Spring Break- Senior Week- Texas (long)

[aikenyounggun]

First off, sorry for being absent for the past few weeks, I have been really bus y at school and work, and this past week, like the title says, I had spring break. Now for the last couple years I have been saying my Senior Week would be to go to Texas and fish for a week (like all other seniors do of course). We did this 9 or 10 years ago too. I guess I should say that my dad and mom went to Stephen F. Austin (a college) in Nacogdoches, Texas, and lived there for a couple years after graduating before moving to Aiken. My dad fished out there a ton and even had aspiration of going pro (like most of us) and fished recreationally and series like the Redman and local clubs. He just really knows and loves the lakes out there and it took us way too long to go back. Anyway we were staying on Shirley Creek Marina on Sam Rayburn. (near the tiny town of Etoile Texas). We left Friday (3/30) around noon, stayed the night is Mississippi, and got there around 5 on Saturday. As a side note, Texas had a terrible draught last year and the lakes were way down even a couple months of go and they have filled back up. I think sam rayburn was down 16 feet and is now at full pool. :O

Saturday: (3/31) Walked down to the lake to mess around before it got dark and caught a little spotted bass on a rattle-trap. The people hanging out near me laughed when I was taking a picture of it, not sure if it was because it was a tiny fish or it was at something else, but pretty sure it was at me. But it was my first fish in Texas in a long time, so I was gonna take a picture. Ate dinner and went to bed.

Sunday: (4/1) Went to this tiny lake called Lake Pinkston, which is FILLED with timber, like don’t jump on plane. We met two of my dad’s old buddies who drove a couple hours to meet us, but they used to fish a lot together. Unfortunately these two guys don’t fish much anymore, but were ready to go with all their stuff. Overall it was a beautiful day, we caught probably 25 fish between the four of us, but with four in a boat, its tough to fish slow (which we realized later in the week was usually a big deal). My dads friend did catch one that was probably 6.5 or 7. The picture does it no justice. Also, when we first got there I caught one on a little swimbait, and a couple casts later hooked one, it stripped drag, wrapped me in a tree, I buzzed over there (I was running the trolling motor), and SNAP. Possibly a huge one, but maybe just a 3 or 4, never saw it. The wood in that lake can set you up for heart break. Still a great day, some really great guys, and some great stories from the old days.

Monday: (4/2) Got onto Sam Rayburn early, and fished around Shirley Creek where I caught two white bass (or something of the sort) and a catfish on a crank bait. We quickly fished two other places and realized a huge thunderstorm was coming and went back to the ramp and 6 or 7 other boats were pulling out too. Got off the water, and sure enough we were under a severe thunderstorm warning and it really was a good storm. Thank God we weren’t out on the water. It can be a dangerous lake. On top of it our cell phones never worked while we were there, so no weather updates on the lake or at the cabin on our cells. We did go into Nacogdoches (Nac) to visit my mom and dads old school and meet with some of their friends.

Tuesday: 4/3 Sam rayburn again. We fished for a while with no luck, and then talked to a guy who was fishing from his backyard who helped key us in on the color, and right after we talked to him we caught probably 25 fish off the bank right there. Mine on a little swimbait, dads on a t-rig baby brush hog (BBH for now on). Not much size, but were fishing around grass, lily pads, and all sorts of buck brush. Caught some fish throughout the day, made some moves, and later in the day I pulled one off a point on a C-rig, and this would be just the beginning for this point on our trip. Right as I unhooked this fish, fish started schooling, and for probably two hours I caught fish on a topwater and dad picked them off with a swimbait (something I taught him how to do, how the times have changed) or a c-rig or a crankbait. Some four pounders, but no huge fish. And we saw a ton of Bald Eagles, which we just love, they really put on a show for us all week when we were on Rayburn.

Wednesday: 4/4 Lake Nacogdoches. Small lake, bigger than Pinkston, but dad knew it would be weird because it would be muddy and it had NO grass, which most the lakes didn’t, and that is super weird out there. (thanks drought and the lakes being down a lot). Anyway, we had a pretty weak day until the last spot we tried we caught probably 25 fish out of a 15yd by 15yd area deep on c-rigs. No size but it was a nice day.

Thursday: Back onto rayburn, caught them all day on a C-rig (BBH in green pumpkin) and at times on a crankbait (just a few). We told my mom and her friend who came to visit her from dallas we would be back at six, but about 4:00 we pulled up on that point I was speaking of earlier and were catching them good, and we figured out it had a shelf to the side that went from 12 feet and quickly dropped into 28 feet and beyond. Dad caught a 5.5 lber, and then for two hours we would throw up on this shelf, pull it just a little bit at a time and we just killed the four pounders, it was an insane day. We got back late, haha. Our best five probably would of went 21 lbs or a little more.

Friday: 4/6 Back to pinkston to try to catch a big one. It took us a while to start cathing them, I started with a few on a swimbait (killing it) and then dad got on them pulling a c-rig thought the grass. This was the one lake with a good bit of grass. So the c-rig was the pattern for the day, and then we pulled up on a point and dad immediately caught one 5 and a 4.5 (his second 5 of the day, by the way). And then I smacked my largest of the trip, a 5lb 15oz fish. We caught them pretty good, really great quality. Our best five would of went right around 24lbs. (all BBH, on watermelon with different flake patterns, magic, red, didn’t really matter).

Saturday: 4/6: fish till noon and then leave, we caught them good on the same point, tried a sweet point somewhere else for a big fish (think HUGEEEEE brush pile, deep hyrdilla), but didn’t pan out. Went back to the point and caught them pretty good. Some 4’s, nothing huge. I think we caught 27 in those 6 hours, haha.

Drove back safe. Synopsis: Great trip, caught most fish on a c-rig, but a bunch of a t-rig, a swimbait, and a crankbait. We had an amazing time and are going back next year during my college spring break which is earlier. Our best 5, including my dad’s friend’s fish, probably went 28.5 lbs. Great trip, no hogs, BEST SENIOR WEEK EVER. Most the guys we saw fishin (which was a lot), were fishing way too shallow, the fish were deep, definitely postspawn for the majority of them. The last day, on the magical point, a guy was beating the bank, basically on top of the shelf, and we caught fish BEHIND his boat. Really just a wonderful time. Thanks for reading this, I stayed up late just to share my excitement and my trip.

Teach your kids how to fish, its kept me out of a lot of trouble I’m sure.

Pics will be soon, photobucket is taking forever, ill try to upload them tomorrow or as soon as possible.