Needed a Bigger Cooler

[Darrells]

First the story. Don't jump ahead, be patient GrassHopper....

Ron and I hit the brazos below the Falls yesterday for a little R&R overnighter. I was just a liitle concerned about the fishing as a front had just blown thru and the River was dropping. We always have a great time regardless of the fishing so it really did not matter too much. We got started about 3:00 and stopped and fished a couple of places along the way.





We messed around for a couple of hours and headed on the place we were going to camp. We really like this spot as it is not muddy, fairly flat, and has abundant fire wood (we always have a fire while camping).



The evening wore on and we caught a few small Channels and Gaspers. The cooler it got the bigger the fire got.



About 8:00 or so we decided to start supper and let the fire burn down to cook the Ribeyes.



It is hard to beat a steak cooked over an open fire.





About Midnight we decided to turn in and get some sleep. We had both bought a tent that straps to your cot and we both were pleased with them.



We awoke pretty early and just sat around had some coffee and shot the bull. Neither of us were in a hurry to get going and it felt really good to be able to relax. We were sitting in front of the fire as the temps were in the mid Forty's and a stiff North wind when I looked over and one of my poles was bent if half. I grabbed it and immediately knew it was a good fish. After about ten minutes or so I finnaly got him to the bank and Ron grabbed it by the gills and pulled it up. Before ever weighing it I knew it was a PB Blue for me. She weiighed #35 on two different sets of scales.





I needed a bigger cooler.



We fished for another couple of hours woithout much luck and decided to load up and head upstream. Loaded and ready.





It was not a bad paddle back upstream and we were soon at the take out. just in time for a great Sunset.



Couple of pics from the house.







As always it was great to spend some time with my paddling partner on a River we both like to paddle/fish on. Also as always the TV and the Freedom performed flawlessly.

[tx river rat]

This was really a fun trip.
Darrel and I always have a good time we believe in eating paddling ,watching out for each other , camping , our personality's just fit and even if the fish are not biting we have a ball.
We saw and heard a lot of wildlife ,hogs fighting, owls. two coyotes walked out within 50 ft ,king fishers , killdees ,sandhill cranes. Darrel caught a turtle I had never seen ,his shell looked like a polished slab of wood ,maybe he will post a pic.
The food was great, I never once wished for an mre or a can of beany weineys
This trip brought back a lot of memories. My first experience fishing in this spot was a long time ago ,I was fifteen at the time . Lynn took me there on a day fishing trip. Lynn was my mentor on the Brazos and knew more about that river ,the holes and catching the fish than anyone I have ever met.He was in his 80 at the time and had fished and hunted the river since he was a kid. I wish I had written down a lot of stories he told me. In the five years we fished together he drug me up and down about a 40 mile stretch of the Brazos always the teacher, I will forever be grate ful for his expertise and dragging a teenager along and introducing me to the grand lady THE BRAZOS.
I sat bye the fire and looked around ,thinking how camping had changed , tents cots kayaks stoves grills , all the gear that we haul that really makes a fun camping trip. I sat there and thought of what we used back then,a wool army blanket was your bedroll, slept on the ground ,your jacket was the pillow, an empty ,never used, gallon paint can was used to carry coffee and food in, then when you got to camp it was dipped in the river a handfull of coffee thrown in <river coffee , lay a small stick across the top so it would boil over and a few egg shell thrown in to settle the grounds. Never bought bait nature always supplied it. It was special time in my life .
Darrel congratulations on the big fish and I enjoyed it as always.
Ron

The two JEM boats did a fantastic job as always.

[jem]

that's a BEAST!

[craiggamesh]

Wow! That fish is a beauty.

[preacher]

OK, if you're working in your coloring book . . . color me jealous!

WOW!