Excellent catch, report, and photos. I've never been to Decker but have had some thoughts about going sometime.
Decker 5/20/23
I woke up at 3:30AM, no alarm necessary for Weekend Angler. I checked the radar and saw a green mass expanding over Austin from the southwest. I thought I’d better fish Lady Bird, figuring I could duck under a bridge if it started raining. Then I went outside and saw an inch of water in the back of my pickup. I reconsidered going to Lady Bird since overnight rains may have muddied Town Lake. I clicked the “future” button on the fake radar and all the green vanished. The forecast north wind is perfect for the Pond Prowler at Decker. Decker it is.
I pulled into a deserted parking lot and readied the Pond Prowler on the ramp in the choice lane. Like two weeks ago, I had to remove a loose trailer bunk from the ramp’s waterline. A yakker who sometimes beats me thru the gate pulled up next to me and dollied his yak down the ramp. We chatted as he launched and he gapped me by quite a distance, he reached the peninsula before I shoved off from the ramp. Light rain was falling, lightning flashed in the southern sky, the water temp was 79°-81°F and the wind was [email protected]
I made the long transit to the home of the giants. I put on my rain jacket and resisted the urge to stop and fish. The 50# troller pushed me uplake at 3.2mph. I Texas rigged some soft plastics. Finally I was on station and began making casts in the light of false dawn. I worked into the cove and caught keeper fish with senko and TR BBH from the bulrush. The rain quit and the wind came around from the north gusting up ten to fifteen. I took off my raincoat.
I was mixing it up, throwing pull baits and slack-line stuff. I decided to take it easy on my recuperating sore lower back and minimize the pull bait casts. I got to a nice grass flat and cast out shakeyhead. I popped it out of some spiny naiad and got a short-line strike that doubled my rod, catching me at an awkward stance. I got my feet under me and bent the rod fully but the giant broached and spit the worm at me, doh!
I shook it off, quickly rubbing dirt in the wound and fishing on. Two shakeyhead casts later and I’m hooked up again, this time getting a four-and-a-half pound tank in the boat, nearly eradicating the sting of the giant getting away. I was happy to have picked the right lake and the right spot. The wind eased at sunrise and then came back with northern teeth. I reached in my boat bag for my long sleeve shirt to cut the chill.
I fished from anchor in 8FOW and caught several good’uns with TR ribbontail. I bombed TR out to the outside edge. As soon as it hit the bottom, it was picked up, the line swimming away from me. I r’ared back, fully bending the 7’2” MH and snapped the line at the rod tip, doh! Two “doh”s in one morning??? I actually felt worse about the ”fish landing violation” more than the lost fish. Some poor fish is swimming around with 100’ of 12# line hanging out of his mouth. That reminds me, I saw an angler on TikTok who caught a fish with a cull tag clipped to its lip, LOL.
I had the cove to myself the entire morning. The morning bite waned. Eventually it was time to start fishing my way back. I got a couple of fish at the drop-shot honey hole and kept moving. I briefly fished a protected cove next to a pontoon boat but neither of were getting bit so I moved on, drifting down the mainlake shoreline.
I got to one of my good spots and dropped anchor. I found a little wad of them on the inside edge and got four largemouth in the boat plus a magnum redbreast sunfish. A bass boat with four young men were working towards me. They were all four on the front deck, shoulder to shoulder facing the reeds, and I could hear shouts of “Let’s Go!” as they were reeling them in. I passed them on the lake side and moved back in, catching a final drop-shot fish before deciding to call it on account of preserving whatever strength may be left in my back for tomorrow. Very grateful for the fun day and following wind as I cruised to the ramp. Total of fifteen largemouth and one sunny. Off at 2:00PM.
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I pulled into a deserted parking lot and readied the Pond Prowler on the ramp in the choice lane. Like two weeks ago, I had to remove a loose trailer bunk from the ramp’s waterline. A yakker who sometimes beats me thru the gate pulled up next to me and dollied his yak down the ramp. We chatted as he launched and he gapped me by quite a distance, he reached the peninsula before I shoved off from the ramp. Light rain was falling, lightning flashed in the southern sky, the water temp was 79°-81°F and the wind was [email protected]
I made the long transit to the home of the giants. I put on my rain jacket and resisted the urge to stop and fish. The 50# troller pushed me uplake at 3.2mph. I Texas rigged some soft plastics. Finally I was on station and began making casts in the light of false dawn. I worked into the cove and caught keeper fish with senko and TR BBH from the bulrush. The rain quit and the wind came around from the north gusting up ten to fifteen. I took off my raincoat.
I was mixing it up, throwing pull baits and slack-line stuff. I decided to take it easy on my recuperating sore lower back and minimize the pull bait casts. I got to a nice grass flat and cast out shakeyhead. I popped it out of some spiny naiad and got a short-line strike that doubled my rod, catching me at an awkward stance. I got my feet under me and bent the rod fully but the giant broached and spit the worm at me, doh!
I shook it off, quickly rubbing dirt in the wound and fishing on. Two shakeyhead casts later and I’m hooked up again, this time getting a four-and-a-half pound tank in the boat, nearly eradicating the sting of the giant getting away. I was happy to have picked the right lake and the right spot. The wind eased at sunrise and then came back with northern teeth. I reached in my boat bag for my long sleeve shirt to cut the chill.
I fished from anchor in 8FOW and caught several good’uns with TR ribbontail. I bombed TR out to the outside edge. As soon as it hit the bottom, it was picked up, the line swimming away from me. I r’ared back, fully bending the 7’2” MH and snapped the line at the rod tip, doh! Two “doh”s in one morning??? I actually felt worse about the ”fish landing violation” more than the lost fish. Some poor fish is swimming around with 100’ of 12# line hanging out of his mouth. That reminds me, I saw an angler on TikTok who caught a fish with a cull tag clipped to its lip, LOL.
I had the cove to myself the entire morning. The morning bite waned. Eventually it was time to start fishing my way back. I got a couple of fish at the drop-shot honey hole and kept moving. I briefly fished a protected cove next to a pontoon boat but neither of were getting bit so I moved on, drifting down the mainlake shoreline.
I got to one of my good spots and dropped anchor. I found a little wad of them on the inside edge and got four largemouth in the boat plus a magnum redbreast sunfish. A bass boat with four young men were working towards me. They were all four on the front deck, shoulder to shoulder facing the reeds, and I could hear shouts of “Let’s Go!” as they were reeling them in. I passed them on the lake side and moved back in, catching a final drop-shot fish before deciding to call it on account of preserving whatever strength may be left in my back for tomorrow. Very grateful for the fun day and following wind as I cruised to the ramp. Total of fifteen largemouth and one sunny. Off at 2:00PM.
