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

DFF's Sugar Ridge Ranch Outing

 The club's favorite, annual outing is to Sugar Ridge Ranch during peak Bluebonnet season and the Ennis Bluebonnet Festival.  Always well-attended, the four ponds and wildlife offers an almost-guaranteed day of catching, but this year, I learned of a new skill I have--I can mimic a turkey hen effectively enough to garner the attention of a Tom Turkey! 😁  I also petted a hen turkey, worked on my roll cast, and hooked the same bass I landed five minutes previously.

We loved another day at Sugar Ridge and appreciate the kindness and graciousness of our hostess and hosts.  

Trinity Bass Battle--A Month of Tourneys

Cody could not be home for our 7th Anniversary, so for our anniversary, he gave me use of his car and encouraged me to go fishing in Backwoods' Trinity Bass Battle Tournament, which occurs every other Sunday through 12 November 2017!  So, I set my alarm, got up at 4:00 a.m., loaded Cody's car with all kinds of kayak and fly fishing paraphernalia (my little hybrid can't tow), and headed off to the Panther Pavilion area in Fort Worth.  I had a great day, even though I was the only fly fisher, and I was really excited to see a nice number of women fishing.

I didn't place, but I had my best tournament, E-V-E-R!  However, I couldn't get credit for all that I caught, because something happened when I snapped the photo of my 18 inch Largemouth.  It's just a white screen, and for those that don't know me, there ain't nothing white on my kayak.  Even my Hawg Trough is marked up with black, blue, and red lines, and my 'Yak, well, it's purple, pink, and gray; I kid you not!  I wore blue shorts and my pink Breast Cancer Awareness fishing shirt and sun visor.  I'm telling ya, I have no idea what happened on that photo, but I know I caught it, so the memory's mine.  Officially, I submitted 46.75 total inches; unofficially, I caught 64.75 inches.  Sadly, even if my big one had counted, I still would not have placed.  Big Bass was 20.25 inches with a two-way tie for third, with each fisherman submitting an 18.50 inch bass.  Overall winner today submitted an 80.something inches scorecard!  In Texas, Fall doesn't mean much, until it's time to fish, and then, it means everything because The Bite is happening!

Phone screenshot showing a photo was taken; it even says "Live" with that icon

Pretty Longear Sunfish

Bluegill, who jerked just as I snapped

Fly Fishing Skinny Freshwater

Jerry Hamon guided the small gathering of Texas Women's Fly Fishers on the Brazos River, Saturday. Bad weather spooked many away, but the day dawned clear and proved to be a fantastic day of fly fishing. Having not fished in three months, I wasn't sure how I was going to fish.  Cody headed downstream and I headed upstream, but not for long.  I walked my kayak downstream and began fishing shorelines, shelf dropoffs, and channels.  Cody fished large boulders and a creek confluence with the river.  For the day's total, we ended up catching Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Hybrid Sriped Bass, Largemouth Bass, Redbreast Sunfish, Spotted Bass, and some hybridization of a Redbreast due to the red eyes.  We also hooked up with Gar and Carp but could not keep them on our lines.  Cody flew his drone down the river system where we fished, and seeing the bird's eye view of the river's depth and open exposure amazed me with the number of fish we caught, especially in a half-day's time frame.

Hybrid Striped Bass

Spotted Bass

Channel Catfish

Hybrid Redbreast Sunfish

Hybrid Redbreast Sunfish

Bluegill

Redbreast Sunfish

Largemouth Bass

Spotted Bass

Spotted Bass

Mariner Sails' Women's Only Kayak Fly Fishing Tournament

I participated in the Mariner Sails Women’s Only Kayak Fly Fishing Tournament held at Lake Athens.  Cody and I spent the night, since we were awakening at 4:30 to check-in at 5:30 and be on the water at 6:00.  However, prior to going to the tourney, we assembled my birthday present, a Malone Kayak Trailer!!!  It was something I really had been wanting, as it is easier to haul, load, and I can operate it by myself.  We had a good time assembling it, until we ran out of shade.  It is a little hot with no relief scheduled for the tourney—ugh!

We got out on the water, and I fished some areas that looked fishy but just weren’t producing.  So I headed to our Sunfish spot in the hopes of finding some Largemouths.  No such luck, but I kept working my way down, and eventually, I found a nice topwater bite.  I caught one Largemouth, but then the topwater action died down.  I made my way all around the lake fishing to shorelines and eventually ending up at the dam.  I caught some really nice Sunfish weighing just under a pound, but I needed weedguards on my fly, as the grass was out of control!

I placed 7^th with my one bass, and even though the tournament ended officially at 2:00 pm, ladies started heading in early due to the heat.  I fished up until 2:00 and had not realized the announcements were already beginning, because I was the only who didn’t show up early.  Come to find out, most fish were caught prior to noon with three caught afterwards.  Big Bass, a hare over 10 pounds!! was caught around mid-morning under a dock in all kinds of grass and brush.  I ended up winning a pair of gloves and a cap.  All-in-all, it was fishing, and I did catch fish, just not enough of the right kind.  Glad to take a break from school, fish, get out of the heat, and head for home.

6th World Championship Bass on the Fly Tournament

This weekend it was Cody's turn to take the prizes.  We fished in our fourth Ted Warren tournament, but instead of using the Mitzi (our flats boat), we decided to enter the kayak division.  We also registered late, so we ended up staying at the new Lake Fork Resort, just west of Lake Fork Marina. Ted has worked really hard in growing this tournament, and with 70 registered participants, this was the largest turn out yet.

Cody reclaimed his distance casting title from the first two tournaments, besting his own record by launching an 80 foot cast and taking home a TFO Rod, Reel, and WF floating fly line.  Next, we both participated in the accuracy contest, where Cody ended up in a three-way tie for first.  Unfortunately, Cody's name wasn't drawn from the hat for him to claim that title as well.

Distance champion with rod, reel, and line

I find Lake Fork very difficult to fish; I have hooked up with species I haven't hooked anywhere else--Bowfin, Gar, but I have yet to land those fish.  Friday was no different, and I caught no Sunfish for that contest, though I did catch Bass.  Cody took second in the contest with an 8 1/4" Bluegill, and I enjoyed the cap Jerry awarded him.

Jerry awards Cody with a nice logo trucker's cap; they are the Bluegills Brothers

I liked Cody's plan for Saturday's fishing, and we were on the water at 6:00 a.m.  With each of us having Native Slayer Propels, we could be really mobile, especially for kayakers.  Cody had a really nice day on the water netting three Largemouth Bass, five Crappie--four White and one Black, and a nice Striped Bass.  Cody's three Largemouth put him in 4th and netted him a $100.00 prize reward.  I caught three Largemouths as well, one on my second cast of the day, but I only netted two, one was particularly small, and a nice-sized Channel Catfish.  Along with some of the entrants from the boating division, the Dallas Fly Fishers also reclaimed the team trophy!

Cody takes 4th place for a total of $100.00!

My first catch of the day

To round out the very good mojo Cody was generating, on the last raffle draw, Cody won the full-day guided trip for two with Brian Nims.  Talk about lucky; we now have a trip with Johnny Martinez on Lake Athens and a trip with Brian.  Along with all the goodies each participant receives just for participating, entrants really walk away with an abundance of goodies, thanks to Ted.  We were tired after a half-day on the water, but we enjoyed seeing good friends and being out on the water.  We made our supper stop at A.J.'s Steakhouse to celebrate a good time fishing before heading home.  One day, we'll be dialed in to Lake Fork, but until then, we'll just keep trying.

Bud Priddy Any Fly Contest

Cody and I love fly fishing the rivers and streams of the Hill Country.  Now that I am retired from work (but not from grad school), I have tried to attend many of the events work prevented me from attending.  As Bud Priddy is a Texas Legend, I really wanted to attend this event co-hosted by the Alamo Fly Fishers, the Texas Women Fly Fishers, and Project Healing Waters.  Cody had it on his calendar, so I worked on my class papers, lessons, and projects to be able to attend.

We drove down state highway 55, which meant we drove right through the heart of the Nueces Canyon.  I had never heard of nor been in the Nueces Canyon, and so this was a real treat, especially since everything was so green from the last two years' worth of rains.  We were delighted at our first glimpses of the Nueces River, as it was flowing and crystal clear.  We decided to bring our float tubes since the river is long and meandering and kayak access is not always readily available.
We stayed at Big Oak RV park just inside Uvalde County, and what an accommodating and upscale place this campground is. While there is river access, it's a bit of a hike to the river.  State Highway 55 follows this section of the Nueces, so we did some scouting of the upper sections on Friday night, after checking in with TWFF and AFF, and eating the best hot dog I ever ate in Barksdale.
Even though fishing began at dawn Saturday morning, I had a little gut rot to overcome, so we did our usual, awake when awake.  It took us awhile to set up and outfit our tubes, but once we got that settled, we headed north.

Officer Max gets a fly fishing lesson from Cody

Cody was casting to some Sunfish, when a peace officer pulled up.  We thought we were going to be asked for our licenses, but no.  Officer Max wanted to know about fly fishing, so Cody gave him a really nice lesson; I continued to rig up.  We found the least treacherous way to the water, and I put in at the end of a nice set of class-II rapids--overhanging rocks, trees and grasses, and nice eddies meant there were some hungry, unsuspecting fish to be caught.  However, the first order of business was to target the fish in the middle of the river, about 12 feet down.  Cody stood up top and guided my cast to where the Sunfish were hanging around an unoccupied bass bed.  Good direction, decent cast, and FishOn!  At first I thought I had a Bass, but instead, it was a nice Redbreast Sunfish with late spawning colors. She measured 9 inches on the board!  Start the fish count on the scorecard with the first catch of the day!

Winner, winner!  9 inch Redbreast

I kicked back up stream, hard work, and fished the shorelines and caught three more decent size Sunfish--Greenies and Bluegills in the 7 inch range.  Then, Cody and I floated our way down to the low water crossing.  We pulled Bluegills, Largemouth, and Guadalupe Bass from the shoreline.  I politely waited for the snakes, mostly non-poisonous, to swim by before casting.

Float-tube fishing the Nueces River

Downstream of the Country Road 416 Lowater Crossing

After taking out, we decided to drive to other low-water crossings downstream, to see what the water quality and flow was like.  We had only a little luck at one spot around Co. Road 416, so we moved farther down.  Second jackpot of the day.  Cody waded upstream, and I waded downstream.  My day almost ended quite disastrously, as I was about a foot-and-a-half from stepping on a diamondback water snake, but thanks to my new, polarized sunglasses, I spotted that gullet-filled fellow, and gave it a wide berth.

The bulge underneath the moss by the head indicated it had eaten not too long before I snapped this photo

I fished the tail-end of a nice, wide riffle and caught two more Sunfish, and then headed to the other side, which was much deeper and quicker, and I pulled out three Guads.  They sure shone golden in that crystal clear water.

One of many Guadalupe Bass of the day

Earlier, some folks had been swimming in a deep water, swift current pool created by the culverts under the low-water crossing bridge right at the shoreline.  I couldn't really see any fish, but just couldn't pass up the opportunity to give it a try.  Cody had returned from his sojourn upstream and was watching from above on the bridge.  I had fished the first three culverts, when I decided to give the swirling eddy of the middle culvert a try.  My fly got down fast, and I thought I was stuck on debris.  Cody hollered and whooped and threatened me about losing the fish.  He came down and helped me land and measure my personal best on a Guadalupe Bass, 12 1/2 inches.

12 1/2 inch Guadalupe Bass

That was it; we were finished for the day, as it was time to turn in our scorecards.  After picking up some trash and speaking with a friendly Texas Game Warden for a bit, we headed back to camp.  Realizing that my 14 fish for the day, seven Sunfish, seven Bass, were not any where near competition standards, especially since last year's Total Fish category was near 200 caught fish, I just turned it in for show.

Winning Scorecard

The event hosted silent auctions, an excellent BBQ dinner, raffles, and awards, and Cody and I made a good show in several categories.  For the Tournament awards there were three categories:  Largest Bass, Largest Sunfish; Most Fish Caught.  1st, 2nd, 3rd places and an Honorable Mention were awarded in each category.  My 12 1/2 inch bass wasn't too far behind the leaders of 15 inches, 14 1/2 inches, 12 7/8 inches, and 12 3/4 inches, so I was pleased about that.  I didn't come close to the most fish caught, but Lo and Behold, my 9 inch Bluegill put me in a four-way tie for first!  Before the awards had been announced, we voted on how the tie-breaker was to be decided, which was by number of fish caught.  I ended up with the third place prize of a trophy and a Simms Waypoints Chest Pack.

Four-way tie for 1st Place

However, the steal of the night was our silent auction winner.  Lefty Ray Chapa had donated a first edition Bud Priddy Fly Fishing the Texas Hill Country book to the TWFF silent auction.  I told Cody I really wanted that book.  Cody agreed and let me price it to where there was no competition.  We later learned during the recognition portion of the night, that Bud's wife, Pat Priddy and all four of the Priddy children were in attendance.  Pat spoke briefly and thanked us for continuing this event in Bud's memory.  After our group photo, I asked Pat if she would autograph our newly won, pristine condition copy, which she graciously did.  Since there was enough daylight at the end of the night's events, Cody and I made the short drive over to the Camp Wood Cemetery and paid our respects to Bud.  This was a great event, funded by grant money no less, and one we hope to continue attending.  After all, I have a title to defend!

Pat's inscription reads, "Many thanks for letting me represent my husband--he would be so grateful for the honor of the tributes to him--..Pat Priddy"