This afternoon I was joined by brother and sister John and Mariah G. of Temple.
John and Mariah both qualifed for TPWD “First Fish Awards” today as they both caught the first fish of their lifetime on this trip!!
John and Mariah, age 22 and 20, live full time with their grandfather, John. John is single-handedly raising them and providing for their special needs, and so although this trip was a gift from him to his grandkids, it was also a bit of a well-earned respite for him.
Mariah, who loves Denny’s, reading science fiction, and working as a volunteer at a local animal shelter, was a fast learner. Once I showed her a technique one time, she picked it right up and helped keep both her line and John’s squared away.
John was our comedian. With his creative imagination he had Mariah and I aboard his pirate ship complete with parrots and mateys and the like. I discovered John’s favorite dish is the shrimp served at Long John Silver’s, and, in his spare time he likes to play air guitar and watch Power Rangers (the Samurai version!).
I had a morning trip that concluded just prior to noon today and “laid over” on the lake before setting out on this afternoon’s trip at 3:30pm. I invested the downtime in some scouting and that paid off big time, as I was able to pick the kids up at the dock and put them immediately on the fish I’d previously located in less than a 7 minute boat ride.
Neither John nor Mariah had ever fished before, so, when each “broke the ice” today with a double catch of white bass landed on a tandem rig, they each qualified for a Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. “First Fish Award”.
We encountered some turbulent weather today and the fish were not very inclined to feed well until it was nearly too dark to see, after the sun had set. So, we wound up downrigging the entire trip, finding all but 6 of our fish right on top of Area 1140. As with this morning’s trip, these fish were deep, being found within 5 feet of the bottom in 42 feet of water.
During a lull at Area 1140, we ventured elsewhere, picking up 2 very small white bass at Area 983, then returning to Area 1140 to find the fish interested once more. As dark set in, a post-sunset surge of white bass moved shoreward here in around 20 feet of water. We moved our downrigger balls up to 12-15 feet and caught our last 4 fish of the evening between Areas 211 and 192.
When all was said and done today the kids had put 37 fish over the side of the boat. As we returned to the dock the kids were very excited to show their grandpa some of their catch. We kept 7 of or larger white bass for show and tell and then let them go after the kids returned to the car to go home.
Thanks, John, for giving John and Mariah the chance to do this!
TALLY = 37 Fish
TODAY’S CONDITIONS:
Start Time: 3:30p
End Time: 7:00p
Air Temp: 78F at trip’s start.
Water Surface Temp: 70.5F
Wind: SSE at 5-8
Skies: Skies were partly cloudy, up to 70%, with thunderheads building to the N and S of us all afternoon and the distant rumble of thunder heard for the entire trip.