A DAY AT LAKE WITH THE KAPTAIN....

THE kevYACHT
As captain of the KEVeYACHT - I have to make sure my crew is safe, record the position and speed of the vessel at all times – all the while guiding thru the cold evening hours, keeping a look out for pirates, rogue lake dolphins, man-eating perch, spiders (Rick and Sassy are afraid of those) and lake Waco gulls that care little about where they drop their used up fuel. PLUS, as captain, I enjoy listening to Rick be upset about previous Blogs….
This is Rick with a 15 pound 15 ounce blue cat. It is also my duty to ENFORCE the release rule for fish over 15 pounds. This cat was a “luckly-release” - by 15 ounces!
It is ALL worth the pain of a hook in the finger (pictures to follow), sunburn/windburn, lake gull poop on the deck and Rick telling stories of his yester-years – just to see a sunset like this…

Bet you did not notice....

I have done a lot of silly things in my life – and I as I get older – they just seem crazy now … BUT, what makes them even CRAZIER is having my friend Rick do them with me – Like fishing Lake Waco during 22 mile per hour wind gust and a temperature of 40degrees. OH - did you notice that Sassy is not with us - she is at home with Leni wondering if there some kind of therapy for my behavior...?

CAREFUL – COULD BE DISTURBING TO SOME!!!!

I wanted to start off with a relaxing picture of a WINTER evening in DECEMBER on Lake Waco! Even though the weather is very unpredictable… it is good to know that there are somethings that are almost always predictable…
For instance, when Ashley (daughter) and Nick (son in-law) come to town – Nick usually likes going out with us on the boat… or … that when the weather is around 80 degrees Rick almost always pulls his shirt off… As I said “Could be Disturbing to Some” – so Sassy and I took Rick and Nick back out last night and thank goodness it was much colder...At least this time he had on the right hat!

BIG BASS!!!!

Yes, it is cold - but, Tommy and I weathered the conditions Sunday afternoon and came out with this Eight pound bass. Tommy is not only a friend from years gone by – but, is the son of the GREAT Vera Lee – Vera was the HEART of the Charlie McCleary Tennis Center.
Yep, we (including Sassy – who never got near the edge of the boat) let this big Bass go after Tommy took a couple pictures. I cannot imagine what my Grandpa would have said about us letting this big fish go – BUT, I bet he is up there in Fish Heaven just proud about the fact that that no one fell in the cold water this time!!!

IT WAS MY FAULT THIS TIME......

I cannot tell you why but, we have been catching BIG Catfish these past few weeks. Last night we caught 7 fish for a total weight of 32.4 pounds! It could be the cold weather or maybe Sassy is leading us with her sniffer to the big Cat Den. HOWEVER, her success came at a very cold price for Sassy....

SHE IS COLD AND WET - The reason she is looking at me like this - SHE FELL IN THE LAKE - one week exactly from the time Leni took the plundge!!! Except this time IT WAS MY FAULT! As luck would have it Sassy took her IDog Phone out before hitting the water- Leni was not so lucky with her IPhone... it was VERY windy and Sassy tried jumping out of the boat onto the dock too soon...
All I can say here is - SHE IS VERY UPSET! She thinks there may be a pattern forming...

Learning Moments...

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SUNSET! I do go out for the Big Cats - but, REALLY - I am comfortable with catching these images...and spending time with Harry, my Dad, Rick and always Sassy - even if we don't talk sometimes! This particular trip Rick had a lot on his mind…
We pulled this big one in and for some reason Sassy was acting weird around it... usually, she will sniff it and walk away – when this one came in, she barked and seemed like she wanted to bite it… I broke the silence on the boat and said to Rick, without thinking too much (like I usually do), "Man, I wish Sassy could talk?" He replied, "No, you don't - that is what makes her your best friend!" - I wasn't sure if Rick wanted me to talk to him anymore or not... another learning moment amongst friends!

SASSY!!!!

Most of the time we go out VERY EARLY in the morning...
SOMETIMES - she drags me out there in the evening after a full days of Leni - "honey do's" at our Little Caesars
But, no matter the time - she always seems to enjoy herself - even if we come back with no fish...
I am lucky - Sassy was picked out of all of the other dogs at the Human Society by my awesome daughter Alex. Sorry to say - Sassy was not my first choice - but, Alex has a way with her old dad and I caved - MAN AM I GLAD I DID... she is a great friend...
She makes life and fishing easy - I just follow her directions...
Not sure how she does it - but, even with her hurt joints (she is a mature lady now) she gets up every morning and heads out into the cold with me to search for the not so allusive (lately) catfish...

This is what it is all about...

This benefit fish fry brought out many Waco familys that contribute to Habitat for Humanity...Sam and Melissa Cates are one of many familys that helped out Habitat this year!
Here is Steve Fontaine and Jim Hare - As usual, everyone had a GREAT TIME!
This is Linda and Gary Howard - we met a lot of incredible people...
The fish MUST be cooked by PROFESSIONALS - these guys are the BEST - RICK and WES! Not only are they the BEST - they are able to keep me in line!
Waco (Central Texas) is blessed by the hard work Habitat puts in each day. The staff is AWESOME and helped put on a GREAT TightLine Fish fry event.

THE WATER IS COLD!!!

I have to set this scene up… Yesterday afternoon I went out early to fish because Leni and I had to get ready for a fish fry at our house we were putting on for the Waco Area Tennis Officials. It just so happens that I caught my biggest cat ever on Lake Waco --- I called Leni to come down and take a look at the Cat before I put him back in the water – she stopped what she was doing and came down to see the fish and take a few pictures…
This is Leni and Sas on the way down the boat ramp to take a few pictures of a HUGE Blue Cat - little did Leni know what she was in store for...
When Leni took this picture the sun was behind me - so she told me to move to the other side of the boat dock. I did and she attempted to reposition herself to take the perfect picture - in doing so - she ran out of dock and fell in to the 50 degree, nine foot of water...
BUT, being the quick thinker she is - she threw the camera on the dock before dropping to the bottom of the lake - (with her IPhone in her pocket) - our new friend Billy and I helped her out of the cold water and Billy took this picture!This is Billy with a wet Leni!
This is the biggest cat I have caught on Lake Waco - it is close to 50 pounds. Leni told our friends last night during the fish fry that she was surprised I put the fish down to help her out of the water... weird thing is - I was suprised too!!! But, then again, how many guys have a wife that would drop what she is doing to come and take a look at a fish? I am lucky!
Billy had himself a GREAT story to tell his wife when he got home!!!

LETS GO FISHING!!!

YES, we also catch bass from time to time. This one was caught on a perch the size of my palm. It is not the biggest one we've caught -but it put up a great fight. Since December 1, 2010 - we have kept 92 catfish with a total weight of 202 pounds!
Here is our launching ramp... I took this picture because I just washed the truck and the YACHT and the sun is setting... I love a great sun set!

TIGHTLINE FISH FRY - VALLEY MILLS, TEXAS

This is my brother Kevin Krumm- I say that because we grew up from first grade together and we are STILL GROWING up!!! Kevin and his wife Connie helped organize the latest TightLine Fish Fry - he and Connie are the youth pastors for their Church and our Fry helped them raise some money for their Summer program. They are both AWESOME and the kids LOVE them!This is me and Kev talking about old fun times- YES, lots of FUN times! I seriously had to deny most the stuff we were talking about - because of my lack of memory and the fact that Leni was standing near-by.Getting the fish fried up, without catching EVERYTHING on fire, is part of the fun! To date - we have only burnt down one tent and 3/4 of an acre near a park (J/K). I notice that Rick is never near by when I am starting up my grill!?!?Here are some the Church Youth group members handling all of the important details - like not letting Rick, Me or Kevin eat too much!!! The food was AWESOME! Everyone brought stuff from home to make a GREAT POT LUCK dinner!We had a great turn out including a lot of local people from the community of Valley Mills. Kevin and Connie's Church is located in the Heart of Valley Mills, TX!

Its getting colder - BUT - fishing is GREAT!

This is Rick and my Dad at the helm... It is ALWAYS fun to go fishing with friends - but, there is something special about fishing with your Dad. My dad has hidden treasures of wisdom that he always brings out at the right time. We had a great day - nine keepers and ONE REALLY BIG CARP (16 POUNDER).

SO FAR - A December to Remember!!!!

THIS IS A HUGE FISH! Rick and I pulled this 37 pounder in after only a five minute tug-o-war. YES, We let him go - and my next door neighbor Wes was UPSET!!!! Weird how things work out - we were down to NO FISH in the freezer and last night we caught over twenty pounds of filets for a TightLine Fish Fry at my buddy Kevin Krumms church this Saturday!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone...

There is so much to be Thankful for... Great Friends, Good Fishing, Wonderful Weather and THE BEST FAMILY EVER...
I am Thankful for 'every minute' gifts from God!
And, Although she doesn't talk much - ONLY because fishing is better that way...Harry and I get to spend the early mornings and late afternoons fishing with - Sassy.

ITS CALLED Fishing NOT Catching

The Captain of the ship and I were back on the water this morning - However, this mornings trip was not as productive as others... Sassys sniffer was not 'in tune' with the fish. My good buddy Wes told me once - "THAT IS WHY THEY CALL IT FISHING and NOT CATCHING!" SOOOO, we will try again tomorrow morning...I will keep my fishing (and non-fishing) friends posted.

Bump in the Boat!

After thousands of fish and one turtle - the USS SASSY - is under construction for a couple days. Therefore, your fishing report will be halted until Thursday - Stay Tuna-ed...

THE fishing spot...

WOW! I never knew that there were so many people interested in knowing our TightLine fishing spots... So I threw in this comic...