Summer Fishing Report...

Cathy and I made it to the lake yesterday for a fishing trip. We've had some lake trips this summer and as per our summer water activity the past few years we have not been too mad at the catfish but instead spent our time tubing and swimming in relief of the hot weather. We swan yesterday but decided we did not want to get out of practice cooking fried fish. 

Though we headed out in the late afternoon fishing was slow for fillet sized fish was slow and we caught a bucket of these miniature blue cats. The Sam Rayburn Lake record for blue cat is 83 pounds. The biggest one we have personally caught was 32 pounds. These have some growing to do. I think I have found small catfish up to about 8" in the bellies of larger catfish. 

Seems our old favorite place that's usually a go to spot from August through January has dried up the past could of years. I think maybe other fishermen have discovered it because last trip one of the grandkids snagged some kind of bait bucket fish attractor and pulled it up. We let it back down but generally extra fishing pressure means small fish are the only ones left. 

We checked around the area to discover a new spot and nearby we clocked 52' depths which means with the lake being 8' low it's normally 60' deep in this spot and and fished the edges which were 25'deep finally producing enough fillet size fish for a fish dinner for two.  When the water comes up the tie ups to old stumps we used will be under water. 

Here's the what the world needs now is another picture of Cathy with a catfish picture. 

With a swim, a nice breeze and an Astros game on the bluetooth speaker it was a nice afternoon on the lake. Supper was even better with Fried catfish and farmers market okra and collard greens. 

 

Pre-Big Bass Splash Fishing Report...

 This weekend is a Big Bass Splash Fishing Tournament on Sam Rayburn and the lake was strangely quiet the day before an expected 3000 entries try to hit the water and win. There was plenty of parking at the ramp and I could only see one camper in the park but many campsites are still in disrepair from Hurricane Beryl and after all the popular big bass spots on the lake are on down a way and it was a perfect day for our late afternoon catfish trip. 

You can see from this photo how close to the shore we were. Right in front of the boat juts a little sandbar which when we untied to leave we let the stiff south wind blow us up on and caused me to take a swim in belly deep water to float us off. The water is 82 degrees which is probably a little warmer than our water aerobics class has been lately so swimming season is on us. 

Cathy caught this fat channel cat on the first cast dropping her slip cork rig in a 4.5 foot deep creek which dead ends in the first photo but at normal lake levels is passable into the the Deer Stand area cove. Final total was 8 channel cats, nice fillet size. There was a lot of shad activity in this cove and we had many throw backs as it was just full of 8 to12 inch cats in a feeding frenzy. 

The lake is so low looks like I'm bank fishing in this photo.

I think this is a man made structure of branches piled around a stump to create a fishing holding spot along an edge leading up to a point which when the lake comes up should hold some fish. 

Of course we ate fried catfish, blackened potatoes on the blackstone and salad. 

I pronounce that summer has arrived. Be careful with those tournament fishermen on the lake this weekend but truth be told we caught these fish after the time of what will be their final weigh in so if you leave late should be good.  

  

   

 

 

 

More Catfishing...

 Cathy and I along with her brother Matt spent a Saturday afternoon fishing on Big Sam Rayburn. Water is still low and recent rain have the level creeping up with the boat dock at Hanks Creek just barely starting to float. That's evidence of improvement as a few weeks back the boat grounded a few feet short of the end of the dock making it a big step over for a fat guy like me.  

Fishing was slow as our usual spring pattern is catfish on slip corks around bushes but the water is still not anywhere near bushes along the shore. We managed to catch 9 catfish with Cathy again taking most fish and big fish honors on a box of stocky channel cats. I managed one fish so I did have a meager supper while she ate big piles of fillet meat.  

A couple of trips back this was all fat blue cats holding to the shore lines but I think a warmer than normal March has led them to finish up shallow water activity and they have been replaced but the later spawning channel cats. Even thought the weather was fine for shorts on the lake yesterday the sun seem to beat down and after cooking fish in the garage I felt a few mosquito bites so I am predicting a long hot summer. 

Hazy smoke on the lake off down in the direction of a recent 6000-7000 acre fire in the Angelina National Forest. I have not seen any news of a new fire and it seemed to disperse with the evening wind. 

There were several pairs of ospreys in the area, the first we have seen this spring. I thought they were year round inhabitants but they have been noticeably absent. They were engage in feeding, diving and nesting behaviors in shoreline trees but we did notice this nest along the long boat cut. The full pool of the lake is 164.4 feet and the level is 155 right now or 9 feet low. That means with a return to full this spot they chose will be at least 5 or 6 feet underwater. Cathy points out she will probably be disappointed in him for choosing this stump. The nest seemed to be under construction, thinly built with no chicks or eggs. It was a temptation to knock it in the water so they would maybe choose another spot but we decided to let nature take it's course. 

If it ain't fried it ain't food! 

   

  

Fishing Report and First No Shirt Photo of the Year...

 In the weekend edition of the local paper they run a little two paragraph fishing report on each area lake. The one for Sam Rayburn Lake said "catfish excellent on windswept points. That's just where we have been finding them and on our trip yesterday we managed 15 fish in 3-4 hours of fishing. That's a little slow by our standards and the wind was not quite as favorable direction wise to put us on the same spot but slip corks, punch bait and some left over bait shrimp I had bought on the las beach trip and lept frozen got me, Cathy and her brother Matt a nice supper.     

Cathy took big fish and probably most fish. She has been in a bit of a slump so it was high time to catch her up on the fish count. She liked a new reel, a Kast King spin cast. We had a bit of trouble with the line originally on the reel with Ezra losing a fish due to a break off and then last trip I lost a fish same way. I think top rod eye was rough and after some sanding and a line replacement with my favorite Cajun line Cathy says she will be happy if I replace our aging equipment with these.  

Matt scores a fat one. When cleaning Matt checked stomach contents on one fish and it was the bait shrimp we used. 

Bent rods. Probably fish 3' deep or less. 

First photo of the year of fish and no shirt. This is some people's favorite part of the blog. 

If you note the folks on the four wheeler in this photo right behind them is a spot against the bushes, now dry where we have taken 10 pound fish. We could use some rain. Usually this is an island and I have not been around it since lake levels dropped so I am unsure how they got out here. This must not be an island anymore. 

Supper was a simple affair. Blackened fillets served over DJ's rice dressing. Today I made a toasted sandwich out of a left over fillet, raw spinach, tomato, onion and mayo. Delish.  

 

February Blue Cat Fishing Report...

 Recent rains have the lake up a bit. After she backed the boat off the trailer Cathy could pull up to the dock barely grounding the bow of the boat for me to step aboard after parking the trailer as opposed to the last time we launched and I had to jump to avoid wading aboard. I also expected the fresh inflow of water to muddy things a bit but the water was clear green and it was a beautiful feels like spring day on the lake in the middle of late winter. 

We set up on a windy point off the main lake long cut with the back of the boat tied off in 18' of water. Normally that spot would be at least 8' deeper and the stump we grabbed would be far underwater but this position allowed us to cast slip cork rigs to 4' of water so the distance of the rise from deep to the bank was probably about 50'. First couple of fish were nice fat channel cats and then blue cats the size of the one in the photo started hitting. I think I threw back one 12" channel as I did not want him to be scared occupying the livewell with the big girls. I had decided I would keep no more channel cats with the size the blues were but I never caught another channel. 

Since we were fishing right on the depth break all the fish we hooked in shallow water provided a challenging battle. When hooked the ran back toward the boat and under the boat to try and reach the sanctuary of deep water. One of the things my dad used to say when he was trying to judge the size of fish you had hooked was, "Is he trying to run under the boat with it?" We say that all the time also. 

Note the lay of the land here in the background. Normally at pool level the water is about 5' deep on the ridge behind Cathy with an old creel drain on the other side. That creek flows out to a big "S" curve in the submerged channel of the Angelina River. We've caught thousands of catfish in this area and I have probably fished it for at least 50 years. Once I found an arrowhead on the bank here and I often see people sifting for arrow heads when the lake is low. I would imagine a beautiful area with many indigenous people living here several hundred years ago.   

Final count was 10 cats in two hours fishing. We could always catch more but because Cathy's replaced shoulder makes skinning catfish harder for her and that makes me principle fish cleaner we quit when I decide I have all the work I need for the day. The Zamoras came over and we fried and blackened fillets using left over gumbo I cooked at the church Fat Tuesday party as a side dish. 

Once again we enjoyed being out in our refurbished boat and thanks go out to our children who put in the time to carpet, install seats and clean. When we talk to other fisherman on the lake and they get a look at us with all the rods and big net in the holders I can tell their impression is, "these people mean business."  

   

  

The Ever Popular Fishing Report...

 Last February, March, April and May there were almost more catfish caught than I could clean. This February is off to a bit of a slow start. Last trip was good fishing deep but it's high time for the blue cat to roam the shallows for world class slip corking. Only problem is the lake is 9' low and the shallows are dry dirt. There are still the old flooded creek channels and instead of hitching the boat to the willows and buck brush there are plenty of the normally underwater stumps allow premium tie ups. 

Using this creek channel strategy and slip corking we managed 5 nice cats even though it was a noisy boat with all three Zamora's on board. I suspect we might have been positioned right in the catfish path of travel from deep to shallow to find our baits and scared off some verses the multiple paths to the shallows that the high water affords but that's just technical stuff about fishing that goes on in my head which is not necessary to verbalize to others who just need to know, "cast over there."

How crowded can a 20' pontoon boat get? Pretty crowded as I didn't make many photos yesterday. 

I did take this photo on the way back across the lake. I think he might have been meditating on how bad he was or contemplating the nap they all took on the way home. 

Five catfish won't feed the Zamora clan so since they were asleep almost before we drove out of the park Cathy took them on to a rendezvous with their dad and I cleaned fish. Pop Pop and Grandma out lasted them again and the prize was red beans and rice with a side of fried catfish. Eat it everyday if I could.  

See you on the lake.

  

     

First Fishing Report 2026...

 The first fishing trip went off without a hitch. The new boat seats were comfortable, the motor ran like a top, the new Bimini top and frame kept us shady, the new rod holders stored our gear safely away, the fish bit and I looked around just in time to see someone poop over the side of the boat. I think the last time I saw that was when I was in high school. I won't name names of either pooper but I will always wonder the eternal question of who taught them how to do that? 

Ezra scored the first fish of 2026. 

There was a bit of wind but not too much to be dangerous. A good wind usually puts us to slip corking for fish chasing bait on windblown sandbars and in the backs of coves but with wind comes the challenge of seeing the cork and timing the hookset which can be difficult for younger fishermen so we elected to fish near drop offs in 25' to 30' water with the bait dropped over boatside straight down. The action was just fast enough and we landed 17 fat keepers. 

We also threw back a bucket full of this size blue cats. The Sam Rayburn lake record for blue cat is 83 pounds. This blog notes that by mid April spawning blue cats had moved out of shallow water and were being replaced by swarms of egg laden channel cats. None of the fish we caught this trip had eggs so the question is how old is this fish? Maybe 10 months old. If so that means slower growth than I would expect for a fertile southern reservoir or a more recent birth than last February or March.. Maybe the scads of small blue cat are simply a food base for the big double digit fish that we know are there but we rarely catch on rod and reel.   

The lake is still low, maybe lower than our last camping trip. I like it like this for fishing but be forewarned that if you launch the boat with your compadres backing it off the trailer after you park you will get you feet wet as there are no good pull up spots without grounding the boat 5' from shore around the Hanks ramp.  

I'll put off camping till the lake comes up as there is not good access to my favorite camp spots by water but looks like the fishing year is off to a good start.

Those cats are now swimming in our belly. 

The Great Christmas Boat Rebuild...

 If you follow this blog you might recall a few months back how my neighbor's workshop and a car caught fire and how all this was across the property line just behind our boat stall and caused scorching and melting damage to my boat. A local boat dealer, Callahan's repaired the motor very well, my neighbor fixed the trailer lights and for the most part we were back on the lake catching fish. The boat is 20 years old (the motor is newer) and it's a catfish boat so in addition to some scorching melting there was some good honest wear and tear to areas of the boat. 

Here is a before photo. Keep in mind this boat has been stall kept it's whole life but thousands of fish have been jerked out on the carport and dozens of girls in swimsuits have sat on those seats.  

I deemed the main carpet as good but there was age related fraying and then scorching to the three back deck panels so those were the only recarpeting done. You can see Morgan and Peter showing off upholstering skills. 

This was a bit of a thorny problem. The gas cap had melted and no longer fastened. I was a bit worried about contamination of the fuel and taking this apart involved removing old, hardened fuel hoses to take the decking off. It was easy to find the spout part with gas cap as Miguel googled the patent number but I don't think that gutter part to protect the carpet from fuel overflows is available on the internet so it was reused.  

Tim, Warren and Katie crawl the boat like lizards. It was nice that this was a dry mild Christmas, good for outdoor work.  

Rose and Morgan assemble the new Bimini top. This one is all hard supports, new cover and a new boot to protect it from the elements when not in use. The old top was aged and a bit melted from the fire and the old boot was totally melted.   

Morgan, Warren and Tim put the new top frame in place. 

Morgan gifted me a pop rivet gun which he purchased to fix the hinges on the front entry gate and Katie purchased a pressure washer to finish off the work with a good cleaning. Here's Mary and Katie giving the boat a fierce washing. 

It was great the weather was good or this part would have been much more uncomfortable. 

The final product. We need some good sun to dry things out after washing but other than age related wear and staining it looks quite a bit better and all the improvements will make time on the lake easier and more comfortable. I think I'll add some rod holders to get the pile of poles that we always seem to have on the floor up in an out of the way position. As a young man I just tossed those rods in there to get to the lake faster but as an old man I spend way more time messing with my stuff  so laying the rods down to fit in the garage and lifting the top for travel should not slow me down anymore than I already have. 

Here's a Christmas Staff photo of the Wallace boat works crew. They do good work and Cathy and I thank them for the gift of their time, talents and treasure. It's very rewarding to see that the things I have valued in life, not just the hobby of fishing but everything that goes with it, fun, family and good memories matter to them as much as it does to us. 

 

 

It's A Non Report But Maybe We Caught Something...

 

Sometimes I think I've occasionally been remiss in my parenting and grandparenting. My dad made me fish with a cane pole until he was confident that I was not going to cause a ruckus in the boat somehow with tangles, hooked fishing partners and expensive dropped overboard green stamp purchased fishing combos. Hence the cane pole use. I don't worry about all that and go ahead and provide if not the best gear, serviceable gear that they use well.     

That does not mean I haven't had to dredge up a couple of dropped fishing poles over the past year or so. One five year old dropped his, an honest mistake. I'm not sure what came to be when the 41 year old dropped hers but I do recall that I was a full grown man, still tromping around in cane thickets in search of the one with the perfect curve before I discovered you could catch crappie with a rod and reel instead of switch cane and black Dacron line with a cork bobber. 

So with all these memories bouncing inside my head I was glad to take the grandkids to Pioneer Days at Martin Dies Jr. State Park. In addition to providing cane pole fishing they saw some camp cooking (nothing new for them here) old fashion kitchen wares, muzzle loading rifles, and how to fold a blanket in a triangle for ground sleeping.  

While they didn't add to our year end catfish totals today may be they learned something about the old ways that will connect them to the things in my old head. Nothing remiss about that.