FISH CATCHING TRAVEL
Knockin Tail Lures by My Coast Outdoors
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What a great way to spend our 35th anniversary. We love the parks and Big Bend is a special place in it’s own way. Desert, mountains, a eclectic group of folks, it is our kind of place and we have always liked it there. We wanted to be sure to get back before we moved and as usual it was worth the drive.
My home girl waiting. Always good to be first in line at the Starlight, the food is actually good.
The Starlight restaurant is a must do in the ghost town of Terlingua and you have to get there early if you want to get in before starving to death. They open at 5 and close at 10 and usually have some music. But the porch above is a gathering place for watching the sunset, and if you are lucky the locals will be playing on the porch in the early afternoon. Grab a cold Lone Star and enjoy just being alive.
We love staying in the container house.
The place we rented the last few trips is amazing. He has built 4 container houses on the hill above the ghost town that are flat innovative. The view is spectacular and when he built these he went first class for the desert. There is one little issue, you better have a high clearance vehicle and 4 wheel can be nice. The road is nothing but rocks and I mean rough, but the houses are at the end of the drive. And at night watching the mountains as the sun sets is part of the draw. Of all the places we have stayed in Big Bend this is top of the line.
The view from the house.
There is no way my limited talent can portray the awesome landscape. It goes on forever.
We love Big Bend for what it is, the middle of nowhere that has stood the sands of time. It is rugged, starkly beautiful, and old in a timeless way. Whether the old inshore ocean in the east or the rugged and scenic mountains of the west it is massive. It seems it is a crazy 50 miles by 50 miles. Whether 4 wheeling the back roads or taking the paved stuff to the old towns or ruins there is a timeless history to these badlands. (Note: It drives me nuts when folks speed there. You are not “going somewhere” you are there, and the sights of the geology is part of what makes this place what it is.) Almost all the backroads are rough as cobs and if the maps say unimproved stay off, just saying. I can only say a good suspension is a plus and leave your Tesla at the house unless you stay on pavement.
It totally depends on the rainfall what plants are in bloom. We just missed it this year.
A few of the cactus had flowers and they are sure pretty.
While you think it is desert it holds a ton of cool plant life. It is a tough world out there and only the strong survive. But if you take the time to get out of the truck and walk a litte you never know what you will see. There are tons of trails from easy to really tough but there are well marked. One of the best we have done did not make this years list. It is not on any map but it is where the bears hang in an oasis. We were told that it is not on the map to hold down the foot traffic. What appears to be so unforgiving, and it can be, is as sensitive as any place on the planet so tread lightly.
The deer sure are scraggly. But the wildlife is a small part of the reason for visiting the park.
Tough shot as this coyote beat feet through the scrub.
As you all know we love chasing wildlife but the park is not know for the big stuff. But this year we saw a road runner with a lizard in his beak, rabbits, a coyote and a couple of deer. Unfortunately no peccary or as we call them is South Texas the Javelina or Audads. (We learned from a ranger that the Feds have given the state permission to do helicopter fly overs and shoot them.) We usual see some but not this trip, every trip is different and it is no more than a matter of timing and watching, as our trip out of the park at daylight revealed. We also saw a couple of wild horses on our first days walk but they were spooky and hit the road.
We left the park after 6:00 or so and almost totaled another truck. Of all things we come around the corner a few miles out of the park and there is a couple of bunches of wild donkeys on the road. It was not all that close a call but was a reminder of what can happen traveling at that time of day, we are a little gun shy. Then we saw a bunch of elk. We knew they were transplanted back in the area a few years ago but today we saw a couple of dozen as the sun rose.
If half a mountain falls off does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it?
The park has been changing for eons and the change continues. This huge chunk of the hillside just decided to slough off. A testament to what made this place what it is and continues to be. It is a geological happening for folks into rocks. And they have put in a new fossil exhibit of stuff found in the park and it is well worth the stop. There were some big ass dinosaurs, a couple found nowhere else. But alike everything else in the park do not remove anything, and that is a hard rule. As I said it is fragile and deserves respect.
Hanging out at the fossil exhibit watching the tourists.
Our last hike in the desert when we realize we only have half the water we should have had, it happens. That is the old dang it looks like.
This is one of the easier hikes in the park, flat with a good trail. When we left the truck I asked if she had the other water and got a yup back. Water is the staff of life here and the plan, half in half out. Luckily we had enough but lesson learned. Use a check list when you head out, it is the desert and by time we got back to the truck it was 78, after the day started off a cool 48. Trust me 78 degrees on the desert floor is hot. But as long as you are prepared hiking is a trip back in time and the ground tells you a lot. I am still looking for my first rattlesnake, just not that hard.
It is not possible to tell you everything you need to know about the park, there is a bunch to do and see, not to mention Terlingua and all that the freak zone is. And you can visit the river and hot springs, or go across to the Mexican town. So, if you have ever thought about going do your research, the trip is well worth the time. But it is changing as more is built and the crowds grow. It is so worth the trip but like many of the cool places in this world it is getting loved to death. Show it the respect it deserves.
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LAST MONDAY – COLETO
Weather
70/82. Cloudy and windy. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
Lake Level
Today 98.11. Last Friday 98.13. (Definitely dropping and there is a big crane working on the dam so who knows.)
Bite Times
Major 6:03 am t0 8:03 am. Minor 11:23 am to 12:23 pm.
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The Wade Right Fishing Belt and the new Madre Sling.
For all your wading needs.
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Make this quick as I just got back from above. There was almost no change in the fishing or the lake. Lots of off color water and a real inconsistent pattern.
A nice swim jig fish on my second pass.
The swim jig continues to be the bait of choice at least for me. The numbers today were ok compared to the last few trips. It was a good dozen but I am stuck on a couple of places that seem to have a concentration, but others that normally this time of year have fish just don’t, and not sure why.
The best on spinnerbait for the morning.
But the good news is the majority of the fish have not spawned, at least their body size says there is still more to go. I have a suspicion that they are not all that interested in the dirt banks right now, which means they have not moved to the new grassy areas yet.
So I am excited about fishing Monday, after a week off hopefully it has cleared some. It just might be the best lake fishing is yet to come, only time will tell.
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The Boss and I both grew up in Iowa and have been watching the tournament religiously. They won last night and while the call was a little sketchy it is never one call that beats you. So good luck girls it has been a trip.
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As far as the eclipse it just might be to cloudy which will ruin it for lots of folks who really care. How many? As we drove left Fort Stockton on I10 to return home it was an endless stream of campers, most out of California. It was so many we just could not figure out why until we got to Junction and everyone exited. Turns out there is a big watch party there. Hope it is not as cloudy as they forecast as it could be a big all about nothing. I on the other hand will be fishing Coleto hoping for clouds but it not will just not look at it. So keep stopping in and thanks for reading my stuff.
Good Luck and Tight Lines
