State Park Fun...

One of my retirement hobbies has become math. I bought a brisket the other day and slow cooked it till it was falling apart. Delicious and an expensive cut of meat at $39 but I fed 10 people so by my calculations, I am after all a tuba player so make of that what you will, that was $3.90 a plate. I didn't figure in the cabbage and beans for side dishes but maybe I can take that huge expense off the taxes.

So I did the math on a State Park Yearly Pass, bought one, and at $70 I need to visit parks 17.2 times this year. Number one is in the book. This should not be a chore.     

One of my favorite state parks is Martin Dies Jr and it's Walnut Slough Paddling trail. Good fishing for pan fish but it was kind of slow on this trip. I caught 5 bass and 1 bream. I suspect the water temperatures are just below 60 degrees and once it rises a bit the crappie and bream will be willing to bite.  

Always scenic on the paddling trail. The bass hit plastics and that's always a thrill as I have never been much of a worm fisherman.  

I would guess it's been a fine bass spawn the past couple of years on B.A. Steinhagen or as my dad's generation called it "Dam B." Lots of small aggressive bass but they did run a bit bigger than our last trip.  

The canoeist makes a selfie. The water was up a bit from what I usually find on this lake despite the fact that Lake Sam Rayburn, just about 20 or so miles upstream is reporting 4' low. That meant that much of the visible cover I had been casting too was under water so there was a good bit of hanging up that I don't normally have.  

I'm not one of those internet influencers or anything but simple is good and I had a couple of new small Zebco reels, one of them with 4lb test and I did not hang and loose a lure. That light line was stout. Most fish were caught on a Charlie Brewer Crappie Slider product of some sort. There's lots of baits in the store but I have been using crappie sliders for about 35 years. Like the reliable Roadrunner it's a do nothing bait. You throw it out and reel it in and the only way you can fish it wrong is to not fish it slow. 

With temps predicted mild I expect this fishing to pick up soon.

So answer this question, why is there not a State Park on Sam Rayburn? It would be nice.