Week of April 21, 2013

More fun in the sun with Rhandy and Dale this week.  No big fish this week.  The biggest we caught was a 6 pound 7 ounce fish Dale hooked.  We had some fun and I caught several around 4 pounds. I also caught one long skinny fish, probably a very old male.  If it had packed the weight on like all the other fish it probably would have gone 7 pounds.  However in its emaciated condition it only went about 3.  Record low temps and a cold rain Tuesday night killed our fun, but I shall be back again soon!

Special mention to Rhandy for the outstanding Armadillo eggs.  Huge jalapenos stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon, and coated in BBQ sauce.  More please!

week of April 14, 2013

Another fun few days with Dale and Rhandy on beautiful Lake Fork. I fished Sunday afternoon with Rhandy, then mornings with Dale and evenings with Rhandy the next 3 days.  Plans for another half day with Dale on Thursday were derailed by a howling cold front that dropped temperatures 30 degrees and 3 hours of heavy rain and high winds.  We made a good decision canceling Thursday morning.  Temperatures were mid to upper 80's during most of the days and mid 60's to lower 70's in the evenings. Nice fishin' weather except for a stiff south south wind that got ridiculous on Wednesday.

Sunday evening was tough with just a few fish caught and no size.  We hit some good spots with just a few dinks to show for it.  We figured the fish still were not back from the last cold front and planned to hit the same spots again later in the week.  Monday was no easier as we tried to find spots out of the wind to tie up and fish shakey heads.  Later in the day we got back in a good pocket and caught a few on Texas rigs.  Dale and I had 11 but I think I only caught 2.  After switching to Rhandy's boat we headed back to some of the same spots we hit Sunday, fished the same techniques, but this time it paid off.  We had 12 fish and I had one that went 4 and another around 6 pounds.

Tuesday my buddy David came out and joined us once again.  This time we did a bit better.  In the morning we fished a high spot near deep water and caught a few small bass and a couple of sandbass.  I decided to pitch out in deep water and hooked a 7 pound 5 inch fish that put up a good fight.  I think he was eating some sandbass out there.  She liked my excaliber crankbait.  The fish's stomach was huge and there was a big tail sticking out of her gullet.

After we wore out our welcome at that spot we moved back in the pocket where we had success the day before.  This time the wind was down enough we could fish wacky worms and they worked well. We got a lot of bites but only hooked a few of the fish.  I had one lane I went down 8 or 9 times and got bit every single time, but only boated 2 small bass and hung up 2 hooks.  David got the nicest one at about 5 pounds.

We started out the only boat in that pocket but before long it got crowded with other boats so we went elsewhere.  I think we ended up with 11 fish total.  David had to head back but I headed out again with Rhandy about 3 pm.  We went back to our successful spots from the day before but the fish were gone once again.  After moving around a bit I finally got two bites, then hooked up with a nice 7 pound 6 ounce fish.  How Rhandy managed to beat Dale's fish I'll never know, but he is sneaky like that!  Even missing part of its tail.  Hooked her with a Carolina rig with a fluke.

Rhandy caught a couple of more decent fish but I never had another bite.  We bagged it early around 7 pm and went in to drink much beer.  Two 7 pounders in one day is not too shabby.

Wednesday was tough and was mainly spent battling the wind.  I caught some big ol' sandbass early and couple of small bass late but mostly we were just trying to feel our bait as the wind picked up and got stupid.  The ride back was a bone pounder as the wind seemed to be blowing a steady 20-30 mph.  Rhandy tried to get us out on the main lake after Dale dropped me off but it was just unfishable.  We spent several hours up in Leafy Branch without much success and even had to chase down Rhandy's hat while we were back in there.  It was just too windy.  Back for more soon!