FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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(I stayed in the house all day yesterday as the wind howled outside.  It is cool this morning in Texas while I get a few things done so I thought I would drop this thought and a good river report from the Mad Trout Fisherman.)

Why We Fish?

When you fish by yourself as I often do you get a chance to think while you are out there.  One day I realized that I had never asked myself that very question.  When I asked myself why I fished I was surprised at one of my answers.

People fish for as many reasons as there are people.  For some folks it is the thrill of a fish on the line, for some it is the process of actually getting the fish on the end of the line, and for others it is in the anticipation that comes with every cast.  Maybe it is putting food on the table, or making money to put food on the table.  For many it is spending time in the great outdoors,  spending time with family and friends, or simply getting the boat out on the water.  And what fisherman does not want to spend time with their children fishing, hopefully bonding them to a lifetime in our sport.  Folks also like fishing because it can be an escape allowing them to get away from it all, to just not think about things.  And last as my buddy Clyde said as we stared at the water pouring out of the South Padre jetties, it is for those of us that as kids would have been diagnosed as ADD.  We can stare at the water all day, it is constantly moving and changing, and be happy as a clam.

In my case it is a little of all of the above.  Since I caught my first fish 59 years ago I have been hooked ever since.  As a child it was simply a fish wiggling on the end of my line.  As time progressed it was the anticipation of not only the bite, but the thought of what would happen when I hit the pond tomorrow as I tried to go to sleep.  Over the years it progressed to wanting to figure it out, to make it happen.  But the simple thrill of the bite is the one constant that is always there.

As Larry Dauhlberg says;  “First you want to catch a fish, then you want to catch lots of fish, then you want to catch a big fish, and finally, you want to catch fish the way you want to catch them.”  I would now put myself in that category.  Buzzbait, topwater, spinnerbait, see a pattern here?  I love the visual bite, the explosion as water flies everywhere.  That moment is as exciting today as it was the first time I threw a topwater lure, which was so far back I can not remember when.  I do know it was a Hula Popper.

And as I have said before, I just love The Stuff.  Boats, rods and reels, cool new baits, it does not matter, I love The Stuff.  I even have a room in my house for The Stuff.  I go in there at times and mess with my stuff.  When I get new stuff in the mail it usually spends a week or so in the living room so I can fondle my new stuff before it hits the water.  A little obsessive don’t you think?  I can’t help it, I love The Stuff.

As I was fishing that day I realized there was another big reason I fish, and it is exactly the opposite of what I might have thought.  I like fishing because I get to think about problems, and solutions, to all of those day-to-day things that drive us all nuts.  I do not fish to get away from those everyday concerns, but to think about them.  It allows me to think things through enough to make what I hope is a good decision, or resolution to an issue, and then put it to rest.  With no distractions outside of the casting and catching, I not only make better decisions on tough things, but really thinking things through that bother or disturb me allows me to put them in their proper perspective.  By spending the time to go over a problem or issue I can often do what needs to be done with those little life’s worries:  Put It To Bed!

So I guess I hit all the motivations.  Fishing with friends, figuring it out, loving the outdoors, watching as a big red flushes a topwater, flying across the water as the sun rises, bingeing on fresh fried filets, they are all a part of why I fish.  But realizing that it is a problem solving place for me was an eye opener.  When it comes down to it I do fish to get away from those everyday problems, but in my case it is a place to resolve them, and then fish in peace.

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Let Dez light up your boat today.

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The Mad Trout Fisherman gave his son one of the best presents you could ever give a kid, and it was not a great day on the water, or a limit of trout, but real me time with Dad.  It is not often I get a fresh report with a nice limit at 9:00 in the morning on the same day.

After the big blow yesterday, my fishing wisdom said the Lavaca should be great. When you have a son that makes A’s  in school it is his turn to go get on em. And use (lucky kid – fct) a sick day at school. Lol.  He has select baseball all weekend so it would be his only chance.  So we headed to the ramp at 6 am. Upon arrival at the ramp the water was dirty, dang there goes my idea to head up river and hide from the cold.  So down river we go, after a couple quick drifts we moved farther down.  The water looked like light tea, when we turned the corner and saw the beautiful sight of birds working the middle of the river.

What more could a dad and son want!

Excitement sets in and boom fish on, 6 drifts fill the box with ten nice specks 16-19″ and my son is glowing as he is putting a whooping on ole’ dad!  Purple/chart caught more and bigger fish than clear/ chart. When the birds broke up it was over.  Fished deep, fish the ledges, the corners, the pockets.  Nodda! With no tide movement we head to the ramp at 9am happy as a lark!  Super way to start the weekend. Duck season reopens, and it ought to be on fire with all the ducks and geese we saw this morning! So after a short nap i’ll be cutting some wolf weed to camouflage us out.  Looks like the weather is gonna cooperate as well. Thanks, Merry Christmas my fellow anglers and outdoorsmen!!!!

A just reward for a good kid.  Nothing says it more than the look on his face.  I mean come on, skip a little school and whip ol’ dad on the way to a limit.  Perfect.  We saw the birds diving just a little Wednesday, but they never settled down enough to make any use of it.  And ducks, boy are there some ducks around.  And this front should have pushed the last of the stragglers down to the Texas Coast.   As usual thanks for the report and we will be looking forward to a few duck pictures.  If I did not have a few things to take care of today I would hook it up and go right now.  (How does a retired guy end up busy?)  Guess it will have to wait until tomorrow.  Have a great weekend.

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I will be fishing somewhere tomorrow catching something.  Today I am rounding up all our really cold weather gear.  With trips to Oklahoma City and Colorado looming over the next 3 weeks it is time get all the stuff together we never use in this part of the world.  It will be great to see the grandbabies, and the ride in the Colorado mountains with the sled dogs is on the Boss’s bucket list and should be awesome.  We love Huskies.  But it is really cold in both places, and while it will be fun, it will remind me the biggest reason I love the South, it rarely gets that damn cold.  So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines