Since I got my kayak I have not gotten my fill of being in it yet. Neither have I utilized my handy-dandy Texas fishing license sufficiently. I decided that when I got back from vacation I would head out with both items to engage in some serious relaxation.
My son, a teenager, was not interested in arising early enough (before 10am) during his summer vacation to get out and about. I therefore resolved to go alone into the not so wild waters of Lubbock. I packed the kayak and gear into the back of my trusty Ford Ranger pickup and left in search of water, a daunting task in West Texas. Fortunately, There are several bodies of water, I won't flatter them by calling them lakes, in the vicinity. My favorite waters include a scenic waterfall, bridges, park and dam.
I paddled away from the boat launch, though I could easily put my 39lb kayak in the water anywhere I desired, and after arriving at my designated spot, I drifted just off the shore and worked a white spinnerbait next to the cattails.
In fairly short order I had a strike. Now I'm not a small man and can easily lift or maneuver a kayak whereever I want. The 4lb, 18 inch bass I hooked also seemed to have little trouble moving the kayak, with me inside, wherever he wanted, but fortunately bass tire quickly enough. I played around and the bass jumped, splashed and swam for all he was worth, but in the end I led him into a small dip net then to a chain fish stringer. I'm all for catch and release for everyone else, but this was a huge fish and I didn't bring a camera.
I paddled around for about another hour and hooked a small bass that thought he was a big bass then decided to go home and show off. Of course I took pictures, measured weighed and bragged to my oldest son by text, my youngest son in person, my two youngest daughters by phone and in person and to a neighbor who just happened to be outside at the wrong time.
I guess the only fish I've ever caught that were bigger than this were carp, but they taste about as muddy as the river bottoms they swim on. Just for fun I watched a Youtube video on cleaning bass then looked up a recipe. I settled on rolling the fillets in corn meal and frying them. Turns out a 4lb fish has an awful lot of meat on it. I ate less than half the fish and put the rest in the fridge for later.
There's only a few things to top a day like that. I think the hot tub's calling.
Twist
