Evolution of things...

 Usually morning time is a muck around on computer time for me. I once had a patient for home health, an old retired guy I had once worked with in a pervious career so I knew him. To get a bit of a feel for how he lived his life and what he needed health wise I asked what time he got up in the mornings. He said 4:30am which he considered respectable for an old retired guy without much to do. I don't get up that early but mucking around on the computer is just something to kill a little time till I feel it's a respectable enough hour to start bothering the neighbors with the sounds of tuba. 

While I was awaiting the hour of the tuba my computer told me that on this date in 2021 I had made a recording at one of my playing in the park solo concerts. I was playing the 1936 King bell front horn which even though I have a slightly more modern 50 year old horn now I still like the sound of it. The songs I played that day, some I have not played lately and some have changed presentation and style altogether. These little recordings do show an evolution of ideas and song selection. 

I noticed, one of those computer use things that probably the rest of the world knows that if you made a document in Google docs it is saved there for you till needed again. I found something called "mudbelly set list." Mudbelly that's me. It's my blues name and I picked it up during a sliding down a mud bank into the creek sometime back around 1990, give or take a year or two. I made the set list to have something to pick tunes from I might play. It's a few years old now and some of the songs don't ring a bell and there's others that do but are not a bell I have rang lately. Like I say, evolution and all that. The music moves on. 

I have some new tunes but there are a few I need to add back in. 

The gigs come, they go. I'll be able to have something when I need it. 

So the gigs are slow and the blog writing is also. Stay tuned though as camping and travel picks up this week. Evolution you know...

         

Tackle Box Reorganization...

As a retired guy I mostly piddle around each day in a viscous unrelenting cycle of tuba playing, grand kids and fishing. I guess I am easily amused because when I finish the cycle, I start it over again and I have found that I usually find something new each cycle so maybe these are deep subjects with many meanings, shadings and analogies of life that hopefully I have enough time left to get to the bottom of. I took the time this past week to rearrange all the tackle boxes. 

I rarely buy a new lures so it's not like the collection of fishing lures are growing but I do restock the easily consumable and hangable things like hooks, weights, panfish jig heads and plastic lures. I had come to a system of stackable flat boxes that I kept in the boat compartments and switched out into a little tool bag satchel that I stocked with the appropriate gear then carried in the canoe, to the beach or wherever the trip took me. I used two old big tackle boxes to reduce the flat boxes by 4 or 5 so this is a more compact assortment than before. Many of the lures pictured here I bought as a teen or young adult, were my dad's or in the case of the big silver box gifted me from a life time collection by friends Suzi and Charley when they went through some recent downsizing.         

This is the box that gets the most use, the catfish or just general bait fishing gear. There's hooks, weights and slip corks. 

My dad's old tackle box. I cleaned this out by sorting the various lures into other specialized boxes and filled this with the content of the three flat boxes that held most of my saltwater tackle. There's one box left that is saltwater plastic tails so this reduces from about four boxes that I usually carried in a big boy scout backpack to two boxes. Sometimes I only saltwater fish once or twice a year but with the recent generator purchase for the RPod camper we hope to make use of the free camping on Texas beaches this summer.    

Top box here are Rapalas (some of my dad's favorite lures) and small crank baits. Bottom box is the saltwater jig tails. 

Yellow box is a Charlie Brewer Slider kit of bass sized lures. I like the slider worms and probably catch more bass on the panfish sizes than I do on these. On top of that is the rattle trap box. A rattle trap is a good bait, fresh or salt. It's an idiot bait. Any idiot throw it out and reel it in is gonna catch fish. 

Here's a couple of boxes of plastic worms the bottom one I found floating in the lake. The day I found it I posted on the Sam Rayburn Fishing report page my location if the owner was looking but no takers. Top box is old Hellbenders and deep diving crank baits. I don't know how many times as a kid I caught a big bass out the back of the boat on a Hellbender while the old man was trying to crappie fish.  

Cranks, top waters and spinner baits. Some probably a good 40 years old from the dawn of the golden age of mass produced lures.  

The old box Suzi and Charlie gave me. I combined these lures, sone from the collections of their parents with my dad's stuff from his box to make a general bass fishing box of cranks, old Devil's Horse top waters, chuggers and idiot baits. If some modern bass fisherman invites me I'll take this and maybe throw in a flat box of the plastic worms. . 

I labeled the boxes and so far if I have used a lure I return it to the right box. I guess all this will work time I cycle around and start piddling again. In my dad's old box there were at least 10 deep diving magnum Redfins that we used to catch the hybrids out of Rayburn on in the early 80s and I have a stash of them somewhere. It's a cycle that may never be finished.  

 

White Bass on the Neches River...

We hit Chandler River Park to see id we could cash in on the spring Texas white bass run. We fished there once last spring and with the closing of our favorite place white bass spot River Ridge on the Sabine River we are going to be regulars each year here. 

Cathy catches a yellow bass. There's no limit or size restriction on these and while most people are looking to cash in on white bass I think I prefer to eat the yellow over the white as they taste more like a panfish where the the whites are coarser meat similar to a saltwater drum. I think we had about 6 white bass, one 19 inch hybrid striper and the rest yellows to total 23 fish.     

Cathy's brother Matt with a nice 14 inch white bass. All fish caught on road runners with a few taken on regular crappie jig heads. I dress my runners and jigs with the plastic tail of my choice and while we caught a few on each color I tried they seemed to like a white straight tail. Naturally fishing in an East Texas river we hung up and lost a hat full of jigs but I have probably seen worse days for hang ups on low water trips to the Trinity River for white bass. Best bet is to go to Walmart or Academy and buy the multi pack of undressed road runner heads and a couple of packs of your favorite plastic tails. Don't wait till you get near the river. Last year I noted in a convenience store not far from the park road runners were two for $8.   

Hybrid striper. Made my Zebco 33 complain mightily. 

Cathy with the stringer. 

Of course every one wants their photo with the fish. 

 I suspect this might be a crowded fishing spot once the run is in full swing. A good many cars in the lot and it would be a good place for a small boat or kayak and we saw quite a few.. Last year I installed a trolling motor mount on my canoe with the intention of fishing here but nice mess of fish without it.

We did not walk too far in and I am glad I did not have to drag this stringer up a steep Trinity River band so don't catch more than you can carry.  

Life Long Learning, Tuba, Passing Music Theory, I've Done Some of Those Things...

I guess I'm what you call a life long learner. I graduated at age 50 from college which was a 180 degree career turn from something that had also been a 180 degree career turn from what I had been planning, I have been able to learn stuff about computers, how to work on an old RV trailer, new fishing techniques and of course my grandkids teach me stuff all the time. I still keep learning things about music also which along with fishing are the two things having the longest arc of seeking new information. Lately in addition to attending weekly civic band rehearsals I have also sat in and played on the M/W college band class at Angelina Jr. College. At first I was doing in because of some missed rehearsals but it's been fulfilling and I'll probably keep it up.   

Yesterday day I participated in a Zoom class with tuba player Steven Duffy. You may have seen him playing sousaphone with Lauryn Hill, Jon Batiste or with one of my favorites who I have many cds, Red Barrat and many other NYC Brass Bands. Duffy's story in a nutshell is that he came out of college a trombone player, couldn't make a living, moved to NYC, took up tuba, started funking it up like a bass guitar player might, made enough money to pay the rent and created a niche for his instrument with people looking to make their music different and distinctive outside of what traditional music education had actually prepared him for.  

I recently read on the internet that right now there are more people majoring in tuba at Florida State University than there are orchestra tuba positions available in the USA. There are going to be some 180s. Trust me on this. Duffy's online Zoom was actually a recruiting tool for his teaching studio where he schools guys and gals, some were young, some were older in playing with different bands and genres using the tuba to make it more interesting. I have seen others doing the similar thing teaching a blues jam and the use of pedal board effects with the horn. 

This is not a short cut. You are still going to have to learn your scales. You will probably have to go to college and pass music theory. The whole point and it's almost like a gospel to these teachers is that if you get outside the box there something there for you. 

I guess I have been outside the box most of my life playing tuba and have had the experience of different things and a wide listening interest. Once an older man, a tuba and string bass player in more traditional settings told me, "you are not coming from the same place I am." I think he meant that as a compliment. Maybe he learned something from me. 

I won't sign up for the studio for more study. I'm too old. I don't rule out that one Saturday night I might write a hit song about trains, momma and prison and while Ill keep playing with the civic and college bands and looking for a local niche I won't be moving with my tuba to NYC. The class was a nice reminder that I am on the right path for me and to stay with the life long learning and the long arc of music. 

Here's Red Barrat with Duffy on tuba.      

  

 

Go to a Concert...

There are many music scenes around town involving local musicians. You can hit the restaurants for a DAG show (dude and guitar) and at some places you can even catch a country band while you dine. There's always dancing going on at the VFW. There is even a nice little punk scene with shows popping up from time to time and some open mics for the singer songwriter if you want to bring your songs and see if what they say is so. For something a little different this past weekend there were two shows at Angelina Collège, one which I attended and another I played in. 

If you have not caught the Riff Runners under the direction of Dixon Shanks it's a treat. This is a community big band doing pop tunes, rock, jazz, funk and even a bit of country sometimes. The players come from all over East Texas. I have quite a few friends in this band and I always enjoy the show. The next show is May 3rd and since I'll be out of town that date you should go.   

 On Sunday I played with the combined Angelina Civic and College Symphonic Bands. I have participated in local community band programs going back to the mid 70s while I was still in high school. Often times my participation was limited by work and other commitments through the decades but I am excited by this group which under the direction of Paul Berler is growing. I have even been attending the Monday/Wednesday college band class. This old dog of a tuba player might still be capable of learning a few new tricks.     

Concert theme this weekend was "Americana" featuring classics by great American composers. Our next show, which we begin rehearsals for tonight is April 28th and will be big band swing with tunes by Ellington, Basie and others. So far it seems like our audience is limited to family and friends. Our band is close to 50 pieces so that's a pretty good crowd to come and see us but it would be nice to reach a larger audience. This is the kind of fine arts scene that is found in the big city and we have it here. It brings up the quality of life for the community with inspiration and enjoyment for all.   

If you are an old band nerd or even a young nerd whose horn has been sitting in the case and you are in post band camp depression after high school I encourage you to come out. For the student there is scholarship money available. The charts are not terribly hard note wise but Mr. Berler empathizes musical playing with lots of tempo changes, allargandos and dynamics. 

Check the Angelina Fine Arts calendar at the link.   

 

Ate $130 of Catfish Maybe We Should Call This The Eating Report...

I have often written about the four stages to an outdoors man or women's life. #1, wants to catch them all. #2 wants to catch a big one. #3 wants nice gear and #4 just glad to be out there. We probably spend about 8 years mired in that wants to catch them all phase but lately I think we need a #5 and that would be happy to get enough for a fish dinner. Yesterday we had 9 catfish and that fed the three fishermen, the Zamora boys and we sent a care package up to the night nurses at Woodland Height's Labor and Delivery.  

Things were off to a slow start. The lake is still dropping due to work on the dam rip rap and 4' water where we caught fish last weekend is now 2 foot water. Water clarity is still poor after the big rains and when we first started there was a bit of a ripple of wind on the water which provides some shade for critters like catfish that have no hat brims or eye lids but soon died and we never caught another fish after that. Cathy had first fish and it was a good one.  

Matt took this fish on one of the light bite spinning rigs. 

Things were looking pretty poor for the home team and blog writer but I finally caught one nice blue and a couple of channel cats. 

Speaking of eating catfish everyone remembers what they were doing when they first had Pop Pop's fried catfish. Milo gets his fist bite of catfish. 

While we have not had the numbers lately we have had nice blue cats and Cathy and I usually tuck away a package or two of fillets that are an easy thaw out with just enough for two people. I think I ate catfish 5 times this week. We had stuffed cream chees and spinach catfish, fish tacos, catfish corn chowder, left over catfish corn chowder and then the fried catfish with a couple of thick blackened pieces that ate like a steak after this trip.

I checked Ralph and Kacoo's and on the lunch menu they have thin cut catfish, charro beans, french fries and hushpuppy for $13. If you just count what me and Cathy ate in catfish that's at least $130 worth of dinners. I'll include a venmo link at the end so the nurses from Woodland can pony up.     

Here's the catch. As the lake continues to drop we won't have the opportunity to tie up and fish right next to the willow and cypress trees so it will make finding just the right spot with the right depth challenging. I guess if we get enough for two that's a $26 meal. 

 

Village Creek State Park...

For a while now I have wanted to check out Village Creek State Park near Lumberton, Tx. I heard the canoeing, fishing and swimming on the creek sandbars was great. It was a cold day when we visited a couple of weekends ago so swimming was out and fishing poor but a very nice place to visit. 

Cathy poses on the creek at the canoe launch. Looks like a pontoon boat would be handier and there was one tied up at a home down stream from the park. I know that most canoe info on the internets gives various other launch points for interesting places to sightsee along this creek and I noted there was a ramp on highway 96 where a boy scout troop had launched that I would like to try.   

Spotted this Love Tree along the trail which seemed to have some ability to make romance bloom. Once on Lake Sam Rayburn along the banks of old Popher's Creek I spotted at tree with "1939" carved in it. 

 It might have been the bare trees of late winter but it seems the RV camping sites were close together without much space. Walk in primitive camping along the trails had some pretty nice looking places for those that travel light.  

We wanted to see the swimming area but the trail required the crossing of a slough which we were not eager to wade on a cold and windy day. Later we checked with a park ranger if we were on the right trail and we were. They said "sometimes the water is up, sometimes it's down." 

Cathy and brother Matt hike along the creek. There were nice sand banks in the background notable because I read sand mining is big right now. It's a valuable commodity apparently and there is some kind of digging project going on along the Farm Road into town near my house that I suspect is a sand mine.    

Good stands of cane along the creek. Nice hiding spots for Sasquatch. It is the Big Thicket. They have been spotted. 

There's a nice pavilion in the park along the creek. The yellow line marks the level of the water during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.  

It's a good park if you like canoeing or primitive camping and I suspect that with warming temps good pan fishing but I have been spoiled with good isolated RV sights the past year so what with the drive to Lumberton being a good couple of hours we probably won't have this park on regular rotation. 

Our purchase of a generator this week has us focused on the free beach front camping that Surfside has to offer so we are gearing up to try boondocking with the cord to State Parks and the RV hook ups cut.     

I do want to return to the area and check out the Ice House Museum in Silsbee. Looks interesting.