The Fishing and Boating Category
Fishing in slews and gators
Short version: This morning my daughter and I went to a local park to go fishing. After a few minutes a 6 foot gator showed up to see what was going on.
Over the course of about 15 – 20 minutes, the gator slowly worked its way to within about 8 – 10 feet of the bank. the day was getting hot, and the gator was getting a little too close, so my daughter and I decided to pack up and go home.
Long Version: The day started off around 10:30am when my daughter decided it was time to drag herself out of bed so we could finally go fishing. I had already been up for a couple of hours, had gotten my shower, brushed my teeth, and even made a trip to the store to pick up a couple of low carb blue rock star energy drinks.
While I was waiting for my daughter to get ready, I went through my tackle box, sorted through some of my fishing gear, rounded up the fishing poles, loaded a small ice chest with drinking water into my truck,,,,, finally we were ready to go.
As we were driving out to the park, the wind was hitting the side of my truck pretty good. With the wind like it was, I figured the water around Martin Dies State Park would be stirred up pretty good. So my daughter and I changed plans, and went to Magnolia Ridge Park.
Jug lines after SHTF
Back at the end of November a buddy of mine and I went on a 3 day camping trip on the Angelina river close to Jasper, Texas. While we were camping, we took the boat and explorer some of the slews in the area. As we were heading into the slew, there were some jug lines in the water. This got me to thinking, why couldn’t someone use jug lines for harvesting fish during a long term survival situation?
What do we need to make up some drop lines / jug lines?
Spool of trot line string
Hooks
Weights
Swivels – optional
Spool of monofilament line, something like 20# test
Something that floats – 1 gallon plastic bottle, noodle from local china mart, something like that.
When I started working on this jug line project, I wanted the system to be modular. Meaning, all of the parts needed to be easily replaceable. To accomplish this, loops where used in the trot line string.
Tie a loop knot in the end of the trot line string. Make the loop maybe 1.5 – 2 inches long.
Back up maybe 18 inches from the end of the trot line string, and tie another loop knot maybe 1.5 inches long. This is where you can attach the swivel. Run the end of the end of loop through one end of the swivel, and over the opposite end. The swivel should now be attached to the drop line. For added security, pull some slack through the eye of the swivel, then run the loop through the eye and over the end again. If you have done everything right, there should be 2 loops running through the eye of the swivel.
Going out on the Angelina River
Last Saturday my wife and I went out on the Angelina River south of Lake Sam Rayburn for a day of fishing and relaxation. Long story short, it was hot, my wife got sunburned, and she caught the only fish of the day.
I don’t know what it is, but the fish just were not biting. The fish were not biting pumpkin seed worms in a Texas rig, nor were they biting a beetle spin. The only thing we even got a nibble on was a worm on a perch hook.
Awhile back I received some lures from Daves Great Outdoors, also known as The Fishin Shack. One of the lures I rigged up like a beetle spin. That was the only lure that I saw fish cashing, but nothing was hitting. The fish would follow the lure right up to the boat, then turn around. Which was more then they were doing for the pumpkin seed worm.
The boating trip really started on Friday. The boat was uncovered, the battery charged, rods pulled out of the closet, and some drop lines were made up. One thing that I wanted to try Saturday was some drop lines. So I went to wal-mart, bought a couple of noodles that most people keep in their swimming pools. The noodle measured something like 56 inches long. In the end, I had 8 noodles measuring 7 inches long.
Survival kit for small boat
A couple of weeks ago my uncle and I went out on the Angelina river and did some fishing. While we were out on the river some bad weather came along. The weather was not bad enough for us to seek shelter, but we did steer the boat under some cypress trees to shield us from the rain. As the drizzle was coming down, I thought about putting together a kit for the boat. What would happen if I were back in some slew, motor broke, and I was stranded over night. I really need to build a survival kit for the boat. Something that does not take up a lot of room, but has the supplies that someone might need to spend an unexpected night in the woods.
Shelter – The first issue with spending the night on the river is the mosquitoes. As the sun starts to go down, the little blood suckers from hell come out in waves. If I could speak mosquito, I am willing to bet they have little speakers under their wings that plays a variety of music as they swoop in to suck ever last drop of your blood. To defeat the mosquitoes, your going to need at least 2 things, something to build a bug proof shelter out of, and bug spray, something like Deep Woods Off.
The rope used to the anchor can be used to help make the shelter. Or get some 1/4 inch nylon rope or 550 cord for your boat survival kit.
Here is a video from August 2010 when my son and I went fishing in the same area.
Out on the Angelina River sunday
What happened to the clear skies we were supposed to have Saturday and Sunday? For the past 2 or 3 days the local weather people have been saying the clouds were going to push out by Friday, and we were going to have clear skies Saturday and Sunday,,, what happened?. Instead of being clear and…
Summer is almost over
As Labor Day approaches, this marks a good time to reflect over the past summer. Overall, the summer of 2010 was a great summer – my dad gave me a boat a few months ago, so a lot of time was spent on the river fishing and camping. My wife and I got to go fishing a couple of times. Being sick for the first 2 weeks in August was no fun, but I’am felling a lot better now – except for a slight residual headache. With all Texas summers, the heat has terrible.
Labor day plans include a bar-b-q with a brisket, maybe some ribs, chicken, sausage, ranch style beans and whatever else I can fit on the grill.
After Labor Day focus is going to shift a little more towards hunting. My kids and I might head out to the deer lease to check the stands and feeders out.
Another trip to the Angelina River
The alarm clock went off around 5:45am – but I stayed in bed for a little bit. Got up, got my shower, brushed teeth, deodorant (you do not want body order while fishing), then I went into my sons room to wake him up.
While my son was getting his shower, and taking care of his business, I loaded the tackle boxes, poles and day packs in the boat.
It was one of those trips that I have been wanting to make for a long time. The day before (July 9, 2010) I took the time to get everything ready – the gas cans were fueled up, the poles and tackle boxes were set next to the front door, the day packs were filled with fresh water, first aid kit, an Eversafe Meal, ice chest put in the boat,,,,,, and a few more things.
July 25 trip to the Angelina River
The day started off kinda early (for a Saturday anyway). The plans were for my son and I to get up around the crack of dawn, get a shower, get something to eat and head out. But things did not work out that way. Instead of getting on the river around 6am, it was more like 8:30. But even if we got a late start, it was still a beautiful day, the gators were out and the fish were biting.
We launched the boat at Bevilport, which is a public boat launch off Highway 63. Coming from Jasper, Texas, you turn left at the VFW sign, then drive for about 4 – 5 miles. On the way your going to pass some nice looking fields with traces of old pecan tree plantations. There is one rather large field where the cows share the shade provided by a few oak and pine trees.
Looking for a camping spot on the river
A few days ago I got information that the Army Corp. of Engineers has some primitive camping spots along the Angelina river. So my son and I loaded up in the boat to go take a look at them.
The Angelina river runs between lake sam rayburn and steinhagen reservoir.
Taking the new boat out
A couple of weeks ago my dad bought himself a new boat, so he gave me his old one. Its a WeldBilt aluminum boat, 15 feet long, 42 inches across and is driven by a 30 horsepower Evinrude outboard motor.
You may also be interested in:
| Preparedness Articles >>> | Hiking and Camping >>> |
| Survival Gear >>> | Random Ramblings >>> |
| Popular Forum Sections: AR-15 Forum AK-47 Forum Bolt Action Rifle Forum Ruger Mini-14 and Mini-30 |
Loading ...