Better to Lose the Anchor than the Whole Boat!

WINDY! 

Rick, Sas and I were out on Lake Waco and out of no where the wind kicked up! We had white cap waves hitting the side of our boat that made Sassy a little nervous!

We anchored down the boat the best we could and rode out the waves for about 30 minutes!
The wind died down and the FISH STARTED BITING... we started adding to the record number of keepers for the month of February...

This is a 20 pounder that Rick caught on some of his Super Secret Stink bait at 16 feet.

This is a smaller Blue Cat - 16 pounder.   The water temp is about 53 degrees. 

YEP - we let them go!  We had a group of fishermen come up beside our boat to take a look at the big fish... As they got close to us they noticed that Rick was crying - they asked if everything was OK?  I had to explain to them that our rule is if the Cats are over 15 pounds - we release them - I told them it makes my fishing buddy very sad!!!

It is really amazing how fast the weather changed (kinda like life)- we were worried about flooding out the USS Sassy and WITHIN ONE HOUR - the wind was gone, Sassy guided us to a bunch of Catfish (including two pretty good size ones) and a group of fishermen had a chance to see a grown man cry!

BEST TIME TO FISH....

If fishing is like religion, then CatFishing is high church.

Besides the Rain - it was COLD Sunday morning!
We hooked into 18 keepers - for a total of 39lbs. The ONLY thing these guys would bite on was Ricks SUPER SECRET STINK BAIT... which I will share with you - IF you dare to make it!... Includes a lot of very stinky ingredients: shrimp, liver, worms, vanilla, red dye, corn flakes, corn, cheese spread and dog food ... plastic glove REQUIRED - VERY STINKY!

This is a 6.11 lb Cat that Sas lead us to.

Not sure if you can tell from the pictures or not - but, Lake Waco is DIRTY!  Besides being muddy, it was full of trees limbs and various other items... I am guessing that the ONLY reason the Cats were biting is because they sniffed out the bait.  We chummed for about 30 minutes before they started dining.  Water temp was about 50 degrees - but the wind temp was much cooler!

Rick, Sas and I found out Sunday morning that the BEST time to fish is when it's rainin' and when it ain't!

SNOW IN WACO = Dedication, GREAT FISHING and Pondering!!!!

SUNDAY WAS SO COLD...

IT ACTUALLY SNOWED IN WACO!!!!

On Saturday night I gave Rick the call that he did NOT want to get... I asked if he would be ready to wet a line at about 6:30 Sunday morning - his response is NOT PRINTABLE.  However, ...

 We caught a TON of fish Sunday morning.  We kept 17 Channels and Blues for a total of 34 pounds. We caught them in deep water 18-20 feet deep near the twin bridges on Lake Waco.  Dough bait and cut shad were on the menu for the Catfish and they bought it hook, line and sinkers!

It is not everyday you find someone as CRAZY as you are - to hang out in 34 degree conditions... I started thinking - if it's zero degrees in Waco today and it's supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is it going to be? We are still thinking on that one...

PLEASE NOTE: Sassy avoided us this morning and slept in!!! – SMART GIRL!!

With the exception of these thousand or so Lake Gulls - we did have the Lake to ourselves!

Shortly after we pulled into the dock - the snow started falling!

On the way home we discussed what REALLY happens when snow falls in Waco - it was CRAZY - people were driving 40 MPH on the hwy - it was just starting to snow... any amount of snow in Waco 'winterrupts' our traffic. Rick said, "One good thing is that your yard will look as good as Wesley's (he's my next door neighbor)!!

"Fishing is not a matter of life and death - it's much more important than that!"

From time to time - I come up with some weird thoughts and while Harry and I were on the way to the courts to hit tennis balls before school this morning, I related Fishing to Tennis.... in a Kpa way...

Harry and Leni went to Austin this weekend - where Harry won two rounds in his tennis tournament - before coming up short in the Quarter Finals...

Not every time you go out on the lake or on the tennis court will you catch fish or win your match - but, how you participate in the activity determines if you are really successful.  I told him to have fun and learn from each match.  I told Harry that there have been MANY times Sassy and I been out on the water and we did not catch fish (well, not a lot)... and there have been a TON of times I have lost the last point playing tennis! 

But, as I have gotten OLDER (Kpa Status) I have learned that living and learning through defeat is a free program God gives us to - help us for the next fishing trip or tennis match... 

He took my advice and learned that if he runs me just a little more than he use to he would have fun laughing at me while I bend over trying to catch my breath between points!!!!

BIG CATS and Couple of Hybrids...

Lake Belton has been GREAT these past few mornings!  Sassy and I have been fishing these waters with a lot of success.  It is really weird but, Sassy and Success seem to go together!!!!

Here is a mess of 17 CatFish.  These were caught on Hot Dogs in 22 feet of water.  Water temp is 57 degrees.  We have been fishing Lake Beltons deep water near the bend on Cedar Creek.

We caught these two Hybrids on Shad while drifting near Rogers Park on Lake Belton.