Nice day out, and way to go Astros! Just watched my driver win the Nascar Championship, and got cleared for construction on the new house for tomorrow...so a good week all around. Oh, and Jeremy is better too!
Lady Bird 11/6/22
Weekend Angler rises like Lazarus, overcoming an extremely virulent bout of Type A Influenza. Mind over matter: dehydrated, sleep-deprived, triple-digit-fever. C’mon, are you a weekend angler or what? Delirious from fever, lungs rattling, back weak, vertigo, although, still qualified to operate on big water. But why? The fishing reports coming in are so-so. The tough fall fishing discouraging the timid maybe, but Weekend Angler fishes the weekend, no excuses.
I checked the wind, Decker was borderline (for me) so I decide to go to Town Lake. With the glow of nautical twilight behind me and the glow of the city lights ahead, I made the commute downtown. I pulled up to a deserted Holiday Inn ramp at first light. My heart sank a bit when I saw the high water mark on the ramp. During my illness, I’d neglected to follow the weather happenings in Central Texas. Ouch, looks like a garbage dump avalanched into the Bird during the last gulley-washer.
My negative first impression was quickly soothed by the rapid movements and wakes of small bass busting the ramp grass edges. The wind laid down completely, nice. The water was fairly clear, further increasing my optimism. I parked in the closest spot to the ramp, staggered down to my rig and shoved off.
I motored uplake along the Rainy Street side. I cast senko and TR BBH for a hundred yards without a taker. I shifted gears and tried something else. I pulled out a half ounce swim-jig, a lure I haven’t thrown in a while. I gave it the old college try, casting the swim-jig for over half an hour without a touch. I started to second guess my lake choice.
I decided to go with what I know, and I know senko. That was the fix, the bites started coming. I was nearly to the Ann Richards Bridge when a good fish chased down and smashed the senko as I was bringing it back to the boat. I was happy with my lake choice. I got a fever alright, and the only cure is bass fishing!
Under Congress, I had a very pleasant chat with a paddleboarding wake-bait enthusiast named Jarrod. I caught a couple more fish with TR from the middle pylons. I pressed on to First St along the Hyatt shoreline, but hauled water along the way. I stayed under First St for a little while. First St bridge was closed to autos for some 5K fun run, the event drumline hammering out a nice rhythm.
Now the lake was really hopping, all manner of watercraft taking advantage of the beautiful weather. I decided to explore some, I have not been north of First Street for many months. I fished my way along the Shoal Creek Island up to the Seaholm rocks. In a somewhat perfunctory method, I fished the deep holes on either side of the Seaholm rocks and got nothing. I waved at the freight train engineer as he came across the freshly painted trestle, and got a wave back but with no horn. I drifted back along Auditorium Shores, casting senko and paying respects to SRV. So the whole “side trip” from First Street to Seaholm was a bust, but it was good to assess the fanwort and shoreline alterations in this stretch.
I got back to Congress and caught a couple more from the pylons. I started fishing my way back, not in any hurry, soaking up as much Vitamin D as my flu ravaged body could absorb. I got to the spot where I caught some three-pounders last weekend and dropped the anchor. It took maybe twenty or twenty-five casts, but I finally caught a nice fun-fish. In my feverish state, all the bass I handled felt ice cold, water temp 72°F. A couple casts later, I hooked my own anchor somehow, so I pulled it and went on down the river. I drop shot a roboworm around the interstate pylons. I got a couple taps but no hook ups, so I took it to the ramp.
I’ll admit that another positive factor in getting me on the water was the inspirational and awesome post season run by the amazing WORLD SERIES CHAMPION HOUSTON ASTROS. These Astro ball players and their manager have got me so proud to be a Astros fan. Today, I caught nine fish, the biggest being the gorgeous four-pounder that battled it out with me at the Four Seasons. Off at 1:00pm Central Standard Time.
![Water Smile Vertebrate Fisherman Sky]()
I checked the wind, Decker was borderline (for me) so I decide to go to Town Lake. With the glow of nautical twilight behind me and the glow of the city lights ahead, I made the commute downtown. I pulled up to a deserted Holiday Inn ramp at first light. My heart sank a bit when I saw the high water mark on the ramp. During my illness, I’d neglected to follow the weather happenings in Central Texas. Ouch, looks like a garbage dump avalanched into the Bird during the last gulley-washer.
My negative first impression was quickly soothed by the rapid movements and wakes of small bass busting the ramp grass edges. The wind laid down completely, nice. The water was fairly clear, further increasing my optimism. I parked in the closest spot to the ramp, staggered down to my rig and shoved off.
I motored uplake along the Rainy Street side. I cast senko and TR BBH for a hundred yards without a taker. I shifted gears and tried something else. I pulled out a half ounce swim-jig, a lure I haven’t thrown in a while. I gave it the old college try, casting the swim-jig for over half an hour without a touch. I started to second guess my lake choice.
I decided to go with what I know, and I know senko. That was the fix, the bites started coming. I was nearly to the Ann Richards Bridge when a good fish chased down and smashed the senko as I was bringing it back to the boat. I was happy with my lake choice. I got a fever alright, and the only cure is bass fishing!
Under Congress, I had a very pleasant chat with a paddleboarding wake-bait enthusiast named Jarrod. I caught a couple more fish with TR from the middle pylons. I pressed on to First St along the Hyatt shoreline, but hauled water along the way. I stayed under First St for a little while. First St bridge was closed to autos for some 5K fun run, the event drumline hammering out a nice rhythm.
Now the lake was really hopping, all manner of watercraft taking advantage of the beautiful weather. I decided to explore some, I have not been north of First Street for many months. I fished my way along the Shoal Creek Island up to the Seaholm rocks. In a somewhat perfunctory method, I fished the deep holes on either side of the Seaholm rocks and got nothing. I waved at the freight train engineer as he came across the freshly painted trestle, and got a wave back but with no horn. I drifted back along Auditorium Shores, casting senko and paying respects to SRV. So the whole “side trip” from First Street to Seaholm was a bust, but it was good to assess the fanwort and shoreline alterations in this stretch.
I got back to Congress and caught a couple more from the pylons. I started fishing my way back, not in any hurry, soaking up as much Vitamin D as my flu ravaged body could absorb. I got to the spot where I caught some three-pounders last weekend and dropped the anchor. It took maybe twenty or twenty-five casts, but I finally caught a nice fun-fish. In my feverish state, all the bass I handled felt ice cold, water temp 72°F. A couple casts later, I hooked my own anchor somehow, so I pulled it and went on down the river. I drop shot a roboworm around the interstate pylons. I got a couple taps but no hook ups, so I took it to the ramp.
I’ll admit that another positive factor in getting me on the water was the inspirational and awesome post season run by the amazing WORLD SERIES CHAMPION HOUSTON ASTROS. These Astro ball players and their manager have got me so proud to be a Astros fan. Today, I caught nine fish, the biggest being the gorgeous four-pounder that battled it out with me at the Four Seasons. Off at 1:00pm Central Standard Time.
