:bncry: Thursday, my dad, my brother, and I went fishing in the bay boat. My dad is having some serious back trouble at 73, and is going to undergo surgery pretty soon. With me about to head to Dallas again, we decided to take him out...hopefully not for the last time. Doctor says he should be able to fish again if all goes well, but I'd hate to learn later that this was his last chance, and we didn't take him. Anyway, we headed to Breton Sound Marina in Hopedale, just to sit in the parking lot waiting for the monsoon to pass. It did finally break enough to launch the boat, and actually looked pretty good to the south. We launched and headed that way. We were heading to some small islands in Lake Coquille, but about 1/4 mile into the bay, we started getting pelted by rain. The bad part was the lightning in the distance, so we decided to tuck back in the marsh and try for some reds. Of course it was cloudy, so I picked up a rod with a topwater. Made a couple of casts and had a trout blow up on the topwater. Thought that was kinda weird for this early, but threw him in the box hoping for more. Turns out, we got on a pretty good trout bite in there. In fact, we never left, even though the skies did lighten up. Most of the fish were small, but there were enough keepers mixed in to keep us there. My dad usually only actually fishes if my brother and I are catching fish. Otherwise, he makes us find 'em while he sits on his arse and smokes his pipe.:lol: But on this day, he fished his butt off all day...and he caught a ton of fish. We didn't wind up with limits or anything, because probably 4-1 were throwbacks. But we all had a blast, and wound up with over 30 keeper trout and a handful of reds b/w 18"-22"...perfect grillers. The most important part was that my dad had a great time, and got to share it with his sons. Sometimes my brother and I get so involved in tournament redfishing, we forget that it was my dad who introduced us to the thing that has become our passion. Thankfully, he has been able to go with us quite a bit in the past few years...enough to justify the annual non-resident license we get him for his birthday every year. I sure hope this thing doesn't keep him down long...and when I get back from Dallas...we gonna wear 'em out next spring! ***Thanks for creating this forum...I've enjoyed it since I've been home, and look forward to reading posts while I'm gone***
That is probably the single biggest thing I miss about not being home. I absolutely treasure the trips I've made with my dad. Sadly, we haven't been since I moved here in 2001. It is nice to go down to his pond with him when I'm home. No one over fishes it so it's easy to catch and release a ton of little bass. However, the pond is a poor substitute for the trips we used to make to the coast. That said, an hour at the pond is about all Dad can handle since he had his hip replaced a couple years ago at the age of 73, and that's a helluva lot better than nothing! I've really enjoyed your adventures here FH. Maybe I'll see you at lake Lewisville sometime this fall.
I'll be the one in the little green kayak and the LSU shirt on. :hihi: Seriously...I WILL be there in the kayak this fall...Texoma, too.
8 redfish in 2 days averaging about 21"-23" made one hell of a lunch today. grilled 3 of them bastids.
now you're just pissing me off! I haven't gone crabbing in 15 years. I've been promising to take my kids for as long as I can remember. Guess I gotta just get my butt back home and make good. They are crawfish boil veterans, but would have no idea how to clean a crab. Man I suck!
if we ever get good weather on a weekend that i'm not working, i'm gonna put my boat back in the water. there is a dam that about a 5-10 minute boat ride for me that was unreal for crabbing (pre-Hurricane Rita destroying the whole dam thing). as in DO NOT fall in the water, you wouldn't make it out of there alive. the dam has been completely rebuilt (just finished about 8-9 months ago). don't know if the crabs are back yet, but i'm ready to give it a shot.
