect the backcast.  I enjoyed getting to spend the day fishing new-to-me-waters with family members, even going tight on a small Bullhead Shark, and I appreciated the efforts and energy Pat gave to a first-time saltwater fisher.  Our Near Shore excursion scheduled for the next day was canceled, as the winds kept gusting over the next several days.  We hope to make it back to Charleston before its time for Fab #5 to return to college, but if not, we do plan on making some Gulf Coast trips together.

Spring Rains

I happened to be at a Sisters on the Fly Outing this weekend, and though it was one dedicated to playing games, I headed to the river after getting booted from L-R-C quickly.  The rains have filled the area's rivers, which is great to see, but I did not recognize many spots, due to a full flow.  There was much Carp Love going on, but none liked what I was offering.  I did manage to hook some Sunfish and Catfish, so it was a good day.  I hiked about 1 river mile and had to work hard for each catch.

Channel Catfish

Passing on the Love

 When Fabs #4 and #5 were young, we gave each one of those Sage rods (I do not nor will I ever again fish Sage) for kids; one was bubblegum pink and the other was bright blue.  They would fish with us, but finding areas to fish where they could safely backcast was not an easy endeavor.  Fab #5 liked fishing but just decided he wanted to do conventional tackle.  We've taken him many places to fish, but we were so surprised a few weeks before Thanksgiving when Fab #5 texted and asked for a fly rod.  We actually thought he was joking and called his sister to ask if this was something he really wanted, or it was just a funny, Ha Ha text.  Evidently, he really wanted it, because Sister begged us to get it for him, so he would stop talking about wanting one.

When you gift someone a fly set-up, we think you need to take them fishing, so we booked a guide trip with KC Williams out of Living Waters Fly Shop and headed to the Texas Hill Country.  We told KC to focus on Fab #5, and that for the most part, Cody and I could fend for ourselves; this trip was all about teaching him to catch fish today, but to also transfer what he learned so he could fish wherever he could find places near college and fish on his own successfully.

KC was great; the Hill Country was great; the weather was great; and Cody and I were outfished by the lad!  Couldn't ask for a better day topped off with a BBQ dinner at Cooper's.  When we got back to the ranch, he headed off to fish the Catfish Pond and caught three catfish on his own.  We didn't even know he had gone.

The other item to note, is that I fished a new-to-me rod that I won at the Dallas Fly Fishers' 2024 Auction.  Due to the generous Legacy gifting, I got to bid on and win a rod from Tom Klaasen, a beloved member who passed away in 2023.  I had sat with Tom at the 2022 Holiday Party and heard Tom talk of this particular 3# rod, so my bidding was one of sentimentality, as well as needing to add a 3# rod to my arsenal.  As with all my rods, it needed its new name, and thus, I named Tom's Orvis rod "TKO" which stands for Tom Klaasen's Ovation.  I loved this 2 piece little jewel that was a definite knock-out with the fish.

UPDATE:  It absolutely makes my heart happy when we receive texts letting us know he's been out casting and fishing and catching, and we are going on a saltwater Redfish outing before he begins his summer internship!

One of many species for the day--White Bass, Guadalupe Bass,
Channel Catfish, and Sunfish

Guadalupe Bass

Using the new-to-me TKO rod

Cooper's BBQ

24 April text

11 May Text

Winter's Late Rains

 Winter and Spring are colliding with one another in February and March, but the rains, Oh! how fortunate we have been.  Our water tables are full; our streams and creeks and rivers flow once again after a tough summer.  Right now, it is good to be a Texas fly fisher!  The days I have set aside to fish are turning out to be less fortuitous, so I'm glad I'm not an even bigger gambler.  We had several warm days, but the day I had to go fishing, a cold front had blown across the prairie, not as bad as the one when we fished the Lampasas the week previously, but enough of a front to make the fishing once again a challenge.  No matter, to see the Limestone Chalk Bluffs, the riverbed completely full from bank-to-bank, and the restorative peace of a moving river all filled my soul with great joy.  

I hit a few spots where other anglers were but had no luck, so I quickly moved downstream for more solitude.  Get to my favorite spot and WHOA! what a difference nice rainfall makes.  I did not recognize the water, as the area was so different.  No fish holding here, today, so I moved on downstream and found a nice, calm and deep pool.  First cast, FishOn!, but I didn't know it, and the take was so subtle that I was stunned to see a Bluegill at the end of my line.  Definitely the softest Sunfish take I've ever experienced.  This was about the tenth cast of the day, so I thought I'd be hammering the Sunfish; well, I thought wrong!  The day's fishing was slow, but I did end up with several Sunfish and Spotted Bass to hand in a beautiful and healthy and flowing river (the secret was a fly with legs regardless the color).  My cup runneth over!

Pre-spawn Bluegill

Spotted Bass

Spotted Bass

Lampasas River Outing

 Oh how finnicky Mother Nature can be.  All this week, the northern Hill Country enjoyed warm weather, so much so that the Redbuds have really been blooming, which means...Those Fat Girls are uh runnin!  That's probably my favorite springtime saying, "When the Redbuds are blooming, the White Bass are running."  Stocker trout season with TPWD is coming to an end, fish on beds, fish running upstream, serious Carp Love with aerial cavorting, and Big Fish, it's all happening in the spring.

Much to my chagrin, Old Man Winter and Mother Nature must have had a serious disagreement, because the temperatures dropped 30 degrees on Saturday, and while they warmed on Sunday, it was still 20 degrees colder than what the previous week experienced.

Using the Parrie Haynes Equestrian Center private access, we put in just upstream of the Old Maxdale Bridge.  First, Kudos to the Bell County Commissioners.  I have not seen this area looking so clean and litter-free, but closing the Old Maxdale Bridge from public access gave the area a tremendous upgrade.  Next, we received a report while donning our waders that four miles downstream, White Bass were being caught.  With spirits high, I set off on a two mile hike downstream to see if I could locate any of those White Bass.  I saw bed activity but no fish.  I targeted the east bank as the sun was shining on this bright, clear afternoon.  I eventually caught a small Largemouth Bass, but that had to have been the slowest take I ever experienced.  I casted upstream and just the nicely flowing Lampasas carry my fly downstream.  I was as tight the bank as I could be while still being in the water.  Hit, wait, wait, wait; softer hit, wait, wait, wait; twitched the rod, and FishOn!  Phew and finally and thank you, Largemouth Bass.  I did not want to be skunked on my first fishing outing of 2024.  Same scenario about 100 yards downstream, and this time, I landed a Spotted Bass.  By this time, the sun casted some long shadows, and the trek against the current required a little more energy, so I headed back upstream, happy I caught fish but disappointed that I had not yet found the White Bass.

Rainfall made for a nice flow

Bedding activity

Largemouth Bass--first fish of 2024!

Spotted Bass