Have you ever really just sat down and try to figure out why we take the time and go though the expense to be able to fish on our days off? There are many reason I’m sure, some people use it as an escape from their hectic days at work, or even from the wife and kids. We all need a form of release form the everyday stresses we face, and fishing is one excellent way of doing just that.
Now in order to really “get away” from it all, it’s best to leave behind or at least turn off the cell phone and laptops for a while and focus on catching that record breaker or dinner for tonight. All they are are just links to the stressful world we are trying to escape from in the first place. Personally I think there is another deeper reason why we fish or hunt. It’s because deep inside we feel the restlessness of our primordial instinct to “gather” food for ourselves and family. Did you ever think about it like that? It’s hard to describe that feeling but if you pay attention to it, I’m sure you’ll be able to feel it too, just don’t fight it, embrace it.
An American Indian once said, “It’s natural to track, hunt, and fish”. It’s encoded in our DNA, and no matter how hard modern civilization tries to stomp out these ancient pre-programmed codes, it still manages to surface in one way or another. Fishing to me is one of the best ways to relax and to feed my inner spirit that tends to get restless for the,”Call of the Wild”. It’s important to have a healthy balance in life, family should come first, work and then fishing.
Fishing has taken me to many different location, both in my mind and to some of the most beautiful places in our wonderful country. The sounds of water, birds, the wind blowing through the trees or just hearing the fish jump in the water is so calming, who needs medication to relax when we have all this around us?
Listen to the call, it’s deep inside you trying to get out. Make some time for yourself and also make time to share this with your family, even if it’s only for a few hours after work, or a weekend out camping by a lake, river or sea. Teach your children to fish, show them the importance of living a balanced life, the rewards are well worth the time.
Another location that can be added to Texas fishing holes is Delta Lake. This lake when I was a kid was very popular with the locals, it was a main focus point for family get togethers and Sunday afternoon picnics. From what I understood it was a holding tank that was gravity fed by a series of canals from the Rio Grande River to help irrigate the local crop fields, but it also held allot of nice catfish to catch.
The first time I went to Delta Lake when I was a kid and I was told to bring my fishing gear so I could fish with my cousins and let me tell you I was ready when that day came, I was excited to go some place new, and I was hoping to catch some nice catfish. I replaced the fishing line on my Zebco 404 real with 12 lb. line and asked my Mom to buy me some chicken liver when she went to the store. I was ready.
Our family was going to meet there for one of my uncle’s birthday, and my family didn’t do anything half way when it came to that, I knew there would be plenty of food and drinks for everyone. My cousins were also ready for a day of fun and fishing, a little short on bait since I was the only one who brought anything, but 1 pound of liver can last a while if you rig your hook right. use to tie sewing string to my hook so I can then in turn tie up the liver so it wont fall off the hook so easy.
Delta Lake is not far from home and it was just north of a little town called Ed-couch on FM 88. When I got there I surveyed the lake and tried to find the best fishing spot. There were allot of dead mesquite trees sticking out of the water, so I knew it wasn’t that deep, but there was cover for the fish. With my cousins trailing along we found a good spot to sit and try it for a while. We rigged out lines with sinkers and hooks, chicken liver and string. I had a feeling there would be some snags because of all the trees, so I tried not to cast out too far.
I sat on the ground and casted in, I watch as our family was getting things together under the live mesquite trees and getting the BBQ pit going, I love the smell of mesquite firewood when it burns and it was a perfect day to be outside, it was early spring and the air was cool and a warm sun on my back felt good. A few minutes later I felt a tug at the line and I raised it up and prepared for the main strike. Pow! My line pulled hard and I set the hook hard, whatever it was was fighting hard and bending my 6 1/2 foot rod down good. My cousins saw this and gathered around me and cheered me on, I landed him rather quickly it seemed like and happy to have caught a nice catfish, I would say around 5 pounds. Oh Boy! I hope there’s more like these! I said. Everyone scattered to their lines to wait for their catch.
Running quickly over to show off my catfish to my parents, everyone was excited for me and patted my back, I ran back and put him on the stringer and back in the water. I baited my hook and casted in the same spot in hopes of getting another. My cousin JP caught the next one about the same size and the smile of his face I can still remember to this day. I helped him out since he didn’t fish much and I had more experience, he went back to show his off too. Needless to say, that day JP became a real fisherman.
This lake was the greatest I thought to myself, what a day of fishing, I caught 6 nice catfish and JP was one short, But he lost a few from the line getting tangled in the tree branches underwater, so he could have beaten me easy, but it wasn’t about that, it was just fun. The family had a good time and we ate so much food I almost got sick.
We went back to that lake a few times, we always had good luck there, I never straid far from that first spot I caught those fish. A few years later we heard the lake was closed for some reason and it didn’t open up again till 1998. I understand from friends of mine that the fishing there is still good. I may head back down there next time I go to visit. Memories.
As a kid living in the Rio Grand Valley, the most fun I had with my friends fishing in fresh water was in the Resacas around the town of Brownsville,Texas. These man made channels were and a few are still used to irrigate the vegetable or orange fields in the area. The first time I was invited by my friends parents to go along with them, proved to be an exciting experience.
My best friend Alonzo and his father invited me to tag along for a day of fishing, and told me to bring the strongest pole and tackle I had. I was looking forward to this new kind of fishing, I mean, what was an alligator gar? I know the word alligator caught my attention, but wasn’t sure what it meant. I walked over to my friends house early in the morning, ready for this new challenge. We drove for about 30 minuets and arrived to this cool fishing spot along the bank of this large resaca and we set up camp there for the day. I helped collect firewood and started rigging my best pole.
My friend had a casting net and caught some shinners and perch for bait. I noticed that they were tiing on steel leaders with fairly large hooks, I didn’t have any of those but they did let me use some of their gear. Wow! We must be going after some big fish from all the heavy duty poles I saw, I had a short thick ugly stick that i used mostly at the coast and seemed to be appropriate here. 30 pound line and a heavy action bait casting reel and I was ready, but I didn’t know what I was in for.
Using a large float with a steel leader with about 2 feet of drop on the bait we casted out our lines to the center of the man made channel, I noticed these large fish that would come up to the surface and do a belly roll now and then, they said, “Gar”. They were being very quiet this whole time, it was a set up, and I was the sucker.
It wasn’t long before one of our crew hooked one of these things and the battle began! Seeing the pole he had bend so much and the fight he was giving the fish caught me by surprise,”What is this thing?” I didn’t know there was anything this big in Texas fresh water. My friend looked at me and smiled, and I kept looking at my float and the man battle this monster. My friends father reached into his tackle box and pulled out a revolver, a .22 caliber, now I know why, I was the first time I saw a gar, it was huge! This one turned out to be about 50 to 55 pounds of pure hell. They managed to get it close enough to the bank and as soon as it was still long enough, I heard the shot.
They pulled this huge fish up on shore and shook the hand of the man who caught it, I went over to see this and was amazed at the size. The long snout and those sharp teeth scared me at first, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, half alligator, half fish. They told me they had to shoot it before they could bring it ashore, or else it was fight and try to bite someone, apparently they can be dangerous.
On the open fire we had they cooked the gar, with a little garlic, salt, and corn tortilla, it was rather good. I did manage to catch one that day but it was a baby compared to what I saw that day, mine was around 12 pounds. I had a kodak pocket camera that day and took a few pictures, but during then and now I lost them somewhere in the shuffle of growing up, what a shame.
I went back to that place many of times since until I moved away, it is located almost right on the intersection or highway 83 between Harlingen and Brownsville Texas. It’s where one turns left on Texas farm road 100 to go towards South Padre Island. I wonder if it’s still there?
There is another good addition to the list of Texas Fishing Holes for Gar, and that is on the Trinity River about 25 miles north of Huntsville, Texas. Now talk about some monsters, they have them there as well, so if your interested in some real fresh water action, this is one spot you have to try, bring heavy tackle and live bait works best, the local bait shops have what you need, just ask them, but you may have to bring your own .22
Enjoy
Some of the best fishing I have experanced is in the South Padre Island area. There are some really hot spots in the bay if your looking for Reds or Speckled Trout. I use a 12 ft. V-bottom boat with a 6 horsepower engine, it’s all I need in the bay area.
One good spot is under the Queen Isabella bridge which you have to cross to get onto the island. There are a couple of public boat ramps close by and you get fishing in just a few minuets. Live bait always works best, depending on the season and tide, squid seems to work best for almost any kind of fish there. Also Sand Trout when running are good on artificial jigs. Any color will do and if you use a double rig, a good part of the time one can catch 2 at a time, now that’s fun!
The jettes are not far from there and if you like to bank fish with some sturdy rods and reels, you can catch some really nice sized fish there. It’s best to go around sunset, there are huge rocks to sit on and sometimes possible to use folding chairs. make sure you take plenty of bait and gear because the rocks at the botton can easily rip your hooks and weights off. But once you catch that 30 lb. black Drum or Red, it’ll all be worth while.
Surf fishing is also good just north of the populated coastline. A 9 ft. rod and heavy tackle works best, like using steel leaders and 1 oz. plus weights to keep the tide from moving your bait around too much, along with some live squid or crabs. Once you have your rod baited and ready for action, wade out as far as you can and cast your line, walk back and place your rod up against something. What works best is a 4 ft. section of 3 inch PVC pipe placed at the edge of the waterline, hammer in about 18 inches, do not forget to set the drag on your reel, because if you get a big bite and your not paying attention, you may lose your rig!
Here’s another tip to help save you time. Make sure you use large chunks of bait, or just big squid, mullet, etc, etc. It’ll save you the headache of dealing with all the smaller fish that will try to take your bait, like hard head catfish. I wasted too much time taking those off my hooks when I was younger until someone told me not to rig for small freshwater type fish. If you want big fish, use big bait!
The woman is driving ya crazy, you’re restless, tired, and overworked, or for no reason at all, ya need to get away from it all.
It’s time to go fishing . . .