10/20/13 River update

Last week we had a big rise on the river , and it crested around 20 ft.  As of today the river has dropped to rock bottom low and is clearing fast. I believe it will clear enough to bass fish within a week barring no more rain. Fall bass fishing on the river can be dynamite. A few ducks have shown up, but we still have a ways  to go before the bulk of our birds get here. 


Bob

2013/14 Duck Season

TPWD has the zone maps and bag limits posted on their website. Bastrop county is in the north zone. Season starts Nov.2-Dec. 8  and picks up again Dec 21- Jan 26.

Bag Limits are as follows

6 total birds in the aggregate
No more than
5 mallards (2 hens)
3 wood duck
3 Scaup
2 Redheads
2 Pintail
2 Canvas backs
1 "dusky" duck

All other species not listed the limit is 6 except for coots (15)

For more detailed info about the upcoming duck season visit TPWD's website


Bob

10/14/13 Outdoor update

Wow  We needed the rain and the river took a huge flushing. Its no secret we have the biggest cold front so far approaching now. The front should hit this evening between 7-8 PM with the wind turning to the north and very heavy rain forecast. Behind the front we will see lows in the low 50's and a high Wednesday in the low 60's.  My best guess is that we will begin to see some early rutting activity behind this front. Moisture and cool temps usually turn them on. So far this season has been slow, but the quality has been good. I expect several animals to be taken with hunters in Wednesday and all weekend.  Dont forget about duck season. This river is a sleeper. It draws the birds in every year. As soon as the river drops and clears I will be checking all the spots I duck hunt and start  brushing blinds in.


Bob

Lates river info update

LCRA now predicts the river in Bastrop to crest at 23.4 ft. Local officials are saying it will be higher. Predicting these rises is never easy and rarely correct. 23 ft is flood stage. The crest will most likely hit between 9 am and 1 pm tomorrow. I loose my road at 27 ft.  Looks like a really good rise and an excuse to slam the channel cat in the yard.

Bob

Drought to Flood Updated river info

This an update to my earlier post. LCRA still says the river will crest at 15 ft here tomorrow. However they dont gauge creek water very well at all. 15 ft is considered 1 ft above the bank full.  I just got word from some local officials that they believe it will crest at 21 ft tomorrow morning. 23 ft is flood stage and its still raining. Regardless if its 15 ft. or 21 ft., if you live on the river go pull your crap to higher ground or it will be on its way to Matagorda tomorrow morning. If I get new info I will continue to update this post.

Bob

10/13/13 River update

Very heavy over night rains in central and south Austin have caused major creek flooding in those areas. Barton creek is expected to crest above the 15 ft. mark which is higher than the 1981 memorial day flood mark. Onion creek is 6.5 ft above flood stage now and rising. Bull creek is at or above flood stage. The Colorado river at the Hwy 183 bridge is currently at 29.98 and rising. LCRA has just issued its forecasts for the crest on the river in Bastrop at 15 ft. tomorrow morning barring no more rain. It's still raining here hard. LCRA has never been able to forecast what Wilbarger and Big Sandy will contribute to the flow of the river because they dont have the gauges available. After living on this river all my life I believe the river in Bastrop will crest somewhere between 17 and 21 ft. tomorrow morning. This will cause some minor flooding of low lying areas onlong the river. This can change with additional rain, and I will update this post after LCRA comes out with their 11 am forecast, and after I get good rainfall totals on Wilbarger and Big Sandy.  Too bad all this rain didnt land in the Lake Travis and Buchannan water sheds.

BOB

Outdoor update

The river below austin caught some good rain and rose about 6.5 feet a week ago. This really flushed the river good. Almost all the Hyacinths and about half the duck weed went down stream. There is still plenty of duck weed for duck season, and the birds have just started to show up, tho the majority of our birds wont be until the second duck season starts. The river is now low and clearing fast. The black and spotted bass should be biting really good. Big rain expected this weekend may muddy the river and slow the bass fishing down. Bow season started very slow with heavy rain over opening weekend which also gave these deer a good browse to work on instead of corn. In the last few days the deer seem to have gotten their fill of rye and other sweet grasses and are back on the corn. If you have oak trees, you still have an acorn problem. Time and moisture will cure that problem. We had a really nice 11 point with a 3 inch drop tine taken yesterday evening. My bow hunts are mainly a meat hunt, but I do have some very nice antlers to be had. I now post most of my pics on Facebook.

Bob

Animal retrieval

It happens every year. No matter how good we think we can shoot sometimes the animal jumps the string or moves on you as you release your arrow. None of us want to leave a tasty animal laying, especially after spending the time the money and the preparation that is involved with bow hunting. Those of us that do hunt understand what I am saying. Sometimes those horid movements cause bad hits and the animal makes a run that all of us have experienced. We know the animal will expire, but it may be a mile or two into it.  Our human eyes are good, but not nearly as good as the nose of a good dog.  I have a friend here in town that has a 4.5 year old Leopard dog that can find em even if you and friends have trampled the scent line. He is reasonable inside the county. His price goes up as he has to travel further. So, if you have one hit that you need to find, call me, text me or facebook me, and I will get you in touch with him

Bob

Hunters Harassment Act

This law was put into place to protect the rights of Hunters in the state of Texas. It has teeth.  Class B misdemeanor. Last year me and my hunters were harassed multiple times by nosey tree hugging neighbors on the tract behind Walmart. It is perfectly legal to bow hunt. Both game wardens are fully aware of everything I do, because I make them aware. Now I am being harassed by another nosey tree hugging neighbor on my other day lease. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.  Thats why I posted it here, since you dont have the balls to call me. Land owner is aware, game wardens are aware, owners agent is aware. Other than those three entities its nobody elses business.


Bob Jenkins

Day bow hunts Bastrop county

Day bow hunts available. 5 minutes form downtown Bastrop. $150/day  Just bring your bow. I have already done the rest. I have the animals. Why pay thousands for a lease when you can hunt a coupkle days with me and get the meat you want.

Bob

Bow Season 2013/2014

I have had three cancellations for opening weekend. So I have room now. If you have never hunted my day leases this is what to expect. You will see deer. You will have them in bow range.If you dont get a shot its your own fault, because I have spent the time and money feeding these animals in close. My stands My corn. I put you in I pick you up. I help you find and clean your kill. I provide a lighted A frame cleaning station on a slab with water. When you leave me, you leave with your meat. I dispose of the guts,hide, and carcass. Look around. Nobody can beat what I am offerring for $150/day. AND I have a ton of animals hitting the corn hard. I have seen 9 shooter bucks with three of them Pope and Young range. Call,text,or Facebook me if you want a hunt for opening weekend.

Bob  512 718 4516

River and rain

As we all know its raining and it couldnt have come at a better time. As of this post the hillcountry has seen the brunt of the rain with wide spread4-7 inch totals so far. Looks like there is a lot more coming. This is Texas, and it seems the only way we can break a drought is with a flood. So let it flood. Hopefully we will get some 3-5 inch totals east of the interstate before this rain event is over. This rain will do me some good. It will make the winter grasses grow and give the deer an excellent browse. It will flush the river out correctly, not like the poor attempt LCRA made earlier this week. This week front that is coming in now has moved some birds down as well. While feeding bow stands yesterday I noticed a good number more birds, and several large groups of white wing. I bird hunt the same tract I bow hunt. So for you bird hunters, you will have to wait until my bow hunts slow down.

Let it rain rain rain


Bob

9/15 River update as I see it

LCRA released water a few days ago with several intentions.  Flush the river out below Austin, preserve the ecology of the river and send fresh water down to Matagorda east and west bays. Water is here and Matagorda's bays will see some relief because of it. However, the relase of water wasnt nearly enough to flush the river out. I just posted another video on Facebook to show the problem I see. Hyacinths are floating everywhere, but a lot of them are simply hanging up on the banks, limbs, and log jams, creating huge piles of them. The duck weed has gone untouched. None of it has broken loose. LCRA has brought the river up about 2 ft in Bastrop, which is a joke if they actually had intentions of flushing the river out. All they have done is create a much bigger mess. I know water is in short supply, especially in central Texas, and letting any water out of Travis is not good, but LCRA made this decision not me. I just wish they had done it right instead of just spreading all this crap around.

Bob

Water and catfish

Should have mentioned this in my last post.  A big rise means really good catfishing. If the river comes up as LCRA says it will, this is the time to go rod and reel fishing for channel cat. The fish go nutts on a rise. Dont matter if I book a trip or not, you can bet this redneck will be sticking them .

Bob

Water is here now

I made a mistake in my last post. LCRA released that water today. It will continue til Septemeber 17 at which time LCRA will ask the state for some exemptions to maintain the ecology of the river below Austin. So if you live my way, and you like our river, please speak up.  Again if you live along the river I would pick your personal items up that are along the bank.  If what I am being told is correct an 11 ft. rise will be seen in Bastrop by tomorrow. I will update this info as I see it for myself. I trust no governemnetal agency to give me any correct info.


Bob

Water is coming

The verdict is in. LCRA  will release water out of Travis and Buchannan to save the ecology of the river below Austin and to keep the bays in Matagorda in check.  Yes it will drop those lakes at a faster rate. But this needed to happen bad. Tubers and canoers are discouraged to float our river. The locals cant or dont want to fight the grass to fish. It has truly changed the river as we know it. It has hurt my business bad.

I dont have all the info I need to make this post exactly correct.  However, from what I am told LCRA will release enough water to push the level in Bastrop to bank full for 5 days at a time. Bank full is 14 ft.  We currently sit at 2.85 ft. Simple math says we are looking at an 11 ft plus rise next week. If you live on the river, you better pull your crap up a bit or it will be gone. My biggest worry now is with the amount of grass we have and knowing the amount of water LCRA is sending down stream, will we have a major log jam in the river. I think thats very possible. Time will tell.  Again I have to say I am always here to pull people off the river that are in trouble. Yes it will cost you. But I can get to you 24/7 within 30 miles of Bastrop either way  512 718 4516. I am a lot faster and a lot cheaper than calling LCRA rangers or game wardens. This rise will catch a ton of people off guard, because nobody pays attention to river conditions.

PS   Been watching deer and bow season looks real good.  Just because you cant make opening weekend, doesnt mean I cant put you on a kill. I have tons of animals. Hunt with me two days, and if you havnt slung an arrow you hunt free the 3 rd day.


Bob

A Desperate Need For Water

This prolonged drought we are in is really starting to show its teeth.  Lakes Travis and Buchannan are close to hitting all time lows with no relief in sight and central Texas growing rapidly. This afternoon LCRA discussed the possibility of releasing more water out of Travis to sustain the rivers ecosystem below Austin and sustain the ecosystem in Matagorda's bays where the river empties into. I think TCEQ is playing a big role in LCRA's decision.

I do not believe the average person has any idea of how bad things would be if Buchannan and Travis dried up, but on the flip side the river below Austin is as bad as its ever been. So ,  what do we do. Save the water for upstream users or let it go to save our river and bays downstream. My opinion does not matter. Never has Never will.   The only thing I can say is everybody better pray that mother nature unleashes a TEXAS size flood real soon.

Bob

Upcoming 2013/2014 Bow season

My stands are up and I am feeding and watching. My doe numbers look good and I have seen 9 shooter bucks, 3 of which are real good and one of them is a big nasty freak. I have 1 maybe two spots open for opening weekend. I dont know of anybody that can beat what I offer  for the price I charge.


My doves have been beat up. Most of the local birds have been thinned out. Bird hunting will be slow until we get several cold fronts in to bring some northern birds down.

Duck season should be slamming good this year. Grass everywhere and the birds love it. Grass is so bad it has chewed up my impellar and the housing. Going to stainless steal on the next one.

Get ready for stickin time

Bob

Dove season

Opening day was good. We had about 80 birds taken. Went back out yesterday and it slowed down a lot.  These are all local birds, and when they are shot up, we are done until we get some cold fronts to push some northern birds down. Bow season is getting close. Call now for a spot

Dove hunts

I do offer dove hunts. $40/man  However, I dont have large numbers  of birds in right now.  I do have another outfitter in San Marcos that has a ton of birds. He charges $80/man for up to 10 guns. This place will fill very fast, so if you want on it, call me now.

Bob

River update/Bow season

I spent 5 hours on the river  yesterday and the day before. As I continue to say the grass is out of control. Bass fishing on the river remains slow. The only way we are catching any fish right now is a texas rigged brush dropped in the deepest cover you can find. I need some cooler temps. That will help the bite on the river. The grass will be a major problem until we get a flood or winter temps knock the grass back.  I had 3 different hoses on my motor blow off yesterday from sucking grass up in my jet foot. Lake Bastrop remains the best place to catch numbers. However, it too has been a little slow lately with all the cloud cover we have been getting from the upper level low in the gulf. By Wednesday we should be back under high pressure and the schooling activity should pick up.


Bow season is all but here. As of today, I have one big tract to hunt, but am working on two others. Stands are up and I am feeding. Book now to save a spot. I am almost full for opening weekend unless I can get another tract.


Bob


PS  Dont forget about Duck Season.  The only thing all this grass in the river is good for is bringing tons of ducks in. Duck season will be slamming good.

Lake Bastrop Schoolies

The schooling fish on Lake Bastrop remain very good. Best times to go are from 8 am to noon and from 5 pm til dark. Midday they tend to shut down. dont be afraid to show them different baits, as these fish have been getting hammerred by anglers. I posted a pic yesterday of 3 fish on one alabama rig. If they are up good and staying up, multiple fish onan A rig can and does happen. One thing I have noticed is that these fish will school hard for a day or two and then they seem to take a break for a day. Another words its hit and miss when you can find em thick. This is an excellent time to call and book a trip. 4-6 hours for one or two people $300. Its worth your time and money to experience some excellent schooling activity.





Bob

Trespassers

This past weekend there was some kind of paddle boarding event held on the river. I hear they had a good turnout. However, some of them decided to trespass on the Higgins tract on Lovers Lane. The owners agent is not happy to say the least. The game warden has been called and we will find out who was in there. I put this on Facebook because Facebook does get out in front of a lot of people. Someone is bound to know who went in there with no permission. If you know who it was please call me  512 718 4516.


Bob

River courtesy

I had to bring this topic up. As a kid when I ran this river there were no tubers, kayakers,canoers,  or paddle boarders. Bastrop has grown and with growth comes new things. Those new things are people from all walks of life. They like to tube, swim, paddle board, and canoe. I think its great for our community. But with growth problems are sure to follow.  I really dont want anyone to take what I am about to say the wrong way, but it has to be said.   The local guys that run this river have been on it for years and they know it like its their backyard. We cant shut a motor down in grass or a riffle.  This river is shallow and rocky and now with the drought the grass limits where we can run. I just want and ask that everybody on the river have a little respect for the guy behind you.  Too many times I have been in a tight spot, knowing I cant shut it down without ripping my boat or motor up just to have a swimmer, canoer, kayaker, or paddle boarder not make an attempt to move out of the only path I can go. Motors are loud. People can here us coming from a quarter mile or better. That is the only warning we can give them because of the twist and turns the river makes.  When I can safely shut down to not wake people I will, but there are times that the river does not allow that to happen. I am happy to see so many people get on this river. It has always been under utilized. Just take a little time and think about the people around you while on the river whether you are floating or driving a boat. Its a lot safer if we all look out for each other.


Bob

Fishing with dad

This past Monday morning I loaded my 70 year old dad up and went to Matagorda. The weather looked like it was going to lay and make it flat. That didnt quite happen, but our trip, I will never forget. Monday afternoon we got into some good numbers of trout in east bay with some short reds. Tuesday we tried to get into the surf but the wind just wouldnt let us. So, we went back to east bay on the west side northwest side. It too was slow. Dad kept on my butt about making a drift by a very small platform that we were near. I kept on my path of drifting grass breaks. Finally, I said to myself, what the hell, lets go where dad says to go. The very first drift we made, dad hooked into something large. I could see the excitement in his eyes, but at his age this fish was kicking his ass. I turned the video camera on and started videoing. That video is something I will keep with me forever. It was a 22 inch red, which may not seem like much to most people, but that one fish brought the kid out in a 70 year old man. That one fish made our entire trip and made dad so happy. I will never forget it.  The video is on my facebook page for any of you that want to see it.


Bob



PS   Bow season is getting closer

2013 Bow season

Bow season is 7 weeks away. I offer day bow hunts  $75 for a half or $150/day. My stands,my corn. I put you in. I pick you up. Will help you find your kill and I offer a lighted A frame to clean your animal on.  I think my hunters success rate is as good as any day lease you will hunt. My animals are wild. No protein. No genetics. No high fences. Just real hunting. I hand feed each stand everyday prior to opening day. If you havnt hunted with me, you should give it a try. I dont take money just to stick you in a tree to look at nothing. I work hard on my stand sets and feeding to make sure you have the best possible chance at success. My weekends fill up fast. Weekdays are easier to get a spot. I am taking bookings now.

Bob

Lake Bastrop report

The schooling fish remain strong on Lake Bastrop. Best time to whack em is about 8 am to noon. Cloudy days they stay down. If you havnt fished schoolies you are missing out. Its a sight to see. My email is back up and running. I am also on Facebook. Call now for a great trip on Lake Bastrop


Bob

7/30/13 River report

The river in Bastrop is stained, and as I have been saying the grass continues to grow out of control. There is so much grass in the river that the river level is up more than a foot above normal. If it will clear bass fishing will pick up, and floating grasshoppers under a cork can be deadly on channel cat.  I just hope LCRA does something very soon about the grass. Its as bad as I have ever seen it.


Bob

Lake Bastrop fish on fire

The fish on Lake Bastrop are schooling bigtime. I have fished other lakes when they school, but nothing compares to what is happenning on Lake Bastrop right now. Excellent numbers being caught. Fish are on top executing shad. It wont last forever. Call now for a very fun and exciting trip on Lake Bastrop

PS   My email is down. So call me at 512 718 4516

Bob

Lake Bastrop on fire

The schoolies are up. This is a great time for beginners or kids to catch fish. These fish are not up everywhere and they are not up in the same place each day but they are up. You just gotta find em, and I have been 5 out of the last 6 days.   This will not last long. Call now to get on them.

Bob

River and lake comments

The grass in this river is beyond anything I have ever seen. It is changing the flow of the river. Its changing the way i fish the river. I am told that LCRA is looking at the grass issue hard and what to do about it, but like any governmenatl agency there will be no quick fix much less a timely fix. We need a flood to open this river up.  Thats not likely either.  It did come up a bit with the rain we had, but I noticed the water from the creeks took 12-18 hours longer to get here. This is due to the grass. Its so bad that it is almost damming the water up in places



Lake Bastrop         The schoolies are up, and they are a ton of fun to catch. This is a great time to bring the kids out or beginners to catch numbers. These fish are pushing shad to the surface and they will absolutley blow the surface up. It wont last forever so call me now for a really good exciting fun trip.


Bob


Putting a kid in the water or in the woods does more for society than any governmental agency we have

7/16/13 River update

The river in Bastrop remains clear. We did not get enough rain or run off to muddy it. The grass remains out of control, and I believe is the main reason for the river level being higher than normal. Bass fishing remains good.  Great numbers being caught with a handful of 3-5 lb fish.

Bow season is sneaking up on us. I have two large tracts to hunt. Going to scout a 426 acre tract on the river west of Bastrop this afternoon. I will be dropping stands in late August and early September. I am already taking bookings for bow season.


Bob

River drowning

While I was in Matagorda taking some time off, I got a call that a young man fro Lockhart drowned in the river. I dont know all the circumstances around how this young man drowned, but its becoming a frequent occurrence on the river. I see kids jumping off the dirt cliffs between my place and fishermans park all the time. The river is low and when you jump from a 20 ft cliff into this river you are asking for trouble.  No life jackets are the biggest reason people drown out here. Current and grass can be a bad situation for anyone to get into, and this river has plenty of both. People get tangled in the grass and panic sets in. Panic will drown you.

Enough bad stuff. I had a ton of fun in Matagorda. Fishing was just fair, but it was nice to get away. Much needed rains have set in. The river will surely get muddy in the next few days, which will end the bass fishing for a short while, but make the catfishing excellent.


Bob

Todays catch

I had Miles and Chase with me today. This was their second time to fish with me.  Chase would have stayed all day if dad would have let him. That boy loves the fishing. Our numbers were fair, but Miles had the big catch of the day with a fish bumping the 5LB mark.   Our river is clearing and the bite is good. However,  you must be able to cast to cover. Casting in small holes under branches behind rocks, side arm, back arm, and pitching and flipping are a must if you want to catch big numbers. As long as mother nature makes no drastic turns, I see the bass fishing staying hot.

BOB

7/6/13 river update

Bass fishing on the river has picked up bigtime. We had a late season cool front come thru, and it dropped our night time temps in the river bottom to around 60 degrees. This helped cool the river down and clear it up, and the fish love it. The bite is on.  Now is a great time to whack em on the river. It may not last real long if we get a bunch of 100 Plus degree days. So call now.  I have a full day trip on river tomorrow and will report back tomorrow evening.


Bob

Yellowcat results

I had a couple guys in last night for a yellowcat trip. They asked me what to expect. I said 50 hooks with good perch expect 6-8 fish. I had 7 . However we had no good size. Most of our fish were 4-8 lbs. Excellent eaters tho. Most bit before midnight with no moon, and when the moon did come out it all but shut off.  Yellowcat fishing will get better as this moon goes down. Rod and rell or trot line for channels is really good right now. Grassshoppers are mature and the fish know it. If you want some freezer fillers call me for catfish now.


Bob

Whats hot right now

People always aske me what is good right now. Mother nature can change what is good within a day. The current river flow will make bass fishing tough for the average angler. I would only reccomend a bass fishing trip to very seasoned anglers that can pitch flip and cast to a bowl on cover.  If you want fun and meat, I would reccomend a night time yellowcat trip or channel cat trip.  Grass hoppers are mature and the channels will be on them hard. Moon is on its way down and yellowcat will start feeding hard again. I will be on yellows this weekend and will report back.  I did fish the two days before the Strawberry moon that we just past and it was horrible. I got skunked on night one and had three on night two. Biggest weighed 23 lbs. Moon, weather, and water level play a huge factor in what these fish do and when they do it. Catfish are what will be hot for a few weeks, but it is a nightime thing


Bob

6/23/13 River update

The river remains stained and bass fishing is slow.  We just passed the Strawberry moon last night. As it fades the catfishing will pick up. A dark moon is the best time to yellowcat fish. So watch it and give me a call.  The river will remain at this flow until those handful of rice farmers in Garwood are done with their last crop. When they are done, the river will drop 6 inches and clear up fast barring any substantial rain.  The grass is out of control. I was out today for 4 hours and never saw another boat.  I pulled the grates off my jet foot just to get around, and it works really good.  I got another eally good close up pic of a wood owl. Posting it now on my gallery.  If you want to bass fish, they are starting to school on lake Bastrop and I have been killing them on spoons.

Bob

River vs Lake

Mother nature controls what I can do and when I can do it. The river right now is tough. Its off colored and not rock bottom low. Too make it worse the grass is as bad as I have ever seen it. With that said, as it drops in late summer big numbers will be caught, but I need the drop. The drop in water will clear the river and make these fish chase baits.

Lake Bastrop---- I dont normally take clients to the lake as I am set up for the river. However, if you want to catch fish you have to change your plans sometimes. I know this lake like I know the river. Our lake fish are starting to school. Schooling fish are the most fun and enjoyable experience you can imagine.  At their peak these fish look like pirhannas on the surface. They are very close to that point.  Dont miss out.


Today I had a young man from Colorado who is leaving for Afghanistan in two days. He will stay for 9 months. He is a part of military intelligence and is taking a group of interrogators over there. I have the upmost respect for all our military, and after spending 6 hours with this home grown Colorado  native but Texas AGGIE fishing and talking, I feel like this country is in just a little bit better place with this one man going over there. He has no fear. His direction is good and he made me feel proud to be an American, simply because I got to see first hand what kind of person he is.  SUPPORT OUR MILITARY.  They are why we get to hunt and fish and live a free life. Most of the rest of the world does not.


Bob

River, Lake and Woods

Had a trip on Lake Bastrop Saturday. Good numbers were caught, and my client was a ton of fun to fish with.

The Colorado river in Bastrop remains off colored which makes the bass fishing tougher and slower. The grass has absolutely exploded. It is matted to the surface for a quarter mile at Steiner ranch. I had to take the grates off my jet foot just to get around the river.

The grasshoppers are almost mature, and I am sure the channel cat are already gorging themselves. If you want to fill the freezer, call and book a channel cat or yellowcat trip

I am working on leasing another large tract of land on the river for bow season. I was on this tract years ago and it is loaded with deer and hogs. I'll update the progress of that tract as we get closer to bow season.

For you pig hunters, I have several options. I have guys with dogs that will bay the pigs and you can go in and stick em with a knife. No guns allowed with dogs. We end up with more dead dogs than pigs.  I also have several tracts that I bait and shoot them under a red light. I also have a couple feeders that pigs can be taken off of. I do need some notice on pig hunts.

Bob

PS  Look in my gallery. Just posted a pic of a mammoth crawfish that I trapped in the river

River and water level

I had the chance to sit down with an LCRA board director yesterday and get some questions answered. I dont think the general public is aware of how dire the situation is on Lake Travis and Lake Buchannon. Both those lakes are at a combined  38% capacity. It would take multiple tropical systems to fill them up. Both those lakes are the main water storage for all of central Texas. 


LCRA did shut the water off for the Blue Sucker at the  end of May. However, I noticed the river did not go down to what I consider low flow. River remained about 6 inches above low flow. I asked this LCRA director what was causing the river to stay up just a bit.  There are a handful of rice farmers in the Garwood area that have water rights that pre date LCRA's existence by one day. By law LCRA has to give that handful of rice farmers their water, and that is the small influx of water we see in the river. As the rice farming season ends LCRA will shut it off and the river in Bastrop will be as low as it can get.


River is clearing a bit everyday and the bass fishing will get better and better as it does clear.  The hole fishing will be tough until the river hits rock bottom low in August or September.


Bob

Hole fishing from today

I took several buddies out today to hole fish under rocks.  It was slow. First big rock we got on had a fish under it. One of my buddies touched him but the fish spooked and we lost out.  About three rock beds later, I went in too fast and spooked  another one. We didnt find anything else the rest of the day. LCRA was supposed to shut the water off, and I think they did, but the river has not gotten to rock bottom low yet. My guess is that the ridiculous amount of grass in the river has created enough volume to keep the water level up about 6 inches above the low flow line. This is not what I want too see. I need low water conditions. Low water makes the hole fishing easier and keeps the fish  off the bank holes . It also makes the bass fishing awesome.


Bob

Noodling Colorado river style

I dont get many takers for grabbing fish. In fact most of my freinds are scared to try it. Some people think that noodling is bad for the fish, because they believe noodlers take too many fish out of the ecosystem. That is far from the truth. Its much easier to catch numbers on a line than with your hand. I do have a couple guys from Houston coming in late June to try it. Today I am taking a couple freinds out to feel in the rocks and see what we can grab. Our fish usually hole up under the bank, but because the river is low, I expect to find them under rocks. Rocks are much safer to feel under than the bank. The bank has beavers, snakes,eels, and man size crawfish. Rocks dont tend to draw those critters in as much and is a safer way to noodle. Will report back tonight hopefully with some good pics.

Bob

River results from today

The river around Bastrop remains stained. Fishing is slow at best. Had two 14 year old boys with me this afternoon that had very good casting, pitching and flipping skills. Spent 6 hours on water with them and had about 20, of which I had 14. River needs some more time to clear up.  The buzzbait bite did pick up with the cloud cover.  I have never seen the amount of grass that we have in this river now. The river is impasssible in places with grass matted to the surface. It will definately fish different this summer.  For anyone wanting a good trip I would wait a few days and watch my blog for updates


Bob

River update

My computer went down Tuesday morning and I just got it back. Headed out on river with two clients this afternoon. Water is trying to clear but still off a bit. Grass has exploded and water level is very low. I expect a productive afternoon, and I will report back this evening

Bob

Monday nighter results

Wow!!!!   What a little change in direction does.  Me and some buddies got together and revamped the rules and format. We now weigh a 3 fish limit. Big bass has to be an over or the pot rolls over. We had 21 boats show up tonight. We havnt had that all year. Fishing was tough. I didnt do worth a damn, but my usual partner and another freind of mine won the tourney with 3 good fat keepers that weighed 4.01 lbs.  No over was caught.  Next Monday should be even better.  



River is down and clearing fast. If you want a ton of fun book a trip now


Bob

Lake Bastrop Monday nighter

Ok   After loosing the people that agreed to run the Monday nighter on Lake Bastrop , a group of us got together and came up with some ideas to make the Lake Bastrop Monday nighter better for everybody. This is a weekly tourney as there are weekly tourneys on every lake in Texas. We will start this next Monday with a new set of rules. Instead of your best five keepers, we will weigh your best three keepers  or best two and one over. This should stack the weights tight. All fish will be measured by TPWD standards. That is gently pinching the tale with a swipe. If it touches 14 it will not count and you may not replace it with another fish.  No more pinching it so hard to make it touch. No more laying it on the board with no pinch.  Another words you can weigh three fish max. The big bass pot will roll over until an over 21 is caught and wins the pot. Pre fishing is allowed as it is allowed on every weekly tourney on any lake in the state. Thats why we check live wells. Hope to see yall out there.

Bob

River update

The Colorado river at Bastrop has almost dropped down to its low flow. The water is still a bit dirty and will clear within a few days barring no more rain. However, the forecast is not promising for that to happen. Either way, fishing on the river will be good. If it rains again and gets  muddy catfish are on, and if it doesnt rain and  clears up  the bass fishing will be out of sight. So either read my blog for river updates or watch the weather.


Bob

River thoughts

The Colorado river below Austin has been a well kept secret for years. Bastrop has seen a ton of growth in the past 5-8 years. With growth comes people. With more people, we have more boat, kayak,canoe, and tubing traffic on the river. Its great for our community. It brings in people that want to spend money at local businesses, but it also creates another problem, that I am fixing to talk about.. Like any body of water this river has dangers, very subtle dangers that get people in trouble fast. This past memorial day weekend we had 19 canoers camping on an island that did not pay attention to the weather, and when the river rose over night their canoes floated away while they slept.  They had to be rescued.  We also had a couple in a canoe with a child that got sideways and capsized as they hit a log. Our game warden just happenned to be close by and responded and all is well.


Accidents like these will happen more and more as more people get on the river. Our game warden writes more tickets for no life jacket than anything else. Nobody wants to think about their boat flipping or what to do when it happens, but a simple life jacket can mean the difference in driving back home that night  or getting a ride to the morgue that night.  Below are my tips to stay safe on this river

1. Have life jackets for everybody
2. Watch the weather. This river can rise suddenly. Austin water gets to Bastrop in 18-22 hrs.
3.If your unfamiliar with this water take somebody that knows it.
4. Take a phone. Put it in a ziplock
5. Never get sideways in a boat canoe or kayak when in rocks, riffles or tight cuts.
6. Know what your get out point looks like before you get on river
7. If you rent a canoe or kayak or tube, ask the people you are renting as many questions as you can about the trip you are taking.
8. If you are floating, stay away from the bank especially in current.
9.  If you or someone you are  with is in trouble, dont go after them, call for help immediately
10. If you end up out of your boat canoe kayak,dont panic,dont swim into the current, try to stand up. If you cant stand do not freak out, just gently swim down stream and across current until you hit the bank or can stand. Panic drowns a many of people.


Our local game Wardens are very active on the water, but they cant be everywhere all the time

Respect the water you are on and it will give you the trip you wanted. Loose that respect and bad things happen very fast.


Bob

Big fish River Tourney results

River tournament went very well, even with a 3 foot rise in river on the first morning. Downtown Austin caught 4 inches of rain Friday afternoon and evening. River rose and became chocolate mud. Bass fishing was tough, but catfishing was real good.  My bass fishermen found a few fish in the creeks and gravel pits that feed off the river where the water had some clarity. No monster yellows were brought in, but tons of numbers.


Yellowcat   Loyd Nutt Chad Nutt and Doc Borron  17.60 lbs

Channel cat Dusty Frank, Joey Krnavek, and Matt Freytag  9.94 lbs

Perch   Yvettes daughter Taylor had  .33 lb perch

Black bass   Dusty Frank, Joey Krnavek, and Matt Freytag  4.19 lbs

Spotted bass    Dusty Frank, Joey Krnavek and Matt Freytag  1.52 lbs

Gasper    Dusty Frank, Joey Krnavek and Matt Freytag   8.77 lbs


I want to thank everybody that fished. We had fun and caught a ton of fish.


Look for another bass tourney in July


Bob

Possible new state record Flathead

I just received a pic of another mammoth yellowcat caught on the Brazos. I can't confirm the weight, but I am getting reports that it weighed 126 LBS. If that is true it will demolish the Texas state record which was set in 1998 on lake Palestine at 98 lbs. I have heard of larger fish caught but in order to establish a state record the fish has to be weighed on certified scales with at least two witnesses, I think, and turned into TPWD.  Anyways it is a giant and I thought people would enjoy the pic. It is truly a fish of a lifetime.


Bob

Memorial day weekend big fish tourney

Just a reminder. Big fish tourney is coming up this next weekend. Memorial day weekend. 6 categories.  I have 13 teams signed up right now. Call or email for more details

Bob

Saturday river trip

Today I went up to Webberville to get away from muddy water in river. It did not pay off.   Fishing was slow at best. My client was very patient and wanting to learn but still, I pride myself in numbers and it just did not happen today.   River water will drop off the charts next week. Get ready for crazy low and clear conditions for the rest of the summer barring any rain. Big numbers will be caught then


Bob

Giant Yellowcat

Yesterday I posted a pic of an absolute giant Yellowcat. That pic was sent to me by a freind. I dont know the gentlemans name that caught it, but I was told the fish weighed 93 lbs. and was caught on the Brazos river. Very impressive

Bob

River info

I talk with our game warden on a regular basis.  Barring no more rain the river will bottom out memorial day weekend. That is the weekend of the big fish tourney. It should be interesting. I have teams from Webberrville to Lagrange entered right now. We hope to see the largest end of every species we are fishing for in this deal, and we are making every effort to keep them alive so we can release them unless that contestant chooses to eat that fish. I will have good pics of what is brought in posted the Tuesday following the event. Its not too late too enter. There is plenty of river open too fish, so call or email if you want too get in.




Bob

Memorial day weekend big fish tourney

May 25,26,27 is the Colorado river big fish tourney. Taking entries now. 6 categories of fish to enter. You may enter as many or as few categories as you want. The heaviest fish in each category takes all the money paid to that category.   Yellowcat, Channelcat, Gasper Goo, River perch, Black bass, and Spotted bass. Weighin is on the slab behind my house. Call me or email me for more details, entry form,and release.

Bob

5/13/13/ River update

We had 2.5 inches of rain here, and we badly needed it , as did the rest of the state. However, it was just enough rain to create enough run off to make the river rise and get real muddy.  River has been dropping last couple of days. It should start clearing out within 4-5 days. If I can get any clarity here in Bastrop, the water up river above several of the big creeks will be much clearer, and very fishable.  I have a Saturday half day trip, and we plan on going way up river.


Bob

5/10/13 river report

Well,  I was 5 miles up river catching good numbers on topwater when the storms caught me. Guess I should have looked up a little sooner, but the topwater bite was pretty good and time got away from me.  By the time I got the boat on the trailer it was pouring.  If this rain does not muddy the river, the topwater bite will continue to be good. If we have a good grasshopper crop this year, the topwater bite will get even better as summer comes along and the grasshoppers mature. I do offer an evening 3 hour trip for $150 for those of you that dont have time on the weekends.

Bob

5/9/13 River update

River remains a little higher than normal due to flow that LCRA has to maintain for the threatened Blue Sucker to get thru the spawn. The last week of May, LCRA will shut the water off and the river will be back to rock bottom low. River has cleared a bit since the last rain. However we have big storms moving in today, tomorrow and Saturday. Headed out on the water now as the clouds have moved in and I expect the topwater bite to be as good as it can be. Will report back this evening.

Bob

3 Fish River Tourney

I hold and run most all of the river tourneys below Austin on the Colorado river.  I do not take anything from those tourneys. I put all funds paid in to pay out. When I feed the fishermen it is because I wanted too. It comes out of my pocket.  We have a 3 three fish bass tourney this weekend on the river.     6 boats required to have it.. 6-9 boats we pay one place 10 boats or more we pay two places   $50 a team $10 big bass optional pays 1 place.   We have 4-5 teams right now. We do accept Kayak teams, and they have done very well in past tournaments.   So if you want to fish, call or email now.

    If you aint in the outdoors or trying to put a kid outdoors you aint helping the outdoors


BOB

Yellow cat Tourney results

Turnout was low due to high north winds and cold temperatures. 13 yellowcat won the most and a 23 lb yellow won the biggest. As always, these little river tourneys are lots of fun.


Bob

Kids and fishing

Sometimes we all get caught up in fishing hard. It may be tournaments. It may be catfish or Crappie.  Who taught us how to fish?  Dads!    I had a young man with me last weekend that is just flat eaten up with fishing, not because of his dad. His dad is a good ferind of mine. He simply doesnt do the outdoors, but his son loves it. So I took him out on the river. It was slow. we had about 18 small fish in a couple hours.  So we loaded the river boat up and met Rick Zamora from Krippled Kritters bait company on Lake Bastrop.     This young man hooked up on three big slot fish and the game in his mind has changed.  I remember that day, the day fishing landed on my brain.  I wish more anglers would simply take the time to take a child out and show them the outdoors.   One hookup on a 2lb bass and an 8 year old boy is hooked for life. You will do more for our sport by putting kids into it than by promoting anything else.


Bob

Yellowcat tourney May 3rd and 4th This weekend

Charlie Ray Kirk is holding his annual Yellowcat tourney this weekend. 30 hooks, $100 a boat. Must be off the water by 9. Call Charlie Ray for more details. at 512 963 9419.  Fish Fry Saturday evening


Bob

4/28/13 River update

Just got off the river. Fishing has been a little slower with this excess water coming down. Most everything we caught today came off square bill crank baits. Hydrilla is showing up fast. We have never had hydrilla in the river around Bastrop. It is growing at an alarming rate. My fear is that it will mat everywhere and make getting around difficult at best.

Bob

Evening Spring Special River trip

I am now offerring a spring evening river bass fishing trip. $150 for 1 or 2 guys. Most of you dont get off work til late afternoon. Its not dark til 8:30 or later. River is up a bit but gaining clarity everyday. Cloudy days the topwater bite is excellent. Use my equipment or yours.


bob

4/22/13 river update

I was just notified as to why we have extra water in the river. LCRA's daily river report says they are releasing water to meet the needs of the Blue Sucker. The fish is considered a threatened species & LCRA is required to meet certain flow levels during the Blue Sucker's spawning season. The flow requirements are from April 11 to the last week in May.

Bob

Yellowcat river tourney

The first weekend in May, Charlie Ray Kirk is hosting a yelowcat tourney. 30 hooks. Start fishing Friday at 5PM. Tourney ends at noon on Sunday. The river is open. No boundaries. Weigh in is on the slab behind my house. $100 a boat. Pays the most yellowcat and the biggest. Call me or email me for more details


Bob

River update 4/20/13

The river is up a bit still. It is stained. Bass fishing in the main river below FM 969 bridge is slow. However, as I have blogged about in the past, I have a very sneaky and very good spot that is off the river but navigable by the river. It is loaded with big black bass. Yellowcat fishing remains very good.

Bob

Kid fish event

Krippled Kritters owned by Rick Zamora hosted a kid fish event at north shore of Lake bastrop Saturday April 20th. This event was free to any child that wanted too attend. Thanks to our generous donors,it was a huge success. We had anglers teaching kids how to cast properly, teaching kids hoe to tie knots right, giving boat rides and fishing. The boat ride seemed to be the big hit. We had plenty of hot dogs and sausage. All the kids went home with new rod and reels. Smiles everywhere. Myself along with some TTZ members and few of Ricks freinds put this event together. Put a kid in the outdoors and make the world a better place.

Bob

Big fish big numbers on black bass

The river is giving me more water than I expected. I have a very hidden but awesome place to go just off the river but navigable by the river. It holds some very good size fish.  5lb plus fish are common in this place, and the window of oppurtunity is here now, It will close as the river falls.  If you want to beat on some really big fish, call me now.


Bob

Slamming yellwcat trip

Friday ,I had Mike Riveira in from Austin. He loves yellowcat meat and wanted to take a trip with me. The water was stained a bit. We had a small influx of water from Austin , and we had a very small moon. Right now the yellows are feeding up hard preparing to spawn. We caught the conditions right and absolutely whacked the big yellowcats. Friday night into Saturday morning, we had 11 yellows that weighed in at a combined weight of 200 lbs. Mike had a blast, and my helper was very busy pulling up lines as Mike netted them. We had yellowcats of 36,32,30 and four more over 20 lbs on this trip. This was an unusually heavy trip. I would tell most people to expect about 6 yellows in a night of fishing. Some nights a little better some slower. However, Friday night the big ones were out in force, and we sacked em up


Bob

River update

The river tried to clear and then we had a 1/4 inch rain. Not complaining a bit. Let it rain. But it did stain the water up good again. These spring rains are cold and drop the water temp during a time that fish are still spawning even tho most are done. It does mess the bite up bad. However it wont last long. I have a yellowcat trip tomorrow night and am traveling 12 miles from house by water  to one of my favorite deep rocky holes. It should be a slamming trip. Hope to post pics and blog about it by Sunday.


Bob

Turkey hunt yesterday

Not all my turkey hunts are successful. Yesterday I had a guy from Austin come in to hunt. We had 20 mph southeast to east winds blowing, and they blew all the way to dark. As you can imagine this made  calling difficult at best. We moved 6 times trying to get lucky and set up upwind from some birds. No luck. And to add insult to injury we drove up on 5 gobblers past legal shooting time. Going back Friday morning. Turkeys won that battle, but I will win the war.

Bob

4/8/13 Lake Bastrop Monday nighter

Lake Bastrop was not kind to me last night. Me and my partner stunk it upi. It happenns!  Mike and Ken won first with a 6+ lb limit  Willie and Monica came in second with a 5LB plus limit.

Turkeys are hot. They are literally tripping over them selves to get to my call. If you want a gobbler, dont wait. Our season is one month long. Three weeks left.


Bob

This evening turkey hunt

I had a hunter call me late today ,that wanted to turkey hunt. I have birds. Good birds and good numbers. Our first set was a blank. So we moved a few hundred yards. I hadnt hit the call twice and we had birds at 200 yds. It took less than 6 minutes and we had 6 gobblers stupid close. My guy got his bird and I just couldnt help myself. I took one too. We saw no less than 50 birds driving in.  I think I have about 12-15 mature gobblers at least 3 years or older. Bastroip county is a one gobbler county and month of April only. These birds I am on are hot and have not been called much at all other than me calling last year. $250 is a great price if you check around and see what turkey hunts are going for. Call now if you want one.

Bob

4/4/13 River update

Much needed rain muddied the river up and brought it up  3ft over night. And we really needed this rain to flush the river out. The snot grass was getting out of hand fast and this little rise should have washed most of it out. I did set out 11 perch in the middle of the rise only to have the snot grass that was being ripped up cover my lines. Typically a rise like this the catfish go crazy and feed like they are on a Dennys buffet line, but the amount of grass that was being washed down made it impossible to keep a bait out of it. Oh Well, at least the grass is headed down stream to Matagorda. Spring Turkey season is open. I will be out of town at a wedding from late today until Saturday evening. The gobblers are active, chasing and in the right mood.


Bob

Just Fishin

For those of you that just want a really good river trip, this rain and more rains to come will make the cat fishing excellent.  Big perch on a 10 OTT circle hook in the right spot can make memories like you wont believe.  A rod and reel in the right spot with muddy water can stay bent over this time of year. I been on this river since I was 4. I know it. Its  my back yard. This is filling freezer time of year on catfish. But dont let a little rain and muddy water scare you bass fishermen. I got some water navigable by river and sneaky places off the river that will hold some real good ones. If you want it I got it.


Bob

Trolling motors for sale

I have a freind that asked me to put this out there.


He has two Minn Kota RIPTIDE Saltwater series trolling motors for sale. Both have 42 " shafts and hand controls.  The 70lb he is asking $350.00  The 65lb he is asking $275.00

If you have interest call or email me and Ill hook you up with him.

Bob

Lake Bastrop Monday nighter 4/1/13

The lake Bastrop Monday nighter drew 12 teams due to nice weather. We hope to draw around 20 in the weeks to come. Last night Ken Anderson and Mike Harman won with a 5 fish limit of 5.51 lbs. Rick and I came in second with 4 keepers. Thomas Whited came in third with 4 keepers.  The keeper fish just didnt seem to be relating to the grass like I thought they would be. Oh Well , warmer weather is on the way and  better days are coming.

Bob

Topwater bite gets silly

Yesterday I took a good freind out for some fun fishing. We had sunny skies and extremely clear water about 13 miles down river. We struggled to catch the 20 or so we caught.


Today I had a half day trip with one fisherman. I took him up river 12 miles to water that is very difficult to get too. The cloud cover moved in and the topwater bite got absolutely stupid. We whacked em really bad. You could hook one and have several more trying to eat the bait out of the one you had hooked. I had a small fish on and had a gar come up and eat the fish right off my bait. Cloudy days right now can be phenomenal for topwater


bob

3/31/13 river update

The river is getting awfully clear. Extremely clear water makes these fish very tough to catch. You have to find water with some stain or color in it and it does exist. Deep water with big timber or the water directly below the mouths of some of the creeks that feed this river are very productive spots right now. We need some rain. The river has way too much grass and moss in it for being this early in spring. A good rain will flush the river out and I believe make the fishing even better

Bob

Lake Bastrop Monday nighter

Fish seem to be showing up in grass in better numbers on Lake Bastrop. We had 6.17 lbs on 5 keeprs and won the Monday nighter tonight. As we see more and more warm days the grass bite will just get better, but no lake bite can compete with what I have to offer on the river.  If you want a really good trip, excellent scenary, good numbers of fish caught, and just a really good time, you need to book a half day trip on river with me. You wont regret it.

Bob

Big Fish Tourney

Dont forget about the big fish tourney on the Colorado river May 25,26,27. There will be 6 categories and scales will be open each day. Call or email for more details


Bob

Spring Turkey season

Spring Turkey season is right around the corner. I do have some good old fat gobblers.  Look at my website for pricing and call or email to book a turkey hunt

Bob

Lake Bastrop update

I have fished the Monday nighter on Lake Bastrop the last two weeks. It has been brutally tough to find small keepers. Last night and the Monday before it only took 3 keeprs to win. So, when you get fed up with lake fishing call and book a river trip with me.  You will be very surprised what lives in this river. These river fish dont see the pressure that the lake fish do. The scenary on the river is much better than on the lake.


Also, I do not run guide trips on Lake Bastrop or any lake for that matter. But I do have good freinds that are very experienced guides to take you just about anywhere in the state. Just call or email me.

Bob

March 16, River Tourney results

1st place   Ken Anderson and Carl Clardy    18.50 lbs
2nd place  Bob Jenkins and Robert Wiley 12.67 lbs


Our turnout was low due to many different reasons, but the guys and gals that showed up caught a ton of fish and we all had a really good time at weigh in. Ken and Carl found the gold mine fishing about 40 miles up river. They really had a nice sack of fish. They  caught  most of their fish on whacky rigged senkos in the mouth of a creek. I will post some pics at weighin shortly

River trip Frdiay report

Friday I had a couple guys that really knew what they were doing. We went up river about 12 miles and these guys absolutely whacked em. We lost count around 80 head. Had an excellent time with them.

The reason these guys whacked em is because they had excellent casting skills. If you cant cast to cover you just wont catch a bunch of fish. I do love working with kids, but their numbers are almost always down for casting reasons. So, we just keep working  and practicing.

3/14/13 report

Yesterday I had a mother and her two boys ages 10 and 13. We went above Webberville and fishing was slow. The boys still had a great time just experiencing the entire trip. The rain we got a few days ago has the river a bit stained , and I am sure the rain water cooled the river off a bit too. I saw a bunch of vacant beds and several beds with males on them in areas of big hydrilla mats. Fishing up from the house today with two very big boys. Will report back tonight

Bob

Yesterday's report

I had Rick Zamora with me yesterday on river. He is the owner of Krippled Kritters bait company.  Water was stained from the much needed rain we had a few days ago. Fishing was slow. We worked hard for the 40 head we caught, and almost all of our fish  came off the Krippled Kritter brush hog. If you havnt tried Rick's bait, you should. He beats anyone on price and can make any color you want. Visit him at Krippledkritters.com.

Tomorrow I have a trip with a mother and her two sons. I am headed way up river to fish some hydrilla mats. Will report back tomorrow night or Friday.

Bob

New bait company Krippled Kritters

I have a freind who started a new bait company here in Bastrop. He is making the brush hogs and finese worms and a few more baits. He sells them much cheaper than what you will pay for them in store. I have all his price and bag info. Just send me an email, and Ill flip it to you. Owner is Rick Zamora with Krippled Kritters Plastic Baits  "Baits So Wrong They Gotta Be Right!" www.krippledkritters.com    My river fish absolutely eat his brush hog up. They eat it so good, that I am constantly calling him for more.

Bob

Yesterday on river

Yesterday I had a father son combo from Hondo, Tx. Miles brought his 13 year old son, Chase, with him.They were absolutely awesome to fish with. However ,we had 20 mph south winds and cloudy conditions. These river fish are not like the lake fish. River fish want the sun out probably because of how shallow the river is. That coupled with the fact that most of these fish are about to explode made fishing tough.Nevertheless, we went up to Webberville and started chunking buzzbaits. Our numbers for the day were down,by my standards, but we had some very exciting blow ups and hook ups on topwater. I noticed some vacant beds like a few of them had spawned out. Still everything we caught had full mature egg sacks in them. I take a lot of kids on the river, and I have to say that Chase hung in there like a champion. That boy stayed on the front with me and never took a break. He made cast after cast after cast, sometimes hooking up, sometimes missing, and sometimes nothing. I havnt had  a 13 year old with the desire and patience, that I saw in this young man. He reminded me of me when I was his age. I had fun just watching him. Posting a pic of him with a fish shortly .

Reminder--- River tourney this coming Saturday. Need all entries in by Friday evening. You can call or email me for entry form.

Bob

Good day with good people

About two months ago I donated a river trip to the SCI event in Austin.  Natahn Nelson bought this trip for more than it was worth. I dont know Nathan and have only talked to him by phone and email. But I did talk to Rick Welch about Natahn Nelson. Rick is head of the SCI chapter in Austin. Nathan has heart and mind that we should all follow. His goal from what I can tell is to help soldiers wounded or not,vets,firemen and policemen to be financially able to experience the outdoors in ways most people dont. Nathan  generously donates fishing and hunting trips to the people that give their lives everyday to protect you and me.  Nathan obviously understands what the outdoors does for the soul, and he from what I understand is one of the most deserving people in this country.  He bought my river trip and gave it to two deserving men. Their names were Trevor and Jeremy.  We fished today for about 6.5 hours. The morning was slow as I told them it would be. But by 1 o ' clock the bite picked up and Trevor and Jeremy began whoopin on the big spots.  We had about 45 head and Jeremy finished the day with a solid 5 Lber. We released all the big blacks and kept a limit of spots as they are so yummy in yo tummy.  Fishing is good right now, but when the spawn is over and it gets stinky hot, it will get silly.  You need to brave the heat and come with me because those 100 fish days are staring us in the face.  Heat makes fish go to cover and the topwater bite is on. But a big Texas rig in deep cover can make your heart dance that time of year.

Bob

PS   Put a kid in the outdoors and make this world a better place

River update

The weather has these fish confused. It wont stay warm enough to make them bed in numbers  and the cold spells we are getting are holding back the inevitable. With that said each day has been hit and miss on the river. Yesterday was very slow. We had high pressure and a big sun. Today it warmed up a bit and late in the day we did good, but starting out it was slow, because  the water was cool from last night.  The fish I see are about to explode.  Their sacks are fully mature and they will bed up and spawn regardless of the weather very soon, which will make it tougher than normal on the river for catching numbers. If we could just have a week of solid  warm weather these girls will do what they do this time of year and then head to cover. I am ready for this spawn to come and go because it is dragging on and on with the weather. When the spawn is over they will head to cover and be very predictable.


Bob

blog comment problems

I was recently notified that I had a technical problem for people to comment on my blog. That problem has been fixed. Would very much like to hear from anybody about the outdoors in general.

bob

Big river fish tourney

May 25-27 we are holding a big fish only tourney on the Colorado river based out of Bastrop. There will be multiple categories that you can enter.  Heaviest yellowcat,heaviest channel cat, heaviest gasper goo, heaviest river perch, heaviest largemouth bass, and heaviest spotted bass. You may enter as few or as many categories as you like. Teams are up to 4 people. $40.00 per category. For more details and rules sheet and release of liability email me or call me 512 718 4516

River bottom bass tournament

March 16 th we are holding our first Colrado river bass tourney of the year. If you have interest or want to enter please email me, and I will send you a copy of the rules, format, and location. We do welcome kayak teams as well.

Bob

Pre spawn vs Spawn on the river

The majority of our river fish have not yet spawned. They are really close and you will see a few bedded up. 90% of what I am catching have mature egg sacks in them. These fish want to bed up, and they will regardless of the weather in time.  If we could get a 3-4 day span of 75 + degree daytime temps and lows in the high 50's to 60's, there will be bedded fish all over the river. Two days ago I had a slow afternoon with only about 25 caught, but had 30 degree low temp the night before. The next day it was warm and that night wasnt as cold as the night before.We then caught 60. Weather and mainly temperature plays a huge roll in what these fish will do in this transition period. When the spawn ends these fish will move to cover, and as summer approaches crazy numbers can be caught.  Fishing will be great from now until October, barring some huge rain event that muddies the river up

River fish are still posted up to spawn

We spent about 5 hours on the water today above Bastrop. It was a bit slower than normal, but we did have 25 mph winds, and these cold night time temps are holding these girls back from exploding on their beds. We had about 60 head, and we had a dozen or so between 3-4 lbs. The wind made the spinnerbait bite decent. However, we caught em on brush hogs, weightless sinkos if you could keep it down, small crankbaits, and jerkbaits. Most fish seem to be loaded and ready to let nature take its course. The weather has held them back,but I really believe cold or hot there are too many females ready to do the deed that the majority of the river spawn will happen in the next few days to weeks. We have been seeing a few bedded fish over the last ten days, and have caught some very nice fat females in the 5-8 lb range.  Afternoon trips are the best time to go.


Bob

Top water bite on river

I spent about 4 hours on river this evening with a buddy.  We thru nothing but buzzbaits. Caught a ton of small short fish, almost all were surely males. The females are very close. We did see a handful of beds, and if it stays warm, they will be locked in on beds within a week. Just have to watch the weather.

bob

Fish fillets

One thing I wanted to add to my last post. I heard that some fisherman got an earful for a picture of a bunch of fish he had obviously killed on Lake Austin. I have to believe that the fisherman fillet them and ate them. There is nothing wrong with that. And for anyone who says there is you havnt eaten my fried fish. I do cut a limit of spots as often as I can. They have all but over taken the river. Our blacks have made a decent comeback. I catch about 70/30 spots to blacks. I do not cut any blacks, as I believe they will thrive if given a chance. Obviously they get much larger and we are catching a few of them in the 7-10lb range lately  TPWD has given us no minimum length on spots but you can only have 5.  We have a 14 inch minimum on blacks with a 5 fish limit blacks and spotted combined. I wish TPWD would up the limit on spots to 10 with a 12 inch minimum, at least for the Colorado river because we have such a prolific population of them

Bob

Todays fishing on river

Sunday morning I had a father and his two kids. Air temp was 48 degrees. Not good.  And it was slow as I expected. We had about 16 head in 4 hours.They were troopers tho and with stood the cold and made the best of a hard morning.   These fish are begging for sunlight and warm temps.  They want to spawn, which may not be a good thing, since we are in early February. If this warming trend continues the river fish will spawn regardless of another hard freeze.  Today we had 48 head in 4 hours  . Almost all on spinnerbaits except two big girls  that we pulled off beds with Texas rigged plastic rage tail craws.  Cant ever remember bed fishing in early February.  The bite will only get better and more aggressive as each warm day comes and goes. Now is the time to get on the river and see what it can offer. I fish lake Bastrop all the time and this river has more numbers and better quality most of the time.

River heating up

I took two buddies out on river this afternoon. We fished for about 4 hours, and had 82 head.  All this warm weather has these river fish posting up to spawn, and they are hungry. This river is shallow and responds to temp changes much faster than a lake. Fishing should only get better barring some big cold weather event. If the weather holds up, call and take a trip with me now. The scenary is great.  The fishing is getting good in a hurry.

Ducks and Fish

Ducks are loaded on the river now. We have sunny skies for the next 7-8 days for the most part which says you better get'em early on the river, cuz they don't move much after the sun is up on this body of water.   I gotta believe these multiple 60 plus degree days will get some of these big female river blacks in the mood. I will be at the SCI event tomorrow night. I got a group of duck hunters Saturday morning and you can bet I will wet a hook that afternoon.

River and Ducks

This last rise after the good rain we had pushed the ducks off the river for a few days. The river is down and clearing and the birds are thick. We only have a couple weeks left. So if you want a hunt call now, as I am booked this Saturday and the following Saturday. If we get a stretch of warmer weather, you need to be on the river. Some real good quality can be caught this time of year, or call me and I'll put you on them

Bird and Fish Update

The ducks continue to stay strong in numbers. My group of 5 hunters did well the other morning. We had 4 inches of rain last night, which will muddy the river for a few days. Bass fishing will be slow until it begins to clear

Ducks

Went out on water yesterday for a couple hours to watch. Majority of the birds are above Fishermans park, simply because these birds are not roosting on the river. They roost on farm ponds, and there are a ton of ponds along FM 969 and on Texas agrregates property.  The river is still very low and very dangerous. I have a group of 5 hunting tomorrow morning and will give an update then

Ducks are thick

Cold weather has brought even more birds in. We have until January 28, 2013 to go get em. So dress warm shoot straight and call me for for a good duck hunt